¡Bienvenida a la aldea! Welcome to the village!
Ahora comamos: let’s eat.
The Rio Grande Mexican restaurant opened for business at 510 Oswego St., on Oct. 4, National Taco Day. Business was brisk over the next several days as customers flocked in to sample the authentic south of the border cuisine at both lunch and dinner.
Rio Grande rockin’
Diners have one tough task: deciding what to order.
The Rio Grande boasts an extensive six-page menu, so the choices are so many and mouthwatering that it’s hard to know where to start. Tostadas, tacos or tamales? Chalupa or chimichangas? Chile pablanos or chile relleno? Fajitas, burritos or quesadillas? How about the whole enchilada?
I decided to start simply, ordering a heaping bowl of chicken soup. The vegetables — green peppers, onions, tomates, carrots — were fresh, the broth pleasantly spicy and the generous slices of white chicken moist and tender. Before I even ordered, I was served a generous portion of warm nachos and tomato salsa, which traditionally precede every meal.
The next day I hungrily devoured quesadilla rojas stuffed with chicken served on a bed of rice with a side of lettuce and tomato topped with sour cream. Swimming in a dollop of the Rio’s “supreme sauce,” my quesadilla practically melted on my tongue. Scrumptious!
Extensive menu
Other choices run the gamut from a basic burrito lunch with rice and beans or huevos con chorizo (eggs and sausage) to dinner plates such as the mammoth “Molcajete” (volcanic plate), with your choice of steak, chicken, shrimp or catfish onions, tomatoes, cilantro, veggies and fresh cheese. Other special dinners include “La Bandera,” three different enchiladas with rice and guacamole and “Pizza Sincronizada,” a grilled tortilla sandwich stuffed with chicken and ham covered with nacho cheese.
Customers can season their meals with either a red El Yucateco hot sauce or a decidedly hotter green chile habanero sauce
The menu offers plenty of vegetarian dishes, lots of combination plates, nine children’s entrees and several all-American foods including hamburgers, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and a T-bone steak served with fries, salad and garlic bread.
Fried ice cream!
Make sure to save room for dessert. Flan is a traditional Mexican custard, xangos are cheesecakes wrapped in a tortilla fried and dusted with cinnamon and sugar and sopapillas are freshly fried puffy sugared pastries. Hey, the Rio Grande even serves fried ice cream!
Prices are economical at the Rio. An entire family of four could easily enjoy a memorable meal for less than $60. Restaurant manager Angel Reyes leads a fast-paced and friendly staff of chefs and servers, who are invariably pleasant, personable and ready help you negotiate the massive menu.
The Rio Grande here has yet to secure its liquor license, but cerveza and tequila are just around the corner. While you’re waiting for that frozen margarita or a mug or Dos Equis lager, you might enjoy a bottle of Jarritos soda from Guadalajara, in flavors ranging from mango and mandarin to tamarind and sangria señorial.
Liverpool’s newest eatery is affiliated with the Rio Grande Mexican restaurant in Warsaw, N.Y., which celebrated its first anniversary in Western New York, on July 27, with a performance by a live mariachi band. ¡Salud!
The Rio Grande is open for business from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and, of course, take-out is always an option; dial 802-2579.
Drumming on Lake Drive
The Liverpool Art Center hosts a Women’s Gathering from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16 featuring a special drum circle at 101 Lake Drive, just off First Street. Art Center director Sandi Fioramonti-Sabene will welcome Healing Waters Woman and her Lakota sister, Elizabeth Mason to celebrate with song, prayer and love.
“And if we’re lucky,” Sandi said, “someone will dance.”
The center’s regular drum circle meets on the third Friday of each month, and participants pay $10 to reserve a Djembe drum or $5 if you bring your own instrument. “Beginning drummers are warmly welcomed,” Sandi said.
Another special event is planned at LAC for Nov. 4, when Rusted Root percussionist Jim Donovan returns to conduct a drum circle. Admission will cost $35 in advance or $45 the the door; liverpoolartcenter.com; 234-9333.
The columnist can be contacted at [email protected].
