Part 3 of my journey to find the perfect place to eat chips and salsa in Utah took me to Sandy, South Jordan and St. George. This segment of the adventure had some really high highs, and some really low lows.
Another reminder, my rubric is as follows:
- I’m looking for a sit-down restaurant. Meaning, I want a place where a hostess will lead me and my party to a table, hand us all menus, and set out chips and salsa. I need a large Diet Coke, preferably in a giant red cup.
- While chips and salsa are what I’m focused on most, the entrees obviously need to be good, because if I’m going to return to this place often, I want to have a great meal every time, not just a great appetizer.
- Even though my personal go-to will need to be in Salt Lake County, where I live, I’m trying spots all over the state to best inform readers.
With that out of the way, let’s get to my first stop.
Los Cucos
My family and I tried Los Cucos on 10585 State St. in Sandy — a place we’ve driven by many, many times but never thought to try until someone recommended it. It’s a giant space that was mostly full on a Thursday night. The waiters seemed overwhelmed, but were nice and attentive. In addition to the human waiters tending to tables, a robot waiter was roaming around, delivering food and drinks to various tables. Which was a thrill for my kids. Fine, and me too.
Our waiter brought a basket of chips and TWO salsa options — a creamy green tomatillo and a warm red salsa. I preferred the red but appreciated having options. The chips were nice and light. We ate a whole bunch of them and the staff was kind enough to keep the basket filled.
For my meal, I ordered the birria tacos. They were delicious, as all birria tacos are. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad one, which isn’t to say I think they’re easy to make. Instead, I think it’s a good sign when a restaurant offers them because it means the restaurant has confidence in its ability to make great food. The other members of my family were satisfied with their meals, even the chicken fingers my kids ordered. Our total for all five of us came in at $100 even, including tip.
A St. George miss and where I wish we had eaten instead
While in St. George for spring break, I dragged my family to a Mexican spot we had not tried before and unfortunately we did not have a great experience. Our food was barely edible. The cream in my enchilada sauce was separated and made little white specks on the plate. The cutoff age for the kids menu was 9. Only one basket of chips was complimentary. At one point, I saw a waiter sniff a dairy beverage to see if it was safe to serve. Worst of all, they served Pepsi products instead of Coke. I spent the whole meal wishing we were at our usual St. George taco spot, Angelica’s.
Angelica’s on 101 E. St. George Blvd. doesn’t meet the criteria for the type of restaurant I set out to find at the start of this project. You order at the counter, not your table. You fill up your own drink and salsa cups. And it will never be the perfect place to eat chips and salsa because they don’t even sell chips, which is my biggest complaint about the location. That, and the line gets really long on weekend evenings. But those are my only complaints. The food is really great. My favorite order is — you guessed it — the birria tacos. But everything is good. The beans might be the best in the state, even. So even though it doesn’t fit the brief for this project, it is the place I believe has the most reliably good Mexican food in St. George. At least so far.
Mi Ranchito Grill
Our final stop for this report was Mi Ranchito Grill in South Jordan at 10949 S. Redwood Rd.
Mi Ranchito has been one of the most recommended restaurants so far. When I looked it up, I learned it has multiple locations, so I picked the one nearest to me. And I’m glad I did, because the South Jordan Mi Ranchito is now a VERY strong contender for becoming my go-to place for chips and salsa and a giant, crispy Diet Coke.
The chips are sturdy and the salsa has a unique, smoky flavor. But it’s the guacamole that is the real star.
Mi Ranchitos has a guacamole cart that waiters push around to every table, offering a heaping bowl of mashed avocado and fixings. It is impossible to refuse. The guacamole, mixed tableside and served in a stone bowl, is some of the best I’ve ever had. It was perfectly seasoned and full of chunks of onion and tomatoes. There was tons of it that my family and I devoured.
For my meal, I ordered the chicken taco and enchilada combination. The taco shell was perfectly crisp and not too greasy. The enchilada sauce worked perfectly with the rice and beans. Our kids got taquitos and loved them, and my husband got a steak and cactus dish, which felt like a wild choice to me, but he enjoyed it quite a bit.
We dined at Mi Ranchito on a Thursday night and arrived just before 6 p.m. The large space was about half full when we started eating, and by the time we were done, it was nearly full.
We spent $120 including tip, and including the pina colada my daughter ordered and the guacamole, of course.
I have a long list of restaurants still to try, but I’ve ended this portion of this journey with a couple of solid options for the next time that chips and salsa craving hits.