Rio Picante has opened in the old Tortilla Factory location at 203 W. 2nd St. When you enter, to your left you will notice the Tortilla Room, a glass-enclosed room used for the purpose of making fresh tortillas.
The interior of the restaurant looks nice and I like how they have made a separate area for the hostess station.
The chips are nothing special; simply out-of-the-bag tri-colored chips (some of the light colored chips were a bit stale). However, we both liked the salsa. Even Wayne, who usually doesn’t care for the regular salsas because he doesn’t like the heavy tomato taste, liked it. He did try the hotter salsa and found it to be quite good, although not as hot as the “inferno” he gets elsewhere. The salsas and guacamole are made in-house and I enjoyed the guacamole.
Rio Picante has several appetizers including Mexi Sliders (4 mini sliders Mexican style, served on sweet rolls topped with Mexican cheese and served with Chipotle mayo and Yuca fries), $6.99 and Rio Wing Pollo (chicken wings with Honey Pepper sauce), priced at six for $7.99 or 12 for $11.99.
Entrees such as three Enchiladas ($10.99), two Burritos ($9.99) and three Tacos ($11.99) are served with refried beans and cilantro lime rice. You may prefer one of the house specialties that include Rio Pork Baracoa (an intense rub of spices and juices rubbed over pork, slow cooked for hours, then hand shredded), $14.99.
The soups and salad descriptions sounded wonderful – Rio Chorizo Chili, Roasted Poblano Potato Soup (bowls $4.99, cups $2.99 – if with entree a cup is $1.99), Chimichurri Steak Salad – see what I mean? As side items, they offer Camote (Mexican Sweet Potato) and Yuca Fries among others.
Wayne and I decided to share an order of the Fajitas (serving for one $11.99, for two $18.99). It appears they do not offer the “mixed” beef, chicken and shrimp as we usually order, so we opted for the beef. The beef was steak pieces (wider than I have been served anywhere) that were deliciously juicy and tender – we loved the taste! It was cooked with red and green bell peppers and plenty of onions. I did notice there were no tomatoes, but that was fine because Wayne doesn’t care for them anyway. It is served with Rio Picante Salsa, Guacamole, Cilantro Lime Rice, Refried Beans and Mexican sour cream. We were each given four tortillas. We would definitely order these again.
The beans were basically like the ones served by everyone else. I did not care for the rice, as it was so very, very dry. I left the rice.
Rio Picante has a luncheon menu that is served from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. with prices ranging from $6.99 to $7.29, served with the rice and beans. Just a few of the luncheon items are Chili Rellenos, Rio Taco Grande and Taco Salad.
OK – here’s my only real complaint. $7.99 for a piece of cheesecake that was not that large! Yikes! I hadn’t looked at the dessert part of the menu and our very nice server (Grant, who did an excellent job) told us about the desserts. We thought the Jalapeno Cheese Cake sounded intriguing so we bought a piece to take with us for later. When I took it out of the bag, I was surprised it was so small (now that I look at the menu, it says “enough for two”), and then I looked at the bill and realized we paid $7.99. It was a New York style cheesecake topped with house-made jalapeno syrup/sauce. Actually, it was very good and I would have no problem eating it again, but for $7.99 I’ll have to pass.
Rio Picante also offers a kids menu featuring tacos, quesadillas, pizza and more, all priced at $4.99 (includes sides).
And don’t forget, they have redone the rooftop bar for your enjoyment.
Hours for Rio Picante are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. until 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 12 a.m., and Sunday until 10 p.m.
We really enjoyed the food and will go back for another visit.
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cdojanet@chattanoogadineout.com