Launched in July, 2005,
Rancho Allegre is one of the city's most commodious restaurants, a
yawning rancho sized restaurant serving vaquero sized portions.
Bright earth toned walls are festooned with art depicting life in Mexico
as well as Catholic images such as the Virgen De Guadalupe, the patron
saint of the Americas. A sprawling bar leaves a reminder that this
restaurant used to be a popular watering hole. An expansive menu
features both the culinary treasures of the Northern Mexican states as
well as several mariscos (seafood) entrees.
Your dining adventure
begins with complementary chips, salsa and a warm bean dip such as
served at restaurants specializing in the cuisine of Michoacan.
That bean dip is wholly unlike the cold, flavorless bean dip proffered
by food distributors. The salsa lacks the piquant bite of New
Mexican salsas but is quite tasty in its own right. Beans and rice
accompany each entree.
A crab enchilada entree
in which "real crab" was stuffed into corn tortillas reminded
me that crab doesn't necessarily taste that good when heated and covered
with cheese. Better than that mariscos offering is the carne asada
entree. A generous amount of carne asada is cut into strips and
served with guacamole. Slightly over-salted, it was tender, tasty
and terrific.
