Wednesday, June 16, 2004
New take on Mexican
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
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I've visited the Rancho Viejo Mexican Grill & Cantina a lot since it opened, lured by the beautiful job they've done on the old Ground Round building out on 419 just down from Tanglewood Mall.
This building has played a part in Roanoke’s restaurant history, operating as the Ground Round for a very long time (they're still probably fishing peanut shells out from under the tables). After the Ground Round closed, it became a seafood place — whose owners kept the bull's head from Ground Round on the dining room wall, which either confused the seafood eaters or perhaps gave it that surf-and-turf feel. Now decked out in rancho-Mexican style, you'd never know what went before. Colorful murals adorn the inside walls and there's a charming patio for dining outdoors.
The colorful menu features exciting new entrees not previously offered in these parts. The kitchen gets the dishes out so quickly you wonder how they do it, even when busy. And the Rancho Viejo has been quite busy, I can assure you.
There are the usual quick and cheap lunch specials: chile relleno tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajita, tacos, quesadilla and so forth, all in the $4.25-$5.50 range. Entrees arrive blazing hot and taste delicious.A healthy basket of warm chips and two types of dip accompany the meal. If you're like me you can barely eat your entree after gorging on the chips and dip.
For dinner entrees, the plate presentations burst with color and flavor. I've tried a few new things (for me) such as the polo loco, which I think means crazy chicken: grilled chicken breast marinated in a special sauce, served with flour or corn tortilla, rice and beans.
The Chori Pollo ranks as one of my favorite entrees. It consists of grilled chicken breast marinated in pineapple and topped with Mexican sausage and cheese, served with rice, beans and tortillas. It's mighty tasty and there's plenty of it, too. A fellow diner ordered the deep fried chimichangas, a large, square folded affair that was filled with beef tips and beans, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, nacho cheese, and guacomole. She couldn't eat it all, so we volunteered to help. It was enough for two.
There are combo dinners galore, priced in the $6.75-$7.50 range, and there are some very nice seafood entrees from the grill, too: quesadilla azteca (tortilla grilled, stuffed with cheese, mushrooms, shrimp, and beans). Then there are nearly a dozen other seafood entrees, with combinations of one thing and another, but shrimp seem to be the extent of seafood items.
Chicken and steak dishes abound, such as steak ranchero, tacos a la diabla, rancho vieja and carne asada. Pork entrees include costillas, chile verde, and chile Colarado, among others.
The wait staff is jovial, personable and attentive. The all-male waiters are striking in their blacks pants, patent leather black shoes and Rancho Viejo shirt.
I recently tried one of their advertised desserts, something called a three milk cake. I asked if it was made on premises but the language suddenly got in the way. When it arrived, it was fine, but looked a bit too perfectly-formed — perhaps machine-made. Does Sarah Lee do Mexican?
If you really want a dessert at a Mexican restaurant, you'd be hard-pressed to top Mrs. Galvan's creations at another Mexican eatery here in town: El Palenque out on Hershberger, though I apologize for promoting another restaurant in Rancho Viejo's review. Mrs. Frank Galvan has won numerous awards for her sweet creations, and I’m sure she could make a fortune selling to other restaurants.
This restaurant staff (and owner) really work to please. The place is spotless and run with clockwork efficiency. The people who go there seem to come back again and again. I'll be back as well.
Rancho Viejo Mexican Grill and Cantina
4065 Electric Road
Roanoke, Va. 24014
989-5437
