Rivera's Mexican Restaurant

12047 Blondo Street
402-932-1381

Open Tues–Sat for lunch & dinner but closed 2–5 p.m., also closed Sun and Mon
riverasmf.com/

I approach any visit to northwest Omaha much like an alien coming across Earth for the first time. "There's a whole ecosystem out here, a whole other world! It's astounding!" I'm known to mutter to my passenger. Then, once I've loaded up whatever Craigslist find sold to me by some bloke living in a windowless structure with newer beige siding, I think, "I should eat since I'm not out here too often."

Thus, Rivera's has become a favorite stop on this edge of town.

After a handful of visits, I wouldn't use the word "classy" to describe the staff. But while each server's diner-meets-dive bar demeanor can only be her own, it's not the group's fault the ownership outfits them in T-shirts emblazoned with the embarrassing phrase: So Authentic, It Should Be Illegal.

Feeling like a washed-up shadow of my former outraged young self, I sit and eat. I watch people clothed in these obnoxious tees march to and fro, holding hot plates piled high, craning my neck to get a look as my dining buddy and I remark to each other, "that one looks good." I want to boycott the place, but can't seem to care enough. Apathy has taken over in the PC-minefield of 2016, not to mention there's rich, cheesy food to be had.

Enchiladas Suizas

Nachos

The nachos are enough for two full meals, chips pleasantly on the thin side with the cheese, meat, and beans assembled in a scarcely seen harmonious balance. With a plate of enchiladas Suizas in front of me, a traditional dish named for the copious amounts of cream and cheese seen in Swiss-style cuisine, I shudder to think of the number of middle-aged humans who have made the quip, "This is low-calorie, right?!" before letting out a hearty guffaw at their own joke.

The bartender once cautioned us strongly against anything with the double red pepper emblem on the menu—I guess we looked like a couple o' pussies. That's fine. Though the beans and rice on every plate appear to be an afterthought as tasteless as the waitstaff's apparel, the selection of enchiladas dishes make this my go-to spot every time I suit up in my spacesuit and head out to northwest Omaha.

Enchiladas Potosinas

Chips n salza

Suizas again

Enchiladas Rancheras