El Rancho — Restaurant in Columbia Township

Google reviews should be weighted by chronology. El Rancho used to be a really good place to go. It's a Columbia staple and a University tradition. Workers go there for lunch, and drunk college students stumble in for greasy Tex-Mex food late at night. Lately though, it's more about the nostalgia than the food or service. My last three experiences have been less than satisfactory. The first of those three, the restaurant was packed, and the line was moving quickly, but the quality of food was horrible. The cheese on the nachos was watery, and there wasn't much meat at all. My second visit, I asked for chorizo tacos. I figured since they made chorizo fajita burritos, they could put it in a taco. I was wrong. They would not stray from their menu, except that you can order a chorizo burrito when it's only shown as an option for the chorizo fajita burrito. It irked me, but not nearly as much as tonights experience. I walked in around 9:45. I was the only customer. There was a woman at the register, and a man behind the grill. Neither greeted me. Neither even acknowledged me. I stood there for about 5 minutes in which time, the guy behind the grill walked into the back, and the woman behind the register walked out into the dining area. Neither of them said, "hello" or "I'll be right back" or "Sorry for the wait". I could have understood if they were busy, but as I stated, I was the only person in line. I turned and walked out.

I will be back. My friends gave up on El Rancho a year or two ago, but I will continue to pay for my sentimentality a little longer, before accepting the fact that the El Rancho I knew and...

The older woman at the register has a very nasty demeanor. I paid for an order of fish tacos with flour tortillas (so 3 tacos come in a single order) and I paid for an additional fish taco since I wanted four. After paying and leaving a 20% cash tip I requested for 1/2 ounce salsas. The lady at the register informed me that she could only give me 2 salsas and I would have to pay for the extra 2 because only 2 came in a single order. I explained to her that I paid for a single order AND an additional taco. When I asked how many salsas came with the single taco that I purchased she got loud with me and refused to answer the question. At that point I refused to continue to argue with a person who clearly does not care for my business and told her to take it out my cash tip and give me back my change. Not to mention when I walked in the restaurant there was not a single customer and that same older lady walked to the back of the restaurant and stayed there for several minutes while I stood at the register waiting to place my order and pay. One of the cooks had to ask her several times to come help since she possessed the most English in her vocabulary. Not a friendly place for...

I've seen some of the reviews saying the people working here didn't greet them or that the place has gone downhill. If the people who work here don't seem friendly or outgoing, they may just feel uncomfortable around native born Americans. It's no secret that there are plenty of Americans who think people from south of the border shouldn't be here. So whenever a group of people walk into this restaurant, the employees may wonder if you're there to eat or there to cause trouble. I can't say I wouldn't worry about that if I was one of them. Then again, they may have been very busy or were just trying to do their jobs without making any mistakes. Whatever the case, I've been eating in this restaurant since it opened and I've never been dissatisfied with the food or the service and I've never felt unwelcome or that the people working here dislike me or take me for granted. I wish everyone would cut these people some slack and consider what it might be like to be a Hispanic immigrant living...