You know you’re in good hands if not one or two, but five (!) cops show up for dinner together at EL RANCHO GRANDE. And they hit it right on the nose. Everything here is made fresh, from the pico de gallo with homemade chips to the creamy flan. Whether it’s a tomatillo-pumpkin-seed sauce, guajillo peppers with avocado leaf, or an onion-chipotle sauce, you can taste the effects of slow-cooked food from Maria Meza’s kitchen (co-owner with her son Joaquin). When the popular hominy-based soup called pozole is served, it is accompanied by fresh chopped onion, fresh lime wedges, and fresh chopped cilantro, the better to customize to your own tastes. Even the hot cocoa has an extra layer of cinnamon riding under the deep chocolate taste. Go for the tacos or burritos, but stay for the fajitas, the barbecued goat, or the mole sauce (also spiked with chocolate).

El Rancho Grande | 311 Plainfield Avenue, Providence | 401.275.0808