Mi Rancho Alegare Mexican

The instance of a challenge or a statement construed indirectly as such set me on a course to the other side of town. I had read a post that claimed a taco full of superlatives for a strip mall Mexican restaurant including best enchiladas in SA. I typically ignore such unsubstantiated claims and write them off to personal preference or an exaggerated projection without having tried anywhere near the estimated 500+ Mexican / tex-mex restaurants in SA from which to render such a grandiose opinion. The post had a quality about it which made it resemble more of a genuine claim rather than a boastful my-dog's-better'n-your-dog braggadocio, however. So I decided to check it out. Attempting a cross town junket in Friday traffic is not the most intelligent of strategies, but we were ready for a fool hearty adventure. Kudos to Wurzbach Parkway for facilitating an easier cross town transit than 1604. Most of these mom & pop places are "2 o'clock taco taverns", but Mi Rancho Alegre was open 'til 3. Getting down to business we had b&c nachos that were the stacked kind costing them a few presentation points as well as being served within minutes of our entree. I could possibly attribute the latter foible to the lateness of the hour and the penchant of most workers to beat a hasty exit at closing time. Nice looking plates of enchiladas were served, but the accompanying beef fajita taco was pregnant with beef and mild cebolla. Commanding a first taste from the tortilla packed full to bursting with fajita meat, the taco was juicy, tender with plenty of seasoned grill flavor; love at first bite. If I ate nothing else on the plate, I would have been fully sated. But, more pleasure was to come as I sampled an enchilada with chile con carne that I had requested instead of the usual chili gravy. Oh Jacala's where art thou? Well their enchiladas are right here. At least that was my first impression. The next few bites were a redolent incarnation of the wonderful enchiladas I had in public grade school. Impressed? I would give a resounding "yes" to that. Were these the best in SA as another post had opined? Let's just say the jury will remain out on that one until the base knowledge for my own opinion involves eating at more than the couple of hundred I sampled so far. Are these enchiladas in my top 10? Among the red tortilla, yellow cheese, chili con carne gravy topped population I would answer a most definite yes. And the beef fajitas . . . not to be missed.

I got the carne guisada taco and a bacon and egg taco. The guisada was really really good. The bacon and egg were also really good. My main complaint is the tortillas. They were hard and very difficult to eat. We got chips and salsa and didn't care for the salsa. It's was like water with not much flavor.

This place is like a little piece of heaven that leaked out when the angels’ heads were turned. The food is like the best of what you think of when you think of San Antonio Mexican food. The lunch specials’ prices are somehow stuck in 1986 and the drink is included in that price?! Wow! The mole here is rich, sweet, and delicious with 25 ingredients. Come on Friday for the mole lunch special. The staff here is incredibly friendly. I feel like I made new friends. This is my new favorite San Antonio Mexican food place.