Photo TR: Casa Bonita!

Last weekend, I was in Colorado for family matters. On my last day in CO, my family and I decided to take a journey down to the Red Rocks Amphitheater to see what it was like. It turned out to be really great, and as we left, we realized that we were awfully close to the one and only Casa Bonita (for those not familiar, it was made infamous by a South Park episode). We went at 3:00 on a Monday, so the atmosphere was pretty much dead as there were about 8 people in the entire restaurant, but it was still an unforgettable experience. I have to admit that it was kind of depressing seeing how run down the place was (not to mention that the food was f***king awful. Thank God I had Taco Bell the next day to remind me what TRULY awful Mexican food is). However, the experience of actually going to THE Casa Bonita completely made up for how awful the damn place is. So, without further adieu, pictures from the...wonderful place!

Pulling up to Casa Bonita! It sure looks great, right?

Unfortunately, all of the wonderful Mexican magic is lost once you realize that it's in a giant, rundown strip mall. However, one bonus to its poor location is that it's located RIGHT near a taxidermy store, so you're guaranteed to leave stuffed!

As we walked in, Modern Man by Arcade Fire was playing. Never have I felt the power of divine intervention more than at that moment.

Yes, the cliff divers really DO exist!

The entertainment value of the gunfight was right up there with Charlie Sheen. Only instead of it ending in a metaphorical dive of a career, it ended with a literal dive. What a shocker!

How can you go to Casa Bonita and not try Black Bart's Cave?

It was terrifying.

I had my flash on, but yeah, the attention to detail in Black Bart's cave is really what makes me want to go back to Casa Bonita.

Manbearpig?

I haven't seen something that big and hairy behind bars since I let Kirstie Alley out of my dungeon last week! Ayo!

This is what Casa Bonita...and I'm assuming all of Mexico look like.

You know you suck at being a teenager when the only pictures of a backside that you can get are ones of water.

Pure authentic Mexican beauty.

...and then there's this.

Here's the stage for all of their fantastic entertainment. Personally, I felt it lacked way too much Lil B-The Based God.

And this just about sums up how awesome the whole experience was.

Here, knock yourself out with some Elitch Gardens.

And if Elitch doesn't suit your fancy, maybe these shoes with their "awesome" logo will.

Anyways, I'm still very split on whether I enjoyed Casa Bonita. On one hand, there wasn't much to do and the food was, as the Germans put it, shiza, but on the other hand, it was freakin Casa Bonita!!! It was definitely an experience, and it does make Colorado about 10x more awesome, so it has that going for it. I say, if you're ever in the Denver area, you should go, because it gives you awesome stories to tell your friends back home. The camp value to it is simply far too amazing to pass up!

For a restaurant this looks awesome. Also, based on personal experiences, with Mexican food you need to go with either fast food or REALLY NICE FOOD... There can be no in between.

^^Chipotle is basically all I need.

^And yeah, I was also pretty amazed at exactly how accurate South Park was. I mean, the fact that Black Bart's Cave really existed basically made my life. Thanks!

It's definitely one of those places where you cant tell if it's supposed to be awesome or cheesy.

This place looks amazing! The south park episode is spot on!

I had never seen the South Park episode so I just went and watched it. The show seems almost spot on from your pics. Great stuff.

Thanks, all. Yeah, seeing as Trey Parker and Matt Stone lived in CO for a while (and might still do, I'm not sure), it's interesting seeing how many of the places in South Park actually exist. In the hotel that I stayed at, there was a brochure for Cave of the Winds (which was featured in the Manbearpig episode).

^ Cave of the winds is right outside of Colorado Springs. Pretty much every place South Park puts in exists, and is really accurate. I even went to South Park a couple years ago

Casa Bonita is... crap, but you must go once in your life just to get the experience.

Actually... if you take out Black Bart's, the divers, and the god awful ski ball, the pictures with the Palm Trees reminded me a bot of a ghetto version of EPCOT'S Mexico Pavilion.

^To be honest, that's exactly what I was thinking that it felt like while I was inside there.

Nice, the Casa Bonita episode is one of my fave South Park's along with Mr Hanky, Cartman buys an amusement and the first Timmy episode. I was amazed when someone told me the place is real.

I'd love to go there.

^^Chipotle is basically all I need.

^And yeah, I was also pretty amazed at exactly how accurate South Park was. I mean, the fact that Black Bart's Cave really existed basically made my life. Thanks!

You live in LA and Chipotle is "all you need" for Mexican food???

Awesome! I have always wanted to visit this place simply for the kitch factor. Any pics of the food? What did you have that was *that* horrible?

^^Chipotle is basically all I need.

^And yeah, I was also pretty amazed at exactly how accurate South Park was. I mean, the fact that Black Bart's Cave really existed basically made my life. Thanks!

 

You live in LA and Chipotle is "all you need" for Mexican food???

All right, it does the job, but Poquito Mas, basically any taco truck, Kay n' Daves, and almost any Mexican place besides Taco Bell and Campos go above and beyond for me.

^I didn't get any pics of the food, but I had the fajitas and the chicken kinda felt like eating rubber. It was expensive, too! I think my meal cost like 13 bucks for something that really just didn't taste good at all. Also, my little brother is a vegetarian and ordered the bean and cheese burrito, and for some reason, there was pork in it. And the woman there was trying to convince us that, "it was not meat, it's pork." And then she asked if he wanted chicken to replace the pork. It was great.

I will say one good thing about their food, though, those sopapillas are really freaking delicious.

More sopapillas please!

Totally awesome stuff!!! Love that episode.

Too bad the food sucked though.

I've never had Chipotle, is it any good for "faux" mexican food? I generally prefer Chuy's for all my "gringo" Mexican food.

Living in SoCal we have some of the best local authentic mexican restaurants without ever having to go to a chain restaurant.

^ In my opinion Chipotle is very good if your looking for some quick food to go, but as far as authenticity goes... not so much. I will honestly say this forever, but the best Mexican food I have EVER had ANYWHERE was from a taco truck in Mexico. I was there for a mission trip with my family and the group from my old church, and we all loved it.That being said, my family does not eat out too much and I am relatively broke, so I could be missing quite a bit as I dont eat awesome mexican food too much, but yeah, Chipotle is one of my favorites as well.

Totally awesome stuff!!! Love that episode.

 

Too bad the food sucked though.

 

I've never had Chipotle, is it any good for "faux" mexican food? I generally prefer Chuy's for all my "gringo" Mexican food.

 

Living in SoCal we have some of the best local authentic mexican restaurants without ever having to go to a chain restaurant.

Yeah, I mean, there are plenty of awesome alternatives to Chipotle, but I love it (I've even been to the world's first, which is also in Denver). It's pretty cheap, really filling, tastes delicious, and is one of the closest restaurants to my school, so I end up going there a lot. It's certainly as white as Mexican food can get, and I have a lot of friends that can't stand it, but it works for me. But really, if I want tacos, almost any Taco truck will have just absolutely amazing stuff.

THE SHERIFF IS A NI-*dooooooooooooong*

^Nagger?