Tacos El Rancho — Restaurant in Westminster

I like menudo, but I acknowledge it's a tough sell to a lot of people. It mainly consists of spongy, rubbery, chewy pieces of honeycomb tripe (stomach lining from a cow), and this is before you add the obligatory gooey and slimy pata (pig foot) into the bowl. Preparing menudo from the raw will trigger a gag reflex or worse from those unfamiliar with the stench of stomach bile. None of this will stop me from evangelizing menudo when it's done right, like it is at Tacos El Rancho in Westminster.

Eating good menudo is like eating life itself -- it gets me going on weekend mornings regardless of how many drinks I downed the night before; the sensation of menudo gently brings me out of a nauseous, head-splitting, hung-over stupor and convinces me that today is the day I will accomplish great things and become a great man.

The magic isn't just with the simple broth, which is similar to red pozole -- just red chiles, epazote (like oregano, but more pungent and peppery), onion, and garlic. Pozole does not have the same impact on me as menudo, so I've concluded that it must definitely be the organ meat that makes menudo special. The nasty chunks of cow stomach that have been simmered low-and-slow in the aforementioned broth until they become tender enough to chew will take on the flavors of the surrounding broth like a sponge. There's something about the soft mouth-feel and assertive flavor of this meat combined with the chiles and seasoning that kills hangovers dead.

During my early morning visit to Tacos El Rancho, their menudo had me in a hypnotic trance -- I could not stop spooning the broth into my mouth. It accommodated a huge pig trotter in the middle of the bowl, and the lava-like red broth was medicine. Each bite brought me closer to the light. I've maybe had finer bowls of menudo, but I never stopped to think to write about them...

Worst customer service ever experienced it's a disgrace to taquerias everywhere I called 10 mins to close and keep in mind I live 2 mins from here walking. One of the workers answer I ask to place an order he says no that they are closed already. I ask him what time do they close he says 12am (it's 11:50pm),so I proceed to ask why does he say they're closed then says because I won't arrive in time I make it to the door before they are officially closed and it's locked guy says he closed I show them the time 11:58 he says they are closed but they have already cleaned out the kitchen prior to being officially closed, I further explain that I called ahead of time he say he doesn't care they already picked up everything and proceeds to laugh!! WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER AND IT NOT THE FIRST TIME THEY DO THIS, DONT EAT HERE AT NIGHT THEY NEED TO REPLACE THE NIGHT CREW WITH PEOPLE WHO WANT TO ACTUALLY WORK. POOR REPRESENTATION OF TACOS EL RANCHO VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS PLACE I'LL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN AND ILL TELL ALL MY NEIGHBORS TO NOT EAT HERE AS WELL. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR TACOS THERE IS A STREET VENDOR THAT SETS UP DOWN THE STREET THAT WAS WILLING TO SERVE ME TACOS EVEN THO THEY JUST CLOSED THEY TOLD ME CUSTOMER COMES FIRST. TACOS ARE...

They have 1.09 Taco Tuesdays. It was our first time here and I liked it. They have 2 salsas, red and green. Then they have your sides which was onion and carrots. My boyfriend and I got carne asada tacos and they were good. It had some rubbery parts, but overall it was not bad for the price. They have a wide variety of meats to choose from, but I'll always stick to my usual carne asada. There's a menu full of different items, but I didn't get to look at it as I was so determined to eat tacos. The horchata was really good too. Looking forward to coming back as they open early morning. The gentleman working there is very welcoming, they play good music. The area was well kept, the bathrooms were clean. It seems to get busier as the days go by because just after we got there.. within the hour we were seeing people coming in every couple of minutes, but then again it was Tuesday. Thanks so much for keeping Taco Tuesday alive. We...