San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
Ranas' genial host, Oscar Acosta
- Photo by Evan Lipsman
There’s a lot of sameness and mediocrity in the humble taco shop, and it’s dulled my enthusiasm. Don’t get me wrong—I won’t apologize for my occasional need for a completely inauthentic plate of rolled tacos, covered in cheese and sour cream. But I’d like to get excited about a more nuanced, palate-provoking and, yes, exotic Mexican restaurant experience that isn’t a costly and trendy tequila-tasting-only sort of dining experience.
Well color me excited because Ranas Mexico City Cuisine in Spring Valley is the best Mexican restaurant in San Diego.
This bright little corner of Casa de Oro is not only an always-yummy experience; it’s also one of kindness and hospitality. Rana means frog, so walking through the front door into the Kermit-colored dining area feels totally appropriate. Owner Oscar Acosta will most likely greet you, and you’ll never meet a more genial dining host. Your hot and salty chips arrive with an amazing tomatillo salsa, a practically drinkable bowl of lime and garlic flavored perfection. The guacamole is deceptively simple: You can’t see anything but creamy avocado, but it’s mashed and salted to a just-chunky-enough consistency that perfectly highlights the knobby fruit’s flesh.
The menu is filled with all sorts of drool-inducing options, from familiar tacos, burritos and tortas to the chicken, beef and cochinito (far more fun to say than pork) plates. The mildly spicy Pollo en Cacahuate,or Peanut Butter Chicken, will jump out at you, and maybe make you scratch your head. Dive right in and try this dish—you won’t be disappointed. The peanuts are roasted in-house, along with chili peppers and, I can only assume, fairy dust, and the resulting sauce is both comforting like peanut butter should be, yet subtle and unique.
They clearly know their nuts at Ranas, because another outstanding chicken dish is the Pollo en Crema de Almendras. Tender slices of chicken arrive in a creamy sauce of almonds and pecans that’s sweet, nutty and reminiscent of horchata. Merely one minute after this plate arrived, I turned to take a picture of it, but my wolverine of a dining companion had already devoured more than half the plate. It’s amazing.
I rarely pass up Cochinita Pibil when I can find it, but Ranas has completely raised the bar. Instead of a pile of lightly seasoned shredded pork in a puddle of orange juice, this plate arrives with huge chunks of tender pork luxuriously doing the backstroke in a velvety red sauce. The tang of oranges and the warmth of the chiles, along with the pickle of red onion, make this a sauce I would drizzle on everything, including dessert.
Speaking of dessert, do let the kind folks at Ranas talk you into it. I was about to order the crepes with raspberries when I heard the phrase “cheese flan” and threw up my hands in defeat. I know people are weird about the egg-based qualities of flan and other custardy treats, but come on, people, flan is awesome! Try the cheese flan. Though not as smooth as a traditional caramel flan, it’s rich and sweet and truly flantastic! (Sorry, I couldn’t help it.)
The debate over the “best” Mexican food in town will never go away, but, for me, my search has ended with Ranas. Hippity-hop on over there.
Write to jennym@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com.
