Juicy’s River Café – we’re on a roll – fast, friendly food from people who care

Here's perspective on the day.  We went from this scene in Arizona:

to this in California:

When we reached Needles, CA, it was time to eat, and we plugged into Yelp to check out the local fare.  Juicy's had reviews that talked in terms of quality and service, rather than quantity, so we plugged the address into the GPS. 


Juicy’s comes close to Wilson’s BBQ on the Genuine scale.  The assistant manager waited on us.  The owner stopped by the table twice to do a quality check.  Even though we were in the middle of the desert, the food was fresh and tasty.  The restaurant was sparkling clean.  With half a hundred miles of wasteland behind us, and another hundred and fifty miles of nothing in front of us, the last thing you expect is a “diner” that presents itself so well.  Our nine-year-old ranked the server, Netta, as among the three best servers ever – which is saying a lot considering the number of restaurants we’ve eaten in with him.  Our son’s Juicy Burger – the new Baja Bacon Burger – fit the restaurant's name – juicy and delicious.  My Baja Chicken Wrap was also tasty, and I’ll pretend it was healthy as well.  My wife’s Southwestern Cobb Salad was, at the risk of repeating myself, surprising crisp and fresh.  Since it was 113 degrees F outside, the sight of fresh lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and green avocado – helped out by crispy bacon and black olives – was quite a surprise.  If you’re driving across the Mojave Desert, ignore the other restaurants and just stop here.

I would have posted a picture of the Baja Burger, but the son demolished it faster than I could get the picture taken, so trust me, it was of "craft services" quality in appearance and very tasty!