Taqueria El Rodeo — Restaurant in Los Banos

Don’t tell Abuelita I like the chilaquiles better here.

I’m consistently disappointed with restaurants that have table service. I avoid them. El Rodeo is different. The staff seem to enjoy having customers. They take your order and they talk to you. I actually recognize their staff now that I’ve been there several times. (And they recognize me?!)

The staff are bilingual here - even the members who don’t “look like” they speak Spanish. They code switch with the younger and older members of our family. They even laugh at Grandpa’s jokes. Talk about making your customers feel at ease.

Which brings me to the chilaquiles: Abuelita stopped cooking these for us because her hands got stiff. I ordered them at El Rodeo one Sunday morning. (That’s when Abuelita used to make them). I was hoping for something reminiscent of her warm kitchen. What I got was a step above: crispy hot tortilla pieces beautifully seasoned with a red or green chile sauce and cheese, served with rice and mashed beans. You can get red or green chilaquiles depending on how your Abuelita used to make them.

What does our Abuelita eat at El Rodeo? What was never appreciated by the rest of the family: menudo served with hand made tortillas. She highly...

We stopped on the way back from Monterey, not sure exactly what to expect. All of it was excellent! Warm corn tortilla chips along with a tasty Pico de gallo was immediately brought to the table. We ordered Guacamole which was also very flavorful. They have several choices of meals. We ordered Camarones de Diabla which lived up to its name! Chicken fajitas, carne asada sopes, and special tostada salad with al pastor were all delicious and arrived hot. I especially loved that they had a gluten-free taco salad option!!!! That is really rare! All the portions were huge and enough for two meals. Our waitress was attentive and kind. We will definitely be stopping by again when we go through Los Baños on our way to Monterey or the...

I pass through Los Banos once a week and this place happened to be on our route when hunger struck. The tamale plate was delicious! I had two chicken tamales. The masa was definitely thick, so less meat overall, but the sauce was amazing, with a medium spice to it. Rice was also great, had smokiness to it. My son ordered a burrito with rice, beans, and carne asada, he enjoyed it a lot. The horchata was a fail however, way too sweet, like drinking sugar water. We took our food to go but the inside was nice thick wood tables, lots of room for seating. Parking was decent, but getting back onto the 151 can be tricky, located in the same parking lot as 5 Below. Will likely be back to try more dishes, but will have to pass on the...