Del Rio is a nice, friendly Mexican restaurant next to E.W. James Supermarket. It’s nicely decorated inside with traditional Mexican colors and a nicely done mural on the main wall of the restaurant.

We were promptly greeted and escorted to our tables and a server was waiting to take our drink orders right away and serve the usual salsa and chips.

Del Rio has some items on the menu that I haven’t seen at other Mexican restaurants in the area, and I suppose that is the “Tex” influence. It also designates a couple of dishes as “hot” by putting a picture of a chili pepper next to the items. Only two had this designation, so I thought I would give one a try.

I’ve learned since writing about my experiences at local restaurants that I either have a iron stomach, or there isn’t much extra spicy food served locally. Of course, there are the buffalo wings with napalm coatings, but those don’t count because they are more marketing gimmick than food.

That said, I felt confident that I could handle their chili Colorado that had the mark of the pepper. My dinner companion ordered a traditional chicken burrito. Both were served with refried beans and rice.

I was surprised when the chili Colorado arrived on a plate next to the rice and beans.

It was soupy like a chili and had a few chunks of beef, but it’s hard to get much quantity serving it on a plate. Turns out, this is a good thing! Chili Colorado is very spicy and had my upper lip glistening with sweat beads very quickly. If I had a small bowl of this, I probably wouldn’t have been able to finish it. The folks at Del Rio know what they are doing when they portioned this meal. It was good, the meat was tender, the ingredients blended well to provide a innocent looking chili with a definite kick. If you’re in the mood for spicy, I recommend it.

The chicken burrito was good, but nothing to write much about. Pretty typical fare, served with rice and beans as par for the course.

Since my mouth was still simmering from the chili, an ice cream dessert was almost mandatory. I wasn’t disappointed with my choice.

It was a tasty pastry shell with a layer of apples topped with cinnamon ice cream. My only complaint is that the pastry and apples were overheated, which melted the ice cream too quickly. But that really wasn’t much of a problem because I didn’t linger over this wonderful finish to a very good meal.

Del Rio Tex Mex Grill

1620 Scottsville Road • 393-0103

Hours: Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Cost: $6.95 to $13.95

Libations: Beer, wine and liquor

Smoking: yes

– New restaurants are given a six-week grace period. Comments can be sent to Managing Editor Mike Alexieff by telephone at 783-3235 or by e-mail at malexieff@bgdailynews.com.