Mi Ranchito [887 Kingsland Ave., University City, MO]

Mi Ranchito is in the top drawer of Tex-Mex/Mexican restaurants in Saint Louis. We have been on multiple occasions and it fails to disappoint. The first real test of any such restaurant are chips and salsa. The chips are just right; the salsa is chunky and tasty. Ambrose loves the guacamole and I have never had anything there that I did not quite like. Their mexican cheesesteak is tasty with chile con queso that is pleasantly spicy and untouched by velveeta (critical). The fajita is tasty and, unlike many local restaurants, has quality inputs. We have now been four or five times and are always pleased. The bar is a fantastic place to watch a Champions League game on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons (with a nice selection of Mexican beers and, my wife claims, good margaritas). If there is anything to complain about, the division between the smoking and nonsmoking sections does little to contain the rather powerful smell in the evening.

Mexican versus Tex-Mex

Joe Drape of the New York Times has written an article on Tex-Mex cuisine in Texas. I must admit that I am a frequent violator of the category error that he discusses; my roots are from the border region of Texas (7 miles door-to-bridge, to be precise) where Tex-Mex and Mexican food are one in the same. Having spent a significant part of my teenage years wandering around the border region of Mexico (when it was still safe to do so), I am not sure that the line is as fine as depicted; at best, the differences are quite subtle.