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2/14/08 - Seductive Chocolate-Themed Valentine's Day

1/22/08 - El Rancho Grande Hosts Connect Providence

It was standing-rooom-only at El Rancho Grande on Tuesday, Jan. 22nd, as Connect Providence piled in for its monthly open-to-the-public social. To everyone's delight Maria and family served complimentary regional Mexican hor d'oeuvres--some of which weren't on the regular menu. Sakonnet Vineyards was also there pouring complimentary samples of three of its more popular Rhode Island wines: Rhode Island Red, Vidal Blanc, and their estate Chardonnay.

1/4/08 - 1/14/08 - El Rancho Grande features Recipe from New Beginnings

El Rancho Grande featured a Mayan dish called Tikin Xic from Jan. 4th until Jan 14. Proceeds of the Mayan fish baked in banana leaves went to The Genesis Center's culinary program, which provides culinary training to low-income adults entering culinary careers. Tikin Xic was one of 35 recipes featured in the Genesis Center's international cookbook, New Beginning - 35 Recipes from 25 Cultures. The cookbook can be purchased at El Rancho Grande for $29.95 or online at www.foodforthoughtri.org.

This healthy dish was such a big hit that Maria is considering including it on the regular menu soon.

Here are some great customer reviews:

Providence Phoenix:

Link to review

What Steph Eats says:

I convinced the Dinnerman to try El Rancho Grande, after my talking about it for weeks.Wow. What a place! Red sangria, Tecate beer, chips with deliciously spicy salsa and guacamole, warm hospitality and delicious food. He had the goat; I had spicy shrimp in a tomato-ey sauce. Both came with yummy refried beans, a salad, tortillas, and rice.Maria, the owner, came over and introduced herself. There was a party going on (birthday? christening?) with a huge cake, and they gave everyone dining in the restaurant a piece of cake. Where else do you get that?In the future, I will try the tamales, enchiladas, and the mole. Maybe all at once, maybe not.

Stacy Magner in Motif Magazine:

There is a passion that goes into everything produced by Maria and Joaquin - from the décor of the restaurant to the drinks and the tamales.

Jen of Jen's Dish says:

The beauty of having a radio show all about Food is, the food! Sometimes it's guests bringing breakfast, like Maria from El Rancho Grande in Providence. Last Wednesday she brought me the most amazing Tamales! Perfect with my morning cup of coffee.

"dirtybenny" on Chowhound says:

Just tried El Rancho Grande....and I think it is superb. Very authentic, ordered 3 dinners for takeout and they gave me 3 tamales gratis. The complexity of the Mole sauce on the enchiladas was outstanding. Most dishes are 8-9 dollars max. The portions are a bit larger than Taqueria Lupita. Boneless chicken dishes are very spicy, especially the one made with pumpkin seeds. They are not byob...beer is 3-4 dollars each. My fave Mexican in the area...

Tomato Soup says:

They just opened a couple of months ago but they have a well-established relationship with their food. A family run spot, El Rancho Grande refuses to buy cheap ingredients, adorn their walls with art other than from their native Puebla, Mexico, and also refuses to make their amazing food inaccessible because of pricing- everything on the menu is largely portioned and very, very well priced.

"cajuntoast" on Chowhound says:

For gourmet Mexican food (at non-gourmet prices) check out El Rancho Grande at 313 Plainfield St, Providence. Maria, who opened the restaurant with her son, does all the cooking and insists on authentic and high quality ingredients. Great sangria too! I was just at the fund-raising event Food For Thought this week and their food was some of the best there.