After the previous owners took out everything including the stove and refrigerator, Jeanne Harrison re-built Café Rio from the ground up. Photo by Chip Scheuer.
Two and a half years ago, Jeanne Harrison took over Café Rio and began renovations. Slowly, Harrison began introducing more gluten-free recipes, and two months ago brought in a new head chef, Jacob Wildman. “We used to go through 50 pounds of butter a week,” says Harrison, who worked 20 years at the restaurant as a server and manager under different owners. “Everything was very tasteful, but it just wasn’t the healthiest. Jacob has really come to the table with fresh everything. It’s all from scratch.”
SCW: What’s your favorite fish?
Jeanne Harrison: I love the sanddabs here, and the swordfish. Opakapaka is one of my favorites that’s not on my list, but we have it as a special. The swordfish is super moist and sort of a baseball cut. A lot of times you go to a restaurant, and they slice it super thin. Here it’s more of a filet. Sanddabs are a mainstay. Almost every table, someone will order sanddabs because you can’t get them anywhere, and they’re really tasty—a really white, delicate fish. We just lightly dust them with rice flour and then grill ‘em.
What’s the difference between a Mai Tai and your “High Tide”?
We have a special ingredient we put into ours that’s a mixture between orgeat syrup and orange curaçao. We mix that—a certain level of each one. You would be putting in the same amount of your well rum and that. Then we add juice, and we top it with 151 and Meyers. Everybody loves them here. I was in Hawaii, and we were on a Mai Tai adventure to see who made the best Mai Tai, and Trump Tower made the best one ever. They had amaretto in it.
How did you renovate this place?
The previous owners took everything—stove, refrigerator. There were no tables, chairs. It was completely gutted. We bought all new carpet. We redid all the wood, redid the bar, painted and put in a whole new kitchen. We retiled and re-plumbed everything. All new equipment.
What do you put in the dog treats?
They’re organic. We use whole-wheat rice flour because of the gluten-free thing. Peanut butter’s organic. Dogs love it. I can’t even keep up with it. I was just noticing I’m low again.
Do people ever try them?
All the time. They do! They go, “Oh, organic. It must be good for me,” and they’ll eat it. But it is. It would be like a drier cookie.
