-- At Taco Rio, the margarita starts long before it reaches the table.
It starts with a lime. And apparently, a lot of them.
According to Taco Rio's fruit delivery vendor, the restaurant squeezes more limes than 99 percent of the nightclubs in Chicago. For a taco restaurant on the Chicago Riverwalk, that's an unusually impressive amount of citrus. But the number isn't really a coincidence.
Fresh lime juice is one of the defining ingredients in Taco Rio's cocktail program, where the team has made a point of avoiding artificial sweeteners and syrups in favor of fresh ingredients. It takes more preparation and more product, but the owners believe customers can taste the difference.
And at Taco Rio, that attention to quality goes well beyond the bar.
The restaurant sits directly on the Chicago Riverwalk, where customers come for tacos, cocktails, music and the waterfront atmosphere. During the busy summer months, the space can become a lively destination of its own.
Behind the scenes, however, keeping that experience going takes a surprising amount of work. Fresh ingredients have to be delivered, stored and prepared every day. The kitchen has its own supply of meat and produce to manage, while the bar keeps up with cocktail orders.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, someone has to squeeze all those limes.
From Kayaks to Tacos
The story behind Taco Rio is perhaps just as interesting as the restaurant itself.
When the owners opened the restaurant, they weren't longtime restaurant operators. They had spent the previous 12 years running Urban Kayaks, the Chicago River business they founded with a small fleet of kayaks and a shipping container.
They knew the river. And they knew how to run a business on it.
But restaurants were completely new territory. Food costs, waste, ingredients, staffing and kitchen management all became part of the learning process. Four seasons into Taco Rio, the owners say they're still learning.
Their approach has been to keep improving the business while maintaining their focus on quality.
That means buying high-quality meat, paying attention to fresh ingredients and refusing to take shortcuts simply because they're easier.The lime is perhaps the clearest example.
Fresh lime juice requires more work than an artificial alternative. It means more preparation, more fresh product and, apparently, an extraordinary number of limes.
But that's the point.
More Than Margaritas
The lime statistic may be the most surprising thing about Taco Rio, but it's only one part of what the restaurant has built on the Riverwalk.
The restaurant's kitchen is led by chef Miguel Rodriguez, who is running his first kitchen after working at numerous restaurants. The owners credit him with helping develop Taco Rio's menu. The bar is led by general manager Matt Nakano, who develops the cocktail recipes.
Together, the kitchen and bar reflect the same philosophy: don't skimp on the ingredients, and give customers something that feels worth the price.
That philosophy continues to evolve with the restaurant itself.
Taco Rio has expanded beyond its original taco-and-margarita identity, now offering burgers as well. Music and shows add another layer to the Riverwalk experience, giving customers another reason to stay awhile.
Still, the margaritas remain a major part of the story. And the limes keep coming.
A Lot of Limes for a Bigger Story
It's easy to laugh at the idea that a taco restaurant could be squeezing more limes than 99 percent of Chicago's nightclubs.
But the number reveals something about Taco Rio.
It reflects a restaurant that has grown from an unexpected second act for two longtime River business owners into a full-scale food and drink operation. It reflects their willingness to put in the extra work for fresh ingredients. And it reflects just how much is happening behind the scenes of a restaurant that, from the customer's perspective, can feel effortless.
The Riverwalk, the tacos, the margaritas and the music are the visible parts of the experience. Behind them is a steady stream of fresh ingredients being delivered, prepared and turned into the food and drinks coming out of the kitchen and bar.
Especially the limes. Lots and lots of limes.
For Taco Rio, that may be one of the best measures of how far the restaurant has come.
Contact Info:
Name: Aaron Gershenzon
Email: Send Email
Organization: TacoRio
Website: https://www.tacorio.com/
Release ID: 89201531
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