MI RANCHITO

MI RANCHITO

Mi Ranchito replaces La Fiesta on Atwood Street. What a difference! The decor of Mi Ranchito is very nice, and such an upgrade from La Fiesta. They have enough room for a small bar, so that would be a nice touch once they get their liquor license. Coincidentely, Mi Ranchito is owned by the same family that owns Veracruz on Forbes.

Here's the review:

AMBIANCE

The inside is SO much nicer then La Fiesta . The hardwood floor is completely new and still smells like varnish. The wall decorations are nice and the painting matches nicely. However, I was a little disappointed that there weren't any Mexicans painted on the wall :(

Ambiance: 14/20

SERVICE

The service was good but nothing special. The waitress was nice and was a college student trying to make the dolla' dolla' bill y'all. You really cant expect too much here though.

Service: 12/20

FOOD

Chips: The chips were DELICIOUS! They were served warm and crunchy. The chips here are much better then the chips at Veracruz. That says a lot, considering the chips at Veracruz are really good.

Chips: 17/20

Salsa: The salsa was also delicious. This was the best salsa I tasted in a while! The salsa was a tantalizing combo of Pico De Gallo placed into the right amount of sauce. This made for the best salsa that was perfecetely balanced. The salsa didn't taste canned either, like several other things on their menu.

Salsa: 17/20

Guacomole: no, No, NO! The guacomole tasted like it was straight out of a grocery store. It didn't taste fresh, and it seems like Mi Ranchito just added some cilantro to the prepared mixture. I would have preferred the taste of fresh avocado's here. It seems like Mi Ranchito would take some advice from Chipotle here!

Guacomole: 5/20

Chicken Fajitas: Everything was good on this dish. The chicken was marinated nicely and hinted of lime zest. The chicken was also fresh and not too overly cooked or marinated. I really enjoyed the onions and peppers too, they weren't mushy and complimented the chicken nicely. HOWEVER, the flour tortillas are store bought! I can bet you $50 that the tortillas are the brand below:



Yes, I have tried them before!

Chicken Fajitas: 13/20

Enchiladas Rancheros with Mole Sauce: The enchiladas were ok. However, more lettuce and tomatoe were needed to accompany the heavy mole sauce. The mole sauce was good, but was missing "something" to give it more kick. Just like the Chicken Fajitas, the chicken was cooked perfecetely. If you come to this Restaurant, order Chicken!

Overall: 13/20

Side Dishes: The side dishes are not good, not good at all. The rice tastes like Uncle Bens rice and the peas in the rice are shrivelled. The beans were worst! The beans tasted like soup and had zero flavor! This is unfortunate here, because Mi Ranchito has the tools to compete with Mad Mex.

Side Dishes: 4/20

OVERALL: If you go to Mi Ranchito, order the chicken! However, don't expect much from the side dishes. Mi Ranchito should learn cook their side dishes instead of buying them from Giant Eagle and nuking them in the microwave.

Me and Sarah had fun at dinner too. Mi Ranchito has great atmosphere and is not overwhelming like Mad Mex. You can have good dinner conversation because the tables aren't so close like they are at, cough, Mad Mex. We certainly did. Even though Sarah got sick after dinner, sorry Sarah :(, we still had a good time.

Mi Ranchito has the potential to compete with Mad Mex, but they need to open a small bar and work on the side dishes. La Fiesta failed because the competition always goes to Mad Mex for the adult beverages, so hopefully Mi Ranchito wont succumb to the same fate. I like Veracruz so I wish Mi Ranchito the best of luck!

Overall: 12/20