Originally Posted By cstephens Someone had previously mentioned that the menu at Rancho would be changing, but I haven't heard anyone mention yet that the change has actually happened. Here's the menu: <a href="http://www.colddeadfish.net/images/DL123105/ny2006-012.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.colddeadfish.net/im ages/DL123105/ny2006-012.jpg</a>. Here's an additional item and the kid's menu: <a href="http://www.colddeadfish.net/images/DL123105/ny2006-013.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.colddeadfish.net/im ages/DL123105/ny2006-013.jpg</a>. Here's an excerpt from my December 31, 2005 trip report about our lunch there: One of the curiosities we've never been able to figure out is why Disney seems to make changes so that things which previously worked just fine become so much more difficult. Rancho has gone through several menu changes since the restaurant was first opened (after having taken over the space formerly occupied by Casa Mexicana), and there has always been different stations that serve slightly different items, similar to the way Plaza Inn and Pizza Port are run. However, with each menu change, it seems to be more and more difficult to get into the restaurant to get your food, which isn't a problem at the other restaurants, and the difficulties don't seem to arise from the changed menu items themselves. We were in what was the only line to get into the restaurant. After we'd been standing there for a few minutes, a CM came out and announced to the people in line that the line we were in was only for burritos and tacos. For anyone who wanted one of the other items on the menu, they should follow her. Quite a few people did, but that pretty much just resulted in a group of people cutting in front of the people already in line in front. When we got into the restaurant, we also noticed that the trays and silverware placement had been changed. Previously, there had been a couple locations where they could be picked up. Now, there was only one location, so everyone coming through the line had to pretty much get to this one area to get their tray and silverware, and it was off to the side a bit, so if you didn't notice it, you had to then come back and try to get through the line of people to get to them. It sure made a lot more sense before to have several locations conveniently separated inside the restaurant where trays and silverware could be picked up, so I can't even imagine why they decided to make the change and make it so much more difficult now. We all eventually got our food and then went outside to look for a table. It had been raining earlier that morning, so the outdoor tables and chairs were wet and not really suitable for use at that point. We went into the covered area and found a larger table occupied by two people with leftover dishes left on the other parts of the table. We asked if they wouldn't mind us sharing, and they said no, so we cleared the other dishes and took our seats. As we enjoyed our lunch, it continued to rain, so we could see other people also having difficulty looking for available tables. I had particularly enjoyed the garlic chicken and garlic shrimp that had been on the prior menu, so I'd been disappointed when I'd heard they'd be taken off the menu. I decided to try the new citrus chicken on the menu, but even by Disneyland dining standards, the price seemed a bit steep for what you got, especially since it was much blander now with just rice and beans, whereas the chicken plate previously came with a black beans and corn salad and a side spear of grilled pineapple. The chicken tasted fine, but I don't know that I'm likely to order it again. I'll probably opt for another selection, but I don't think I'll be suggesting Rancho as a meal destination much. My husband had the carne asada and cheese enchilada plate, and he said it was good but would have liked to have a little more meat than just the four little slices. Here's a picture of the new chicken dish: <a href="http://www.colddeadfish.net/images/DL123105/ny2006-015.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.colddeadfish.net/im ages/DL123105/ny2006-015.jpg</a>. Here's a picture of the new carne asada/enchilada dish: <a href="http://www.colddeadfish.net/images/DL123105/ny2006-014.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.colddeadfish.net/im ages/DL123105/ny2006-014.jpg</a>. /cs
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Thanks for the info cstephens. What's up with Tinkerbell on the menu? With the exception of being a Disney character, what does Tink have to do with Rancho De Zocalo. discuss.
Originally Posted By dlkozy The picture does not even look appetizing! No reflection on your picture taking abilities, cs, just a comment on the food! :0) I too loved the garlic chicken and the CORN SALAD-YUM-and with the pineapple spears it really perked up the looks of the plate. Now it doesn't look good to me at all! Anyone have the recipe for that wonderful corn salad?
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<The picture does not even look appetizing!>> That's because the food is thrown on the plate. Notice how it is splattered all over. That would never be tolerated at a 'real' restaurant. With regards to Rancho's set-up, IMO the entrance is bad, which causes the back-ups. It would be helpful to have always have a CM there to greet everyone and let them know the protocol.
Originally Posted By cstephens trekkeruss wrote: > With regards to Rancho's set-up, IMO the entrance is bad, which causes the back-ups. I don't recall them changing the entrance area from when it was Casa Mex, and Casa Mex never had that problem, but I could just be misremembering about the setup. I remember there being two lines for Casa Mex, both serving the same thing. Maybe the problem is that with the way the building was originally designed, it's not set up for a scramble-type service restaurant where you have to pick a particular line. > It would be helpful to have always have a CM there to greet everyone and let them know the protocol. There's a CM inside the restaurant at the front of the line who kind of manages it, but that still doesn't really help the outside portion, nor does it help to have another CM come out and yell instructions and then basically have a bunch of people cut through the people in front of them just to even get to the trays and silverware. /cs
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I think what made Casa de Mexicana work better is two-fold. 1. Fewer menu options 2. You could decide while standing in the same line Having two separate spaces to order is a killer, imo.
Originally Posted By astrojet1 I have not yet tried to eat there. I still have the bad taste in my mouth from its previous life as Casa Mexicana. I do enjoy the short cut its entrance makes to the heart of frontier land. I do miss the carnation ice cream that use to be there. Root beer floats in collectors mugs Oh Ya!
Originally Posted By ni_teach Is it just me or do you think that the food at the Rancho Del Zocalo has gone down hill?
Originally Posted By cstephens I didn't care for the food much when they first opened. Part of that might have been how much I really missed Casa Mex - we used to eat there probably every other week. I remember ordering the beef burrito and then about halfway into it, discovering it was chicken, which wasn't a big deal, but the fact that I had to be half-way done before I encountered any meat was a problem. I could never bring myself to try the barbeque because it was just so not Big Thunder BBQ. With this last menu, I thought it was a definite improvement. I had the burrito once, and it was pretty good, but I loved the garlic shrimp and chicken entrees. The new citrus chicken dish is a humongous step down. /cs
Originally Posted By wendebird No fish tacos..........NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Well, one more place I will have to pass on our next trip. So sad. I really enjoyed it when it was BBQ & Mexican. (My dh LOVES BBQ & I love Mexican) It was perfect for us. Besides the fact that I really enjoyed their fish tacos.
Originally Posted By cstephens Not about Rancho, but we had lunch at River Belle this past Sunday, and I decided to try the barbeque there. I had the barbeque chicken, and it was actually pretty good. I didn't care for the baked beans (but then, I usually don't like baked beans - too sweet for my taste), and the cornbread was so-so (I don't generally care for cornbread but my husband loves cornbread, and he wasn't too keen on the taste he had of what came with my entree), but I'd have the dish again because I liked the chicken enough. /cs
Originally Posted By getnby My two cents: I still like Rancho Del Zocalo. It's not a perfect replacement for either the Big Thunder BBQ or Casa....it just is what it is. I really liked the most recently deceased menu (the one with the grilled pineapple spears and the garlic chicken), but the current one is OK. And the current pix of the menu items, while accurate, look much less appetizing than the food actually tastes. Really. The food is not bad at all.
Originally Posted By cstephens I don't think the food is bad. But the chicken entree is definitely boring, even if you don't compare it to the really good garlic chicken they used to have. We ended up having lunch there again on Sunday, and I had the chicken burrito, which was ok. My husband had the carne asada again, and he said it (and the enchiladas) weren't nearly as good as they were last time. /cs
Originally Posted By roberts1398 NO FISH TACOS???? Ackkkkkkkkkkkkk! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Oh man ... for our April trip, there will be no Rancho and no Blue Bayou. Let me guess ... this is an effort to get more people over to DCA, right? Does anyone know if they still have the fish tacos over at Cucamonga at DCA? These were my favorite favorite fish tacos from anywhere. :``- (
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^We found the takeout counter to be quite good. Try the Agua de Jamaica.
Originally Posted By sobal Has anyone tried the Citrus Fire-Grilled Chicken? I wonder how it compares to one of our area favorites -- El Pollo Loco.
Originally Posted By cstephens sobal wrote: > Has anyone tried the Citrus Fire-Grilled Chicken? I wonder how it compares to one of our area favorites -- El Pollo Loco. If you read the first post in this thread, you'll see that I talk about having that, and there's a link to a picture as well. And it pales in comparison to El Pollo Loco. /cs
Originally Posted By dlkozy With El Pollo Loco just a ways down the street from the DLR-save some $$$ and get the real deal there!
Originally Posted By DlandJB We ate at Rancho on Saturday and I will not be rushing back anytime soon. I loved the garlic chicken and the citrus chicken was dull and the whole plate flavorless. I missed the pineapple and the corn/bean salad. The biggest problem was with the check out line. People are getting through the service lines much faster (how long does it take to pick between two entrees per side?) but then the line to the register backed up all the way to the entrance. Ridiculous. This is a venue that needs some re-thinking. I'll leave room for other people to stand in that line for now by skipping the restaurant all together.
