Cafe Rico in Eastland

Reviewed by Tim Caldwell

With the family a few hours away, we usually try and meet up at least once a month. Sometimes to make it easier on everyone we will just meet in the middle and get something to eat together. Most of these trips are along I-20, making it easy to find somewhere to eat along the Interstate access road. This trip was on a Sunday though...and most restaurants in Eastland were closed. Rather than give up and go with fast food, we decided to drive towards the square and see what we could find. Shortly after passing through the square we came up to Cafe Rico. There weren't many cars in the parking lot...so we asked a family who was pulling out of the parking lot if they were open. The family replied "Yes....and the food is fantastic." As they pulled out I saw the "My child attends Eastland ISD" sticker in the rear window...I figured they are either related to the owners of the restaurant, or this really is a good local find...off the beaten path.

When we came in the place was empty, but the smell of grilled fajitas was all I needed to know that the lack of people didn't bother me. Between the 3 of us we had the fajitas, quesadillas, and enchiladas. The fajitas were amazing. They included plenty of sides with nice warm tortillas. My only complaint is that I could have eaten a dozen more of those tortillas...but that wouldn't have left enough room for me to sneak food from the surrounding plates to taste. The quesadillas filled an entire plate, and were almost as good as my fajitas. The tortillas surrounding the shredded chicken cooked just enough to have a crispness to it...without being overdone. There was enough meat on the inside, that a fork was a handy utensil to clean up what you lost in the normal quesadilla eating process. Our waitress was great. There anytime we needed her, but not overanxious.

Overall the food was excellent, the service was great, and it was nice to eat somewhere that I-20 wasn't just outside the window. If you are ever in Eastland I recommend driving into town and checking it out.