Posts Tagged ‘south side’

El Rancho Mexican Grill

Sunday, February 28th, 2016

I’m glad we have finally have a restaurant to take over the space long abandoned by I’m Here. That restaurant would be El Rancho Mexican Grill, which is one of six Mexican restaurants on or just off of South Park Street.

The format for ordering is similar to Qdoba and Chipotle. Pick your item, then the meat (barbacoa, carnitas, pollo, asada, ground beef and chorizo) and then the toppings (beans, rice, cheese, salsa; guacamole is 50 cents extra) as you move down the line.

The burrito ($6.95) was my favorite. With my selections of shredded beef, onions, cilantro and red (hot) salsa, it tasted just like a burrito from La Bamba. It’s pretty massive, too, meaning it can be a standalone meal.

For lighter fare, the oddly priced tacos ($2.25 or three for $6.95, which doesn’t make sense) are a good choice. You can get either flour or corn tortillas, and I recommend not going overboard with the toppings. I had mine with the Mexican sausage and steak, and I was happy that neither was dry.

Nachos, quesadillas and tortas comprise the rest of the menu. Get a beverage with the torta ($7.50). Meat (in this case, the very tender pulled pork), black beans and Mexican rice centering a large bun–while tasty and filling–will make you pretty thirsty.

El Rancho Mexican Grill is open seven days a week for lunch, dinner and carryout. Park on the street or in the Dunkin’ Donuts lot.

El Rancho Mexican Grill Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

JB’s Eat-A-Bite BBQ

Saturday, July 6th, 2013

The south end of Park Street has been seeing some new businesses sprout up recently, including JB’s Eat-A-Bite BBQ, which opened in the winter. It took over for the space once occupied by Mario’s Pizza and is adjacent to 7-Eleven.

The menu is full of wonderful southern items, from chicken gizzards to frog legs to candied yams. Of course, it has the staples, many of which are found in the sandwich section.

The BBQ pork shoulder ($5.99) was my favorite. It was tangy, tender and had just the right amount of fat. That made the BBQ beef brisket ($5.99) surprising, as it didn’t have any gristle and was a bit tougher than I would expect. Even without the right texture, the right flavor was still there. I also had the chopped steak burger ($6.99; it’s actually in patty form) and adored it. I was pleasantly surprised how tasty this was–it was a  like super soft sirloin steak.

From the “single orders” section I had the macaroni & cheese ($2.49), which was fairly ho-hum, and the alligator bites, which were fine on their own but needed some kind of dipping sauce.

The catfish fillets ($9.99), found on the dinner menu, were crispy yet moist. They were good straight up, though I added some hot sauce. The accompanying cornbread was disappointing, however, as it was dry and didn’t taste like or resemble cornbread.

Last but not least, the ribs ($17.99 for a full rack). You could taste the smokiness of the ribs through the tangy sauce. I appreciated that there was plenty of meat on the bones. It wasn’t fall-of-the-bone good, but these are still worth a try.

JB’s Eat-a-Bite is open Tuesday-Sunday for dine-in or carryout. I recommend calling ahead, as sometimes they are out of ribs.

JB's Eat-A-Bite BBQ on Urbanspoon

The Egg and I

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

The Egg and I opened last month in the same development where Bonfyre is, near American TV. The chain restaurant is similar to a Denny’s or Perkin’s, except it only serves breakfast and lunch.

While the food was good, the terrible service left a bitter taste in my mouth. For some reason, the Egg and I had four hostesses at the entrance (plus the manager), yet I only counted three waitresses. We sat at our table for almost 10 minutes without any contact, which forced me to tell a hostess that we hadn’t been visited by a waitress yet.

Our waitress apologized to us without a decent excuse; I heard her apologize to her other tables as well. During the meal, which took a staggering 25 minutes to arrive (it’s just eggs, after all), two other waitresses dropped trays of dishes. I’m recommending that you wait another 3-4 months (if this place is even still open) to give the staff more time to train.

Now, on to the food. The corned beef hash ($8.79) was very good and definitely not out of a can. It was served with two eggs and a side of Hollandaise sauce, which surprisingly complemented the corned beef hash quite well. I added a side of bacon, and it was perfectly cooked in the seemingly hard-to-reach medium between too crispy and too soggy.

The waffles also were good–moist and tasty. In addition, I was pleased that there were a few flavors of coffee, all freshly ground and bottomless. I enjoyed my seasonal blend.

I would not recommend the Wisconsin Scramble ($7.29), which was three eggs scrambled with Swiss, Monterey Jack, Cheddar and cream cheese. It may sound good in theory, but in actuality, the dish is too soupy. Other skillets and scrambles include the Texas (includes steak) and the Athena (includes feta cheese and spinach).

The rest of the breakfast menu consists of omelettes, frittatas, pancakes/waffles/french toast, benedicts and “Smarter Choices” (aka healthier).

The Egg and I is open every day. It also has a free meeting room and WiFi.

The Egg & I on Urbanspoon

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