RIO GRANDE – Football and wings just seem to go together. Award-winning wings with spectacular sauces? Even better.
Chef Richard Rutherford has created several hot sauces including “RedRum,” “Mango Habanero” and “Honey, I’m Home,” among others. Each of these are prepared from scratch using hot peppers grown in Ellie’s Gardens. In addition to being added to wing orders, the sauces are available at the table upon request.
Ellie’s Gardens is the name Chef and his long-time girlfriend Elizabeth Franco have given the gardens where they grow the hot peppers that are used in the sauces. This season they have produced over 20 different varieties of hot peppers including jalapeno, habanero and the hottest pepper in the world: the Carolina Reaper. Many of the varieties have been incorporated into recipes used at the Rio.
In addition to hot peppers, Ellie’s Gardens has produced eggplant, tomatoes and more for use in the restaurant kitchen. This helps to ensure using the freshest ingredients in the Rio’s meals, where almost everything on the menu is made from scratch.
Rio Station is located just outside of the Grande Center Mall at Rt. 9 & 47, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night, seven days a week starting at 7:30 a.m.