10 South Park Secrets You Totally Missed

Casa Bonita is a fantastic South Park episode and definitely a contender for the top ten greatest. The episode sees Kyle going to celebrate his birthday at the popular Mexican restaraunt. He invites all the usual gang except Cartman who is replaced by Butters. Eric loves the eating establishment so much because of its delicious cuisine, cliff divers, puppet shows, scenery etc. and will go as far as abducting Butters if it means he can attend.

It may surprise some to know that Casa Bonita is a real restaurant and a beloved place of the directing team who would visit frequently during their childhood. Parker and Stone were given clarence from the owners to go ahead with using their name and likeness as long as their business was portrayed in a positive light. Animating director Eric Stough modelled the South Park version heavily on the real building and the show’s overall deception of the restaurant ended up being surprisingly accurate.

It’s no surprise that after the episode aired, Casa Bonita grew in popularity and their demographic expanded. And after seeing this tour guide video of the restaurant, you can really see why Cartman was so desperate to go there.