The food: A la carte "open-faced" tacos - 1 steak, 1 braised pork, 1 pan-seared mahi
ChrisW: John and I enjoyed our tacos on the back patio and were joined by our wonderful ladies. The rio back patio is pretty nice with a huge concrete fountain in the middle of a patio surrounded by plants and ornate metal gates. The rio always has lots of patrons, so it is always a fun atmosphere. I will note that we all found it difficult to go to the Rio without ordering margaritas. We ordered tacos a la carte so that we could mix and match, even though it ended up being fairly expensive that way. I'll start by saying the warm, stretchy, doughy, handmade tortillas were awesome. The inside of the tacos left a bit to be desired, though. The steak taco was literally just a few chunks of steak (which were tasty) and some red sauce. The pork taco came with grilled pineapple and salsa and the mahi taco was served with a mango salsa. While these tacos and their ingredients looked great on the menu, the actual food (tortilla aside) fell flat. Like most Rio food, I got the impression of Mexican food that I might have made in my college dorm by throwing unseasoned, sauted meat and generic grocery salsas and such into a tortilla.
ChrisW overall rating: 5/10
I had the Pork, Fish, and Chicken Tacos.
ReplyDeleteThe Chicken and Pork Taco's were both served on a homemade flour tortilla. The flour tortilla was thin and simple, with simple being a good trait. The Chicken taco was cubed chicken, sauce, and a flour tortilla. The chicken was pretty plain, relying on the sauce to bring the flavor. This taco could have been much better with some additional toppings. The Pork taco was better, but primarily due to the addition of toppings. The pork was very fatty, and thus delicious, but it's seasoning was mild if any. This taco was saved by the addition of onions, poblanos, pineapple, and a nice sauce. The fish taco was the best of the day. The fish taco came on a corn tortilla that wasn't homemade, but wasn't bad either, just your average corn tortilla. The fish was cooked nicely and not overdone, with a very mild marinade if any. This taco also had onions, poblanos, and I believe mango? It made for a good taco.
Chicken 4/10
Pork 5/10
Fish 7/10
Tostados y Salsa:
The chips are thin with very lite salt. They are lightly friend and not too greasy. The salsa is served cold, has a touch of spice, and is blended to 2mm chunks.
Chips 7/10
Salsa 7/10