El Zarape

WOW! And I sang Ranchos Natural Market's praises? Our Richmond-transplanted friend Dennis described the majesty of this magical place a few days ago, and Ashton and I decided to try it out last night before heading to Encinitas for a hangout sesh. Apparently they have fish tacos for $0.99, which of course sold me. Ashton had also sampled their offerings for lunch that day, and told me in so many words that we must make this a go-to-often spot. It's on Park Avenue just north of the University Heights sign on the left, and it's just a small hole-in-the-wall place with minimal seating and a casual atmosphere. They had a pretty extensive menu with a ton of unusual options for very reasonable prices. I opted for the Calamari Burrito, and Ashton went for the Veggie Supreme Burrito.

Let's just say that the Calamari burrito was the best thing I have ever had. I had even noticed that at Ranchos they have calamari strips as an appetizer (random) and verbally wished they could add it as a burrito option. This was above and beyond what I could have expected. Just the right amount of things, and everything tasted FRESH FRESH FRESH. Stuffed full of fried and steamed calamari rings, lettuce, tomato, and a chipotle white sauce. Nothing more, nothing less. I took the liberty of adding some of the thick red saucy salsa from the salsa bar, and was NOT disappointed with the result. They also have an EXCELLENT variety of salsas available at the bar, all of which were superb.

Ashton's veggie burrito was also in the top 10 category. Full of beans, crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, sour cream, potatoes, all rolled into a tortilla of delight. Both came with a small sampling of chips as well, so we were able to even further enjoy the salsa selection. Neither burrito was obscenely big or skimpy either, just the right sizes for the price.

They also offer Coke Zero as a fountain drink! Awesome! El Zarape gets 2 enthusiastic thumbs up. Not only is it right around the corner, it's in a hip neighborhood, it's cheap, fresh, fast, and incredibly tasty. I've read a few reviews online, and the lack of seating does seem to make it more of a take-out spot, but when we went at 6:30 it was no problem grabbing a table. I guess it's a case by case scenario. But I can't recommend this enough. I look forward to eating there again VERY soon!