Rio Tomatlan

Last night I went out with Loverman’s family to what one of his sisters called “a new Mexican place in Canandaigua.” It turns out the place, Rio Tomatlan, is not a new restaurant but instead an existing restaurant (formerly called El Rincon Mexicano Dos) under new management, though I had never gone to the old restaurant. I looked at some website reviews on a few sites (most notably on RocWiki, which is a wonderful resource for Rochester and the Finger Lakes), all of which praised the restaurant with fairly minor, if any, critiques. Thusly, I expected we would all be in for a great dining experience. I am sorry to say, this was not the case.

Things did start on a very positive note, I must say. Since I have a gluten sensitivity, I tried to look up their menu online so I could prepare myself for what “safe” options I had, however as of the time of my searching, the website was down. Still, I did find a phone number, so I called. I let them know my concerns and also that their website was not working. The woman I spoke to went through some items that she knew I should avoid, and then also checked with a waiter who was formerly kitchen staff to check if a dish made with wheat tortillas (which I cannot have) could be made with corn tortillas (which are safe). She did address the questions that I had about the sources for some of their products as well. She also let me know that the options were clearly labeled on the menu. This was greatly appreciated.

Parking is all on the street, but downtown Canandaigua is, for lack of a better word quaint, so that is not such a big deal. The restaurant looks like a hole-in-the-wall but inside it was quite pretty, decked out with saints-candles and various Mexican art pieces. We did have to make reservations just to get seated, which was a little surprising. We did arrive a little early, so we had to wait for a table, but hey, we were early – no biggie.

Once we were seated, things did start to go downhill a bit. The seats were just fine and, as mentioned, the décor quite fun. The temperature, however, was unacceptable: Winter in the Finger Lakes is frigid, and that night on the drive over we observed the temperature on the dashboard thermometer to be a bitter 2 degrees Fahrenheit. We were seated near a wall of block glass windows, and cold air was just blasting through. I was wearing a button-up shirt and a sweater with Loverman’s leather jacket over my shoulders and my scarf wrapped around me and I was still freezing. One of Loverman’s sisters had a scarf around her neck and took a serape that was draped on her bench and spread it across her lap as a blanket; his other sister used her coat as a blanket.

Our waiter was polite and friendly, and he answered my questions about food items with patience. We ordered our meal with three of our party ordering margaritas and one ordering coffee. There were several options for me, but I opted for a special of carne asada – steak tacos in corn tortillas with peppery rice and refried beans. We did order chips and salsa for an appetizer.

And then we waited. And waited and waited and waited. Eventually, the chips and salsa came, though the drink orders had not (we did, however, all have water at our places already). The salsa was a bit spicy for my tastes, but I am admittedly a wuss when it comes to spice; still, the flavor was good, and it was not just spice for spice’s sake.

And then we waited some more. And waited and waited and waited. Eventually the coffee came. And then we waited a bit more. In time, the margaritas came, each exactly as ordered.

Our reservation was at 8PM, and it was not too long after that that we ordered. Out entrees did not come out till 9:30. I do believe that good food takes time, and although I understand that the restaurant was busy and that all these meals take time to put together, to me a wait time of an hour and a half is unacceptable.

I will say that once the food arrived, it was pretty good. My main complaints are again, the spice was a bit too much for my taste (again, remember I am a spice-wuss), but also that the steak was a bit ropy – I am not against chewy meat (or, as Top Chef Las Vegas finalist Kevin would say, “toothsome”), but this was just too much. Despite this, I didn’t find these things to be so egregious that the food was unpleasant. Reviews I have read state that this food is authentic Mexican, but as I have never been to Mexico, I can hardly be the judge of authenticity; I just know that once the food finally got there, it was pretty darn good.

After having read several positive reviews, I was admittedly disappointed. Still, I would like to think that perhaps this was just an off-night for the place: after all, the place was clean and appealing (the bathrooms had mouthwash!), the staff were friendly and responsive, and even though the wait time was far too long, the waiter did continue to check in on us to let us know the status of our various items and to refill our waters. If I do find myself back in Canandaigua around meal time, I would be open to giving them another shot – though preferably once the weather warms up, to be safe.