El Rancho — Restaurant in La Verkin

Two days ago, a few friends and I hiked into the Grand Canyon. We were going to camp out a night under the desert sky, take in the famous views of the American landscape, and have a good time. We were so naive.

On the three mile, 2500 ft. descent, one of our men tumbled and twisted his knee. He was hurt, but we pushed on, and by noon, we made it to our campsite. Not long after setting up base, another of our troupe decided to explore, and accidentally punctured his foot on a yucca plant. He was okay, but incapacitated. We helped him back to camp and I crawled under a rock to sleep, hoping it would get better.

When I awoke, one of our troupe came back from his trip to a nearby creek. Two had originally gone, and one had returned. Where was he? Attempting to find water elsewhere, because the first source was dry. He didn’t make it to the second. I quickly realized that the water we had packed in was all we would have. We survived the rest of the day in the shade, hiding from the horrible desert sun.

A few of us packed out early the next morning to beat the sun and hopefully bring extra water back to our injured comrades. As soon as I hit the trail, I took a sip of my camelback water pack only to be met with a dry gust of tepid air. No water left. I and the others knew the path ahead was hard. Three hours and three grueling hours later, I barely stumbled onto the trailhead before falling prostrate on the ground. An old man, Jack, appeared like an Angel, with a bottle of water.

The next day, we all got the hell out of Arizona and headed for Utah. That’s where El Rancho comes in. Our spirits were low when we got here. We didn’t expect much from the underwhelming Mexican joint on the side of the road, except the basic sustenance we required. Again, how naive we were.

We walked in. We were greeted with a warm smile and a friendly gesture. “Your friends are already here, waiting on you,” the lady said. We ordered our food. My quesadilla came out like manna from heaven. Our guacamole was the nectar of gods. We took every bite as if we had never eaten before and didn’t believe something so beautiful like this meal could be made. We ate and drank and thanked our hostess. She told us about her life, her baby, how her family had just barely made it in the tanking economy and come out on top with their restaurant. It was inspiring. She ended our meal with the most delightful tortilla chips that anyone ever dreamt.

I came out of El Rancho a changed man. I survived the gauntlet of the Grand Canyon for that quesadilla. I didn’t believe in God before, but it was clear this was His plan. When we got our picture taken with our lovey hostess, I felt a divine presence there with us.

Thank you El...

I gave the restaurant 5 stars because 10 wasn’t an option. We were in town for business, and were exhausted and dirty from a day of hard work, and so we were a little nervous about where to grab some grub, but we wanted some tacos so we took a chance and omg did we choose right. The guy behind the counter was super hospitable, friendly and helpful, and gave great thoughtful recommendations. Then we got our food and it blew my mind! By far some of the best food I’ve ever had, the portions were huge, and I can not state strongly enough just how amazing the food tasted. I got the quesa birria tacos and an horchata and holy moley I couldn’t contain myself. The combo was heaven, one of the best meals I can remember. I guess I was too emotive about how much I was enjoying everything because the chef, I say chef because the quality of the meal was superlative but the woman who cooked the meal, came out and spoke with us and she was as delightful as one could ever want. My only regret is that we did not go twice on our trip because now I’m 1500 miles away and even writing this review I’m kicking myself that we didn’t eat there again. It’s a month and a half later and I’m just getting around to a review because I still think about that meal almost daily. Don’t sleep...

🏜️ update: Talking with Ana today and asked if she considered ceviche for the menu and she told me as soon as they get a little more settled in from the normal start-up shakes, she wants to add seafood like ceviche and shrimp offerings. I can't wait to see what she can do with those added ingredients. She's great and I know she won't disappoint us. 🌹I've been wanting to stop in since I saw they were opening. I'm glad I finally did. The cook and waitress were both so very friendly and made me feel right at home. It was a perfect hometown atmosphere and I could have been anywhere in Latin America. Just what I was hoping for. The tamales were the best I've had in a very long time. ❤ I love tostadas and even though they aren't on the menu, they were only too happy to make them for me. They were perfect. Just the right crunch to the tortillas and plenty of toppings. I had pork on both items and it was wonderfully shredded and spiced. Very authentic and just like my Latino Mother-in-law used to make. God rest her soul, how I miss her cooking. I wonder if they have a daughter I could marry and get the family...