For dinner, we decided to forgo the route of having separate dishes (and there are many from which to choose), and ordered a smorgasbord of single items to try and sample as many as we could. We ordered an empanada, a hand-made corn tortilla stuffed with a filling (beef for us, $3.45); a tamale, a masa pocket stuffed with marinated pork and wrapped in a banana leaf ($1.99); a sope, served on a thick, fluffy tortilla with your choice of meat (we went with steak; $2.75); and a gordita, a corn tortilla stuffed with a meat and topped with cheese, lettuce and sour cream (we had chicken; $2.75).
I was worried that this wasn’t going to be enough food, most tamales and empanadas I’ve eaten in the past were smaller affairs, but my guest assured me we would be well fed, and I’m glad she did – all four of these items were much bigger than I had expected. Surprisingly, I was very taken with the chicken gordita, it has a delicious taste.
Our bill, prior to tipping, came to $48.12, and included a few starters, a tableful of dinner items and a couple of margaritas. El Rancho Tapatio also has a number of dessert dishes, many of them whipped up at the adjacent bakery – hopefully I’ll save some room next time to try one. I also want to make sure I go early on the weekend, to try to get some pozole soup.
El Rancho Tapatio 144 Burt Rd. (859) 373-9091 www.elranchotapatio.com 10 a.m. – 10 p.m. Mon. – Sun.
