Rio Cafe in Tucson, Arizona: Restaurant Review

Rio Caf©, located at Grant and Tucson Boulevard, has had a recent facelift in the form of some exterior painting, so it's a little easier to find the blue building with the chalet-style roof. Since I last visited, the small lounge/waiting area by the bar has benefited from the addition of a few two-top tables.

And that's not the only thing that has changed at Rio Caf©.

First, there was the live music. A three-piece quasi-mariachi/Latin folksinging group clustered at the front of the restaurant played well, but rather loudly for those trying to hold a successful dinner conversation. Hearing a dinner partner meant a lot of bending forward and saying, "Sorry? I didn't catch that."

Then there was the fact that we were no longer the only people in the restaurant. In trips past, the place was practically empty, with maybe one other couple and a busboy nursing a drink at the small bar. This time, the dining area was more than half full. Rio Caf©'s demographic seemed to skew to the age 45+ crowd, and my dining partner and I felt a little out of place. I'm glad that Rio Caf© has at long last found some demographic to keep them in business, but unfortunately, the energy level of the dining crowd at Rio Caf© seemed to match the energy level of the food that was to come.

We skipped the appetizers and ordered drinks and entrees: for my friend, a martini and the Carne Asada and Shrimp Brochette; for me, a "Rio" frozen margarita made with top shelf liquors, and the Carne a la Mantequilla de Pasilla. The drinks were fine, though the floral scent associated with mine made me wish I'd ordered a non-specialty margarita.

When our food arrived after a reasonable amount of time, I found myself considerably unimpressed with the visual presentation of both dishes. At $22, the Carne Asada and Shrimp Brochette was a small piece of marinated steak, a small side of plain black beans, a medium-sized helping of white rice, and two small flour tortillas. My $18 Carne a la Mantequilla de Pasilla was not one eight ounce steak as described in the menu, but two different-sized pieces of steak. We'll call the pieces "small" and "smaller." I doubt both, weighed together, amounted to eight ounces, but they did look delicious, and I was looking forward to tasting them with the pasilla butter they were said to be cooked in. I also had with my entr©e a small serving of black beans and rice and the requisite small flour tortillas.

The anticipation of having a few bites of tender, medium rare beef was soon replaced by the horror of biting into what I can only describe as the saltiest thing I have ever tasted. I could discern none of the medium hotness of the pasilla butter, because my palate was screaming from the sodium overdose. I can only guess that the chef marinated the beef in some kind of salt and perhaps overdid it. It was appalling. When our waiter inquired about our meals, I remarked on the saltiness of the steak, and I was later brought a replacement piece. Unfortunately, the new piece was only marginally less salty, and it was also undercooked on the inside and charred on the outside in an obvious attempt to hurry the order along. I didn't have the heart to send it back again, and I ate it. After a couple of bites, my tongue was numb enough to fail to notice the salinity any longer.

And just so you know, having your taste buds assaulted with that much sodium will make your salt-rimmed margarita no more fun.

My friend's steak was, as she said, "good," though a little dry. The standout of the evening came from her plate, though: the bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp were outstanding. It took several bites to eat each one, and both the bacon and the shrimp itself were perfectly cooked-- no small feat. Rio Caf© should take the Shrimp Brochette off the "bit player" list and make it, at the very least, a featured appetizer. I, for one, am grateful that my friend doesn't eat bacon and passed the shrimp off to me; otherwise I could have missed out on the highlight of the evening.

For dessert, my friend and I shared a piece of Key Lime Pie, sitting atop a drizzled orange sauce that was rather sweet. Tasty, but a tad too sweet, even with the contrast of the relative tartness of the pie. It was a nice, light dessert, though. The portion size of the dessert, unlike the entr©e, was generous and we were glad we had shared rather than ordering our own.

This marks the third or fourth time I've visited Rio Caf© , and I don't think I'll be returning. My experiences have taught me that Rio Caf© has two methods of seasoning: under-seasoning and over-seasoning. Besides the seasoning issues, the unexciting ambience, and the price to quality (and portion-size) ratio, I can't find any compelling reason to keep giving Rio Caf© more chances.