Mi Rancho Grande

Wednesday StfRon and I met up for lunch and headed to Mi Rancho Grande, 1112 W. Pioneer Parkway in Peoria.
The location is the former El Sombrerito, a restaurant I remember fondly, and has had some other tenants since then.
Mi Rancho Grande is owned by the same family who runs Tequila's in Chillicothe.
Almost the instant we walked in, we were cheerfully greeted by the woman manning the hostess station. She escorted us to a booth in the simply decorated back area.
Walking through, we passed by the lunch buffet, and were able to give it a once over. I saw some enchiladas covered with green salsa, which sold me on the buffet. StfRon decided to try it, too.
I ended up with two of the enchiladas, which were chicken, and a tostada shell topped with shredded chicken, cheese and more green salsa, which had a nice tang to it. I also took advantage of the cantaloupe and fresh pineapple on the buffet.
StfRon had the beef enchiladas, topped with a red sauce and some soft tacos.
The chips delivered to our table were thick and crispy, and didn't seem to be salted, which was fine by me because they had great flavor. The salsa was pureed and fresh tasting, and not spicy.
Our waitress was also very cheerful, and checked on us several times during our meal.
The buffet selection was not huge, but there are a lot of combinations you can come up with from the ingredients provided, and it makes for a quick lunch, which is good when one person dining only has 45 minutes to eat and be back at work.
Although it's a bit early in the year, I did take note of a nice looking patio/beer garden on one side of the restaurant, which I'm sure would make for some nice al fresco dining come spring and summer.

December 2008 — Mi Rancho Grande has closed