Casa Bonita
One of the things I’ve always loved about South Park is that its creators, two Colorado boys named Trey Parker and Matt Stone, seem to have had a remarkably similar childhood to mine. As a lifelong Denver resident (until I moved to California about six months ago), I eat it up every time the show references the cult of John Elway (not to mention Mrs. Cartman’s tryst with the entire 1989 Denver Broncos team), shopping in Cherry Creek, DIA, mountain summer camps, or the dreariness of Colorado’s eastern neighbor, Nebraska. The absolute nadir of South Park’s authentic Colorado references, though, has to be the episode in which Cartman hatches an elaborate plot to incapacitate Butters so he can attend Kyle’s birthday party at the fabulous Casa Bonita.
The day after that episode aired, I spent much of lunch excitedly explaining to my coworkers that Casa Bonita (a Mexican restaurant-cum-theme park) is, in fact, a real place (cliff divers and all), and that I had actually been there as a child (as have many others who grew up attending children’s birthday parties in Denver). Everyone found the story so amusing that I’d been meaning to post about it my weblog for some time, but it looks like tonight Boing Boing beat me to the punch. Damn.
Can any other Coloradans out there think of other good Colorado references I’m missing? Maybe I’ll start compiling a page of them…
(Update: I emailed James Duncan Davidson about a totally unrelated issue, and in his response he related some additional info regarding Casa Bonita. It turns out that his hometown of Tulsa, OK also has a Casa Bonita, and that both restaurants were opened by Bill Waugh, who also founded the Taco Bueno fast food chain found throughout Texas and Oklahoma. Duncan and numerous others, including my Mom, also reminded me of something I really should have mentioned: just in case anybody’s thinking about paying a visit, don’t bother because the food is awful!)
July 22nd, 2005 at 4:32 am
It is not just the food at Casa Bonita. It’s the whole experience of the visit. The food although a little like a patio TV dinner is hot and enjoyable. The dining rooms, caves or the water fall are all interesting. Ever time you go you will see something different. The game room is a very fun time with your kids, if you will spend time and play games with them you can not help but have FUN. How many tickets did you have?
Over all the Casa Bonita experience in Tulsa, OK is a very good and money and time well spent with your family.
July 29th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
Correction. Casa Bonita’s food IS NOT AWFUL. True, it is not fancy shmancy nuevo, overpriced stuff. But it has great flavor and is made from good ingredients. The guacamole is first class. I eat it up.
King
October 5th, 2005 at 8:46 am
Unfortunately, the Casa Bonita in Tulsa closed last Friday, Sept. 30, 2005. All of Tulsa will miss it very much. You should have seen the lines of people waiting to get in for one last meal at Casa Bonita last week. One night they had to stop serving when they ran out of food! My family has many pleasant memories from parties and special occasions at this unique restaurant.
December 19th, 2005 at 7:32 am
I grew up in Denver but don’t live there anymore. Whenever I meet anyone else from Denver, one thing we both can always relate to is Casa Bonita. I think just about every kid who grew up in Denver went there. The three things I remember most vividly are Black Bart’s Hideout, the cliff divers, and raising the little flag to get more sopapillas.
Most other people who grew up in Denver many years ago probably also fondly remember Elitch’s, Lakeside, and Cinderella City. But kids growing up now won’t have these same memories.
April 14th, 2006 at 1:40 pm
I grew up going to the casa bonita in tulsa. the food is not awful. i love it. it was my favorite restaurant. are they going to re-open it? i cant believe that the people who didnt like their food shut it down..theres alot of places to eat in tulsa.. go somewhere else. gez.
May 1st, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Sometimes when I have too much time on my hands I start looking up old Denver area restaurants. Yes, Casa Bonita is still here and usually packed. I was thinking of a few other places that don’t exist any longer including Taco Bueno (Cinderella City), Hot Sam pretzels, Organ Grinder, Shakey’s Pizza, and Red Barn restaurants (burgers and chicken). The memories…..