Dining at Rancho Chico

Every so often, I indulge in a bit of cross-border shopping, which is how my SIL and I spent Tuesday. The local US shopping mecca is Wally World in Colville, Washington, and we always make sure we go for lunch at this Mexican place called Rancho Chico (151 N Main St, Colville, WA Tel: (509) 684-4819). A quick boo around the net indicates to me that this might be a chain, though they don't seem to have a central web site.

Anyways, this place took on legendary proportions with my SIL's family, so when I first ate there back at the end of June, I was totally stoked. My SIL highly recommended the burrito, which is what she always had. For starters, however, we were served nice warm tortilla chips with a little pot of salsa and another of a cabbage mixture. The salsa was fresh and had just enough kick, but it was the cabbage thingy that really caught my attention. I never asked them about it until today, when I was told it's a "cabbage salsa" AKA "chunky salsa." The ingredients are cabbage, tomato, cilantro, onion, a bit of jalapeno, salt & pepper. Very simple, but very, very good.

My first meal at Rancho Chico wasn't terribly memorable. The burrito was bland and I left disappointed. My second meal was a couple of months later, and I decided upon the Arroz con Pollo, and I am happy to report that it was excellent. I also had a great maragarita there that was potent and inexpensive (the best kind!). Today, I had the seafood chimichanga, and it was my favourite meal yet. Filled with baby shrimp, dungeoness crab meat, and scallops, it was served with rice and refried beans. I'm not a fan of refried beans at the best of times, so I won't comment too much on them now, but the chimi was excellent.

The lunch menu doesn't consist of any desserts, but at the end of your meal, you are served a deep friend tortilla wedge soaked in a sweet syrup and topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a squeeze of coulis. It's just the little bit of sweetness you need at the end of a big meal.

The food is served quickly and is always very hot - so hot that today I burned my finger when adjusting my plate at my seat! The service is friendly and efficient, and the prices are very reasonable given the serving sizes. Our chimis cost $8.95, the Arroz con Pollo is $7.95, and I think the burrito is also $7.95.

While the decor is bordering on tacky and the dining room very dark, the food is totally worth it.