I love Mexican food. The more I eat it the more I love it. I love that each restaurant I go to is a bit different. Only the hot sauce from Lolitas tastes good on the food from Lolitas. See what I mean?
I love all of the regional cuisines in Mexico. Ranas serves the food of Mexico City. Think cactus, shoes and flowers. OK, ok, think nopales, huaraches and zucchini flowers. There, you aren't scared anymore are you?
If one was to drive by Ranas in Spring Valley, one might think "oh, just another Robertos" but one would be wrong. Don't let the taco shop appearance of the place fool you, this is a first class restaurant with really, really good food.
I've been to Ranas several times, enough so that Oscar, the owner gave me a high 5 the last time I was in there. On this last trip (12/11) we took 2 friends who had never been there before and were they glad they went!
The first time we went in, Oscar brought us out about 4 samples of the sauces they make, chipotle, sour cream Dulce, peanut sauce and green mole. The green mole was the best I have ever had. Not on the menu, made with pumpkin seeds and basil OMG YUM!. The chipotle and dulce were great as well but the peanut sauce stopped the show. When he said peanut sauce I thought it would be sweet and sticky - it was not. Whole peanuts were in there and the sauce was a savory taste explosion with a kick of heat in it too.
Sadly, every time I have gone there since, the green mole hasn't been featured and I can't get past my favorites to order the peanut sauce. I know, bad foodie, TRY SOMETHING NEW! ;)
This past Friday I had a bit of a cold and was really glad to see that the Caldo Tlapeno was on special so I got it. If you love good soup, I mean really good soup, get this. HUGE bowl of chipolte broth with garbanzo beans, rice, tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, avocado and cheese. The broth is hot enough and it cleared my sinuses but I was still able to taste all of the wonderful goodies in the soup. Served with tortillas this bowl is plenty to eat for dinner.
The 3 gals I was with each had a huarache. Think sope that is shaped like a shoe - huarache. The masa is great here, nice and chewy. The pollo asado is grilled not stewed and very light. I had bites of the huaraches too since I love them so much.
Two of the gals had never had nopales (cactus) and so asked Oscar for a sample which he gladly brought out. They really liked it and I think were a little surprised that they did. Oscar then brought out fresh cactus to taste and a whole leaf of cactus so they could get a look at it. As soon as they saw the leaf, they figured out what it was. We all tried the raw cactus and it was very crunchy and very fresh tasting. Then came the best part.
Oscar drinks every morning a smoothie made of cactus, celery, kiwi and orange juice. He whipped up a little batch for us and we all tried it. OMG was it good. Very light and refreshing and we all saw how it would be a great breakfast. Oscar says it is going on the menu soon. Please Oscar don't tease us!
Go to Ranas soon, don't be surprised if there is a wait and then enjoy some great traditional cuisine!
9683 Campo Road, Spring Valley CA 91977
Cusine: Mexico City Cuisine
Dollar Value: Excellent.
Service: Very, very friendly
Would I return here: Yes, a thousand times YES!
