October 25, 2008 by chad.

Rancho Grande

1004 Hwy 55 West

Buffalo, MN 55313

Robin and I were in Annadale staying Thayer’s Historic Bed and Breakfast in Annadale a few months ago and upon the recommendation of Sharon Gammel the proprietor we hoofed it down to Buffalo to experience the authenticity of Rancho Grande for ourselves. Story has it that they were originally located in a very small restaurant space and they relocated because they were literally bursting at the seams. That is what tripped my interest in reviewing Rancho Grande.

Food: 8

If you are looking for signature dishes of a restaurant you can ask the server, but often times they have been couched on only a few of the dishes (Most of them are at the top end of the menu price). I cannot emphasis enough how refreshing it is when a restaurant marks their signature dishes in the menu itself. If I have a limited time and no knowledge of a restaurant, theere is no time to try it all.

For the review I was looking for something meaty and well balanced. That was most definitely found with their Enchiladas Rancheras. A lot of Mexican restaurants will have the staples included in this meal: three cheese enchiladas and rice and bean. What really made this meal phenomenal was what came on top of the enchiladas. It was topped a healthy pile of fried shredded pork, sweet grilled tomatoes, bell peppers and onions. Then add to it a seasoning that is not outstandingly hot, but robust, and you have an outstanding meal. It provided a great expanse of flavors that hit different taste buds at different moments with every bite. It was thoroughly enjoyable and almost never duplicated. It was one of those meals you wanted to eat past the third bite because you knew it was going to be different than the last. That is what food should taste like!

Enchiladas on their own are a quite simple item, it is when creativity and a flair for taste is applied that it can be made into a very enjoyable experience.

Service: 2

Where they excelled in the food category, they failed in service. Outside of the host who graciously glided around the dining floor and back to the waiting area, our serving staff was very sub-par. Serving is an art. It is an art of timing. We were largely ignored for about 20 minutes before being approached for an order.(We did get the cursory chips and salsa though) We had to place out beverage order twice because it was forgotten. To top it off we needed to prompt someone to give us our bill. Isolated experience? I do not know. All I can say is what I saw. This definitely needs to be addressed in training and/or employee reviews because service is a piece of the equation that equals a superior dining experience.

Atmophere: 6

The dining area of the restaurant is split into two sections by a rather creative and fun way. The ceilings and walls are painted in a night and day scene. The bar section was painted in the night scene with stars moon and other interesting artifacts. The main dining area was obviously the day. This definitely distracted from that fact that it was basically a big open room. It’s loud when the tables are full and a booth is really the only source or relative intimate dining. Plastic chili peppers and other decorative schlock adorns the walls, but it is more there to add three dimensions to the wall murals. It is still designed with a fun theme that children and adults would enjoy.

Overall: 5

The food was outstanding. If that was all I was reviewing then this would likely be one of the top Mexican restaurants I ever ate at. Unfortunately, the significant lack of quality service was a big hindrance to the overall enjoyment of the experience. What can I say? Hopefully my experience with the service was an isolated occasion, but I walked away from it thinking that if given the chance to go there again…I just might pass on it.

There was no picture for this location on MinnesotaRestaurantSearch.com, but there are a couple of them for their other two locations in Alberville and Monticello.

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October 15, 2008 by chad.

Everyone has one or maybe I am an exception to the rule. I place a lot of importance on a good coffee cup. It usually has meaning to me otherwise it would be just another cup. I’ve passed on a lot of promotional coffee cups because despite the businesses desire to put their name in front of me every morning, I have no connection.\

This morning in the rush for the door to get Keiran out to the bus stop, I lost an important piece of fanboy memorabilia. While holding up two coats for my daughter to pick from she excitedly flailed her arms wide. In the path of the melee was my official Highlander coffee mug full to the brim with Hills Brothers Original Blend and Cub brand French Vanilla creamer (In the interest of future sponsorship of this blog I am shamelessly making a product placement.).  She tipped it over and it splashed all over the entryway table, 2 pairs of her shoes and anything else in its path. Then, if that was not enough, before I could dive heroically to it’s rescue, that official Highlander mug rolled off the table and met with the immovable and uncaring wood flooring shattering it into bits and pieces. Now, I am thankful that Genevieve was neither burned nor hit by the shattered remains, but…with the destruction of that one piece of memorabilia I have lost my daily reminder than I was once a fanboy of the Highlander movies and series.

Before I started dating my wife I was a fan of the movies but did not start to get really into it until just around the time Robin and I started dating. Well, it was around that time anyway. For x-mas one year my parents bought me a bunch of Highlander stuff from the catalog. The tee-shirts shrunk or met their demise through overuse. The VHS tapes are probably close to dead buried back in the darkest corner of the entertainment center and are dead really only because they are VHS and not DVD. The movie jacket I had got into a fight with battery acid and never was the same. No, the only real constant reminder of my fandom was that mug.

Well, luckily I still have a bunch of other memories to drink from. Not the least of which was a mug I got from a college friend for another x-mas gift back in 1992. (Still got it Jenny!) It is amazing to think that we have things like this coffee cup all around us holding memories. Raise your coffee today and toast the demise of a good cup and the fanboy I once was.

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