Well Fed On the Town

So I must confess the holiday season has begun to take its toll.  Every morning from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, I have to remind myself that it is not Christmas day yet.  That I have another day without presents or seeing my son wade through wrapping paper, etc. etc.

I think it is the realization this is just not Christmas that makes me start thinking less about cooking and more about going out to eat.  Maybe it is the fact the sun sets before 5:00 or we are out Christmas shopping or there is some Christmas event we have to run too, but still around this time, I just want to be out.

All of which explains how I ended up parked at the bar at my local Mi Ranchito munching free chips and salsa and waiting to bring home carryout.  Not that I need a reason to eat at Mi Ranchito, which is pretty much becoming the standard for great Mexican food in Kansas City.  Still, there was something about the day that just screamed that standing over a stove would be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

But ah the power of food!  I am not sure if it was the veggie burrito (pictured above with rice and beans), the chips and salsa or the bite of my wife’s cheeseless chimi that did it, but after sitting down to a good meal, I felt a lot better.  Ready to face the world again.  Right after I slept off my food coma.

There is just something about the menu at Mi Ranchito that sets it apart from other Mexican places in Kansas City, which is saying something.  Kansas has a fairly good sized Latino population and it shows in the number of really good Mexican places all around town.  Still, our family (and many others given the fact they have opened 3 new locations in the last year) keep going back to Mi Ranchito.

More than likely that “something” has a lot to do with quality and consistency.  The food there is not flashy or terribly daring, but it is good.  Every time we go, the salsa is fresh and full of flavor, the margaritas are cold (not that Kansas lets us have takeout margaritas), and the burritos and chimichangas are stuffed far more than any tortillas has the right to be, which is why we order them so often.

Then again had we decided to order the border nachos (chips swimming in cheese sauce and refried beans, topped with lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and guacamole), the vegetarian fajitas (not your ordinary fajita dish…this one has mushrooms, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, onions, and peppers and can come with a side of champagne cheese sauce for those so inclined…) we would have been just as happy and just as full.

So, there is no way that what I had to eat tonight was healthy.  Too much fried, too many carbs, too much delicious…  Still, with the much needed Christmas break still several agonizing weeks away, my spirits got a big lift from a good meal.

If you are in Kansas City and are in need of a lift, check out http://miranchitokc.com.  The place is so good I take out of town visitors so they can taste authentic Tex Mex.  Any of their locations serve the same great quality food in a friendly atmosphere any time of the year.