Just so you'll remember how lucky you are

Here's a post of my recent visit to the "best" Mexican restaurant in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Yes, the people who run it are Mexican. Well, here it is:

Just wanted to let everyone know I did find a good place for dinner Monday night: El Ranchero Mexican. American-style Mexican food, but very well prepared and a pleasant room. Strangely, they had run out of tamales, but made some special chicken taquitos for us that were mighty tasty. I'd recommend skipping the nachos; gloppy and about a notch and a half above ball-park style (but really, what did we expect?) Tortillas served with my main course (a really delicious, smoky flavored carnitas plate) were not hand-made, but they were grilled nicely. Live music and lots of happy families and celebrants made me feel right at home. Certainly unfair to compare it to the Mexican in Chicago, but I would recommend it to anyone visiting Parkersburg as a great alternative to the chain restaurants that predominate around town.

(And increasing their appeal to a Chicagoan, it appears the owners of El Ranchero are mobbed-up; see link below.)

http://www.winchesterstar.com/TheWinchesterStar/040130/Area_sentenced.asp

(Note: I was being generous. Very generous. And the mariachi band insisted on playing "La Bamba" It was completely outside the cultural references of my dining companions when I tried to describe Mexican dining in Chicago.

HA! This reminds me of a Mexican meal I was treated to on a business trip to Rural PA. We were strongly sold on it by some locals who swore up and down it was the best they'd ever had.

Granted the sauces were nice but I had a beef burrito that came to the table looking great, crema, a nice tomatillo salsa, some decent refried beans and a couple slivers of avocado on top. All in all a nice presentation.

The contents? Ok, I can only imagine that there are two kitchens in this tiny place, one staffed by Mexicans or the like who know salsas and presentation and the other occupied by a quintessential Pennsylvania Dutch grandma making Yankee Pot Roast in a Dutch Oven. That's what was inside the burrito, a perfectly ( and I do mean PERFECT as in one of the best I've had) chunk of Yankee Pot Roast complete with carrots and potatoes and pearl onions!

Both portions were good, the juxtaposition was...jarring.