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There was much bemoaning the loss of the Tee Jaye’s Country Place restaurant at the corner of Dublin Road & Grandview Avenue when it closed several years ago. Eventually, the sorrow was replaced with rejoicing when a Tex-Mex restaurant opened in its place. For the most part, Rancho Alegre is your standard variety fare, similar to perennial favorite El Vaquero. Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, margaritas, Mexican beers, fajitas and more. What makes Rancho Alegre stand out is the fact that they’re somewhat unique in their location (there’s no closer Tex-Mex to Downtown Columbus except for La Fogata in the Short North) and Rancho Alegre has always managed to be significantly cheaper than a trip to El Vaquero.
Unfortunately, the latter part has changed over the years, as I’ve noticed small price increases over time at Rancho Alegre, which has put them on par with other similar fare. That isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but it does take away part of what originally turned me into a fan.
The Margaritas ($4.75 for a small, pictured above) at Rancho Alegre are worth mentioning as they remain quite strong and quite cheap during the happy hour timeframe. Nothing too fancy to be found here, but some customization is available as they serve them both on the rocks and frozen, with or without the salt. Just make sure you bring a designated driver if you dare to order the large size.
Like nearly all Tex-Mex restaurants, chips and salsa are complimentary. Chips are warm and fresh, and the default salsa is a bit on the spicy side most times, with a consistency right in the middle of water and chunky. I opted to upgrade with a side of guacamole ($2.75), but found that it was a pretty small portion for the price. The guac contained tomatoes and onions, but was served to the side rather than mixed in, which I found a little odd. Would recommend sticking to the salsa.
The Yolandas ($9.75) entree is made up of three shredded chicken enchiladas served with rice, and guacamole salad – lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole. This is a nice accessible specialty with familiar flavors, and flavorful ingredients. The shredded chicken is seasoned but not spicy, and the portion is large enough to take some home for leftovers.
The Grilled Shrimp & Scallops ($10.49) is another specialty dish at Rancho Alegre, which is practically served fajita-style. The seafoods are grilled along with peppers, onions and tomatoes, and served with rice, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and three soft flour tortillas for wrapping. Small bay scallops are used for this dish, but everything works well together. The price works out to be just slightly cheaper than ordering the shrimp fajitas, so you can’t go wrong with this dish.
The food at Rancho Alegre is good for its genre, and service is friendly and fast, but with the climbing prices I’m starting to rethink my options when it comes to satisfying my Tex-Mex craving. Of course, there’s always lunch specials at Rancho Alegre that can keep the costs down a bit if you’re in the area during lunch hours.
Rancho Alegre is located at 1075 Dublin Road, near the intersection at Grandview Avenue.
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2011/11/food_blogging_for_dummies_how.php
We went several weeks ago for a friends birthday. While the tableside guacamole was cool, there was way too much lime, not edible! The waiter was not very attentive, our glasses were empty for long periods of time before he would come back. When he did return, he would only respond to one person and not ask if anyone else wanted something. After 45 minutes waiting for our food, the waiter told us it was in the window. We could see the window, there was no food ready, he told us it was due to a large party, but they were already done eating. We decided to leave, told the manager, she also blamed the large party. It was obvious the waiter had forgot to submit our food order. As we were letting the manager know our concerns our food came out. The manager said she would give us 50% off our meal, we declined the food. We drove to the El Vaquero on Riverside Drive – we had our food in 7 minutes from the time we ordered and it was excellent as well as the service.
eslocke — The last time I went to Rancho Alegre it was pretty busy and service was spotty, but aside from that one time, I’ve always found them to be pretty quick to take orders and get food out. Hopefully it’s not a sign of them being overly busy or getting lazy because I do really like this place quite a bit. Good place to take kids! :D