El Ranchero — Restaurant in Hobart Township

01/15/2025

I had a chance to stop by & this place was right on time due to an early morning appointment that i had & a craving for 🌮s 😆. I was surprised to find a Mexican restaurant open before 10 a.m.

The place is cozy with a dine in area to the left upon entry and a small but efficient grocery/bakery to the right. I ended up buying 3 🍤 🌮s and 2 🍤 and steak fajita dinners, 3 containers of seasonings that I needed lol, and 6 beautiful pastry items that only cost $6 😳🤯 yep... only $6 & a large orchata. So yes... so much for only buying 🌮s 😂 right?

The food was awesome 👌, perfectly seasoned, and just damm good! I was like a kid in a 🍬 store. I wanted 1 of every pastry item they had for sale, but I exercised SOME self-control. Hobart has some hidden 💎s, and El Ranchero is one of them. It's definitely not a trip wasted from Crown Point. If I'm ever in the area again, I'll...

Restaurant is a little on the small side. Can get crowded very quickly. Our order was taken promptly but our food took quite some time getting to us.

Food was okay. We ordered tortas and they were made as ordered. Mine was good and my boyfriend said his was just okay. My son had the kid's quesadilla which was very small. Even he commented on it, saying it looked like half of a quesadilla. Lol. But his fries were soooo good! Also, my mom had the chicken mole and she said it was great. My dad ordered the huachinango (red snapper). It's his usual and his fave, but today he said it was lacking a certain spice. Oh! The horchata was great!

All in all, it was an okay visit for lunch. If there had been time, we might've stopped in at the panadería connected to the restaurant for some fresh Mexican bread. It looked really good and I needed tortillas too. Next...

This place used to be a staple in my Mexican family for decades. The food quality has gone WAY WAY down and the prices went UP. Most of the time the bakery is completely empty, with no bread of pastries, or food. I’m not even sure why that side of the restaurant is even open. They make the pastries and bread ONCE A WEEK. Which means you’re no longer getting fresh pastries or bread, and you’re paying double for stale bread sitting in a case for a week.

Overall I’m sad they not only gentrified themselves and lost a core part of their community, but also their food is just awful and stale now.

I always try to every 6 months to give this place a chance and everytime they fail so miserably. It’s so sad my favorite bakery growing up is...