El Ranchero Mexican Restaurant

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Sep 12, 2007 by Anna from Iowa City
Overall Rating: 3
Food:[2] • Service:[8] • Atmosphere:[3]

• Cheap (but still not worth it).
• The food.

“That this was voted the best Mexican food in Iowa city indicates that there is no good Mexican food to be found. Both my boyfriend and I were so disappointed in the quality, flavor, and preparation that we will not be returning. I had an enchilada, taco, and tostada, all chicken. The chicken in all 3 was under seasoned and moist to the point of being watery and flavorless. My enchilada sauce was obviously canned, and reminded me of school cafeteria food. The tostada was just flavorless, and was essentially a mixture of boiled chicken, shredded lettuce, Pico De Gallo, and sour cream. The Pico De Gallo was alright, but given the extreme flavorlessness of the rest of the tostada, I chose not to eat it. The taco was the best of the 3. Unfortunately, the shell was wet and falling apart after having been set on top of the tostada. The half of the taco with cheese was actually tasty. The other half, which got most of the meat, was just slightly better than the inedible tostada. My b/f had a beef burrito, with meat cooked so long that it was hard to chew. This is the only place I have ever been that had chips so then that they regularly broke of into the salsa. The salsa flavor was okay, but it was very thin and light in flavor, more like tomato puree mixed 3:1 with actual salsa. When leaving, I had one of those "part of my life Ill never get back" moments that seem to accompany the most disappointing and unexciting events. The waiter was friendly and good with soda refills. The wall next to our table was nasty dirty. You would be doing yourself a favor by going anywhere else. The beef in his burrito was so overcooked that it was difficult to chew, and the flavor was just strange.”

0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

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