SAN DIEGO, CA: Rancho's Cocina

Having spent over a decade in the skateboard industry, at least twice a year I would find myself in San Diego for the ASR Tradeshow. Many years back, I got clued in to where all the vegetarians and their friends in the skateboard industry go to eat at night when in San Diego: Rancho's Cocina in Ocean Beach. I would typically stop there on my way down to SD, and almost without fail end up eating there every night during the show. Since ASR was discontinued two years ago, I haven't made it down to San Diego much, and therefore haven't had my favorite vegan Mexican food in a long time.

A few weeks ago, I was in San Diego on business, and was to stay with my sister at her apartment in North Park. The day before I left, I went on Happy Cow to see what vegan establishments existed in her neighborhood, and to my ecstatic surprise I found there was a second Rancho's location less than a mile from my sister's place. I called my sister on my way down, and she was surprised I had heard of the place, she had recently scooped up a Groupon deal to Rancho's and was looking forward to trying it being a newcomer to the veggie world.

Rancho's isn't entirely vegan or even vegetarian, it's a regular Mexican restaurant that has embraced the veg community by giving us PLENTY of options for delicious, healthier veggie Mexican fare. Far from somewhere that belongs in our Hit or Miss category, Rancho's offers veggie and vegan options for at least half of the items on their menu, including tempeh, tofu, soyrizo and even Daiya substitutions.

We elected to start with a vegan soyrizo quesadilla as an appetizer, and since it was happy hour it was only $4.25! A giant whole wheat tortilla, perfectly melted Daiya mozarella, grilled soyrizo and a few peppers thrown in the mix made for a delightful snack. It was served with cool, fresh guacamole, the perfect dip for this excellently executed Mexican staple.

Rancho's (both locations) has a pretty unique design asthetic. The red brick walls are lined with various crosses and other religious relics that put its look halfway between hipster and a Mexican grandmother's pueblo. Either way, it gives you something to look at and serves as a conversation piece while you wait for your food and chat away.

For my meal, I ordered the Daily Special, which just happened to be vegan cheese tamales. The server explained in detail about Daiya not being real cheese but how it was really good, and I assured him I had had plenty experience with my favorite non-dairy delicacy.

Overall, I was pretty satisfied with this selection. The masa was nice and moist, the green sauce was near flawless, and the beans and rice on the side provided substantial value for a plate that cost $8.95. My one complaint is that there was not nearly enough Daiya used inside the tamales, leaving them almost hollow. I know Daiya can probably get expensive in food service, but still, if you're going to call it a cheese tamale, make sure it has plenty of cheese. I was still very happy with the meal in general, but that one aspect could have used improvement.

My sister opted for the trio of vegan enchiladas, which was also a great deal at $7.95. The trio included a blue corn tortilla filled with avocado and topped with the green sauce from the tamales, a tofu enchilada with red sauce, and an entrijolada, which we learned was a bean enchilada, covered with their house mole. My sister ranked the avo and blue corn as the best, followed by the tofu enchilada, with the entrijolada coming in last place. I didn't get a chance to try the avocado one, but the tofu enchilada was very good, and the sauce was right on the money. The bean enchilada was tasty on the inside, but the mole was a little bit off, it seemed like it had too much cardamon in it or something along those lines.

In this trip to Rancho's, I had some minor disappointments, but all in all, I love this place, and will continue to visit it EVERY time I go to San Diego. I'm a gigantic Mexican food lover, and the fact that Rancho's embraces the veg community so whole heartedly makes me want to support them even more. If you live in or visit San Diego, make sure to check out Rancho's in Ocean Beach or North Park next time you have a craving for Mexican, you won't regret it.

Click here to visit the Rancho's Cocina site.