A Fiesta of Mexican Food at Rancho Grande

Cinco de Mayo has come and gone, but the festive atmosphere at Rancho Grande continues to please its guests throughout the year. The celebratory upbeat feeling embraces its guests at every meal.

For over eight years, Rancho Grande has stood proudly overlooking Central Avenue in The High Ridge Shopping Plaza in Yonkers. The fiesta like flavor of Mexico permeates the food, as well as the atmosphere. The addition of Executive Chef Angelo Magno to their kitchen, prompted me to visit with high expectations. Chef Magno has graced the kitchens of the now defunct Tango Grill, and Milonga and most recently at the upscale Gaucho Grill. His culinary skills light up the kitchen. His wish is," To one day be a chef that everyone in the industry knows." He is well on his way. "I find my work new and exciting. I cook real food for real people. "With his memorable presentations of traditional Mexican dishes, many from his roots in Puebla, a meal at Rancho Grande is a fine experience.

The truly "grande" space seats about 320 guests in its several dining areas and expansive bar. Artifacts from Mexico, mirrors, paintings, photos and eye-catching murals of Mexican scenes adorn the brick, stone and wood walls. Enter through the impressive heavy wood and wrought iron door, one of the dining areas looks out onto Central Avenue and in warm weather the floor to ceiling windows open for a pleasant setting. Every other Friday evening, a trio performing Mexican music adds to the joyful scene. Also enticing are happy hours, discounts for seniors and free meals for young children at certain hours.

Rancho Grande is owned by Mary Maloney, and managed by Jose Perez, who hails from Puebla and pursued his restaurant career in Nevada, Briarcliff and Chappaqua before arriving in Yonkers. With so many Mexican restaurants, Perez believes that, "Ours is special in its authenticity. It really gives one the feeling of being in Mexico. We combine classic dishes with creative touches and we are always improving in food and décor. I give my heart to the business and our goal is to fill our tables and become a popular destination."

Many dishes here are based on the tortilla, a pancake of unleavened corn or wheat flour. It is the bread of the people. At Rancho Grande tostadas, chimichangas, enchiladas and quesadillas all have tortillas as their base. Warm tortilla chips of many colors arrived with a bowl of homemade salsa, just spicy enough to tease the palate. A friendly member of the wait staff appeared tableside with a large molcajete and tejolate {mortar and pestle} and all of the ingredients necessary to prepare fresh guacamole to order, spicy, mild or somewhere in between. Just the right amount of cilantro, jalapenos and onions, made this classic dish hard to resist. Botanita Grande, a sampler of appetizers followed. A large platter of cheese flautas, nachos with sausage and jalapenos, crispy chicken tacos and quesadillas shared the plate with additional guacamole. It was a lovely prelude for the dishes to come. Coctel de camarones boasted halved large shrimp and a delightful lime and cilantro cocktail sauce. The glass it arrived in was embellished with crisp fingers of plantains. To cleanse our palate, a special salad of arugula, assorted fresh berries, apples, mango and gorgonzola tossed in a light vinaigrette was most refreshing. In addition to many salads that can be topped with chicken, steak or shrimp, black bean soup, seafood or chicken vegetable soup are all good choices. Entrees are extensive. We savored the enchiladas tres amigos. The trio consisted of cheese filled and topped with tomatillo sauce, beef filled and topped with tomato sauce, and my favorite , chicken filled topped with a complex and excellent house-made mole sauce. The garnish of this dish was a trademark of Chef Magno, a nest of fresh mashed potatoes topped with plantains, greens and fresh rose petals. A mountain of shredded lettuce, tomato, onion, cilantro,, cheese and sour cream blanketed a crisp corn tortilla stuffed with shredded chicken resulted in a tasty dish, as well. Rice and beans accompany the entrees.

From the grill, we loved the carne asada poblana. Here, thinly sliced skirt steak was nicely marinated and grilled to tender perfection. It arrived with a chicken mole enchilada, guacamole and pico de gallo. Chef Magno noted how much we loved the mole and our next dish was mole poblano. The bone in chicken breast was cooked in the classic sauce that is unique in including unsweetened chocolate as one of its ingredients. This sauce has its origins in ancient Mexican history. Pork filled tamales, the pork encased in cornmeal and wrapped in corn husks and steamed and chiles rellenos, where the roasted chile poblanos are dipped in batter stuffed with cheese and served with tomato sauce, were each divine. The vegetarian in your group can dine on vegetarian fajitas, vegetarian paella, spinach burritos and vegetarian crepes. On my list of future possibilities are Pescado Veracruz, Mariscada Don Francesco and salmon with mango.

We barely had room for dessert, but Chef Magno's tres leches cake, a perfect flan and a tableside preparation of rum flavored fried bananas with whipped cream added fireworks to our finale. A variety of margaritas with enticing names, sangria and beer can accompany your festive Mexican meal at Rancho Grande.

Rancho Grande
1789 Central Park Avenue
Yonkers, NY
(914) 337 3056

Click here to read more about Rancho Grande

TAQUITOS AL CARBON {grilled skirt steak tacos} 4 taquitos

1 pound skirt steak, diced and salted to taste
1 cup chopped onions
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 lime cut into wedges
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves
8 scallions, grilled
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1 cup olive oil
¼ tsp. ground cumin
4 corn or flour tortillas, warmed

Marinate the diced beef in a mixture of oil, cumin, garlic and salt to taste for 1 hour. Sauté the marinated steak in a pan over medium heat with the onion and tomatoes. Toss with the cilantro. Divide the mixture among the 4 tortillas that are warmed. Roll each tortilla up and garnish with a grilled scallion. Serve with lime wedges.

Judie Dweck has been writing about restaurants and food for many publications. She teaches creative cooking to children at Scarsdale elementary schools. Through the years, her articles have appeared in Jack and Jill Magazine, Spotlight, The Pleasure of Cooking and The Scarsdale Inquirer. She balances her restaurant tastings with daily ballet classes.