Cheap Eats: Rancho Bravo

Stellar burritos, two-buck tacos—and a warm, dry place to eat them—at the Capitol Hill Rancho Bravo

You gotta hope this is a trend: A chain restaurant (in this case, a Kentucky Fried Chicken) closes, only to be replaced by the first brick-and-mortar outpost of Rancho Bravo, the beloved Wallingford taco truck. Since profit margins are slim on two-buck tacos, the interior isn’t much to look at—it still bears the colonel’s blue-red-yellow motif. But then, going to Rancho Bravo for creature comforts is missing the point: it’s all about the tasty, pocket-change-cheap Mexican food. Hipsters and local construction workers alike hunch over paper plates bearing warm tacos ($2 each) filled with flash-grilled steak, beef tongue or pulled chicken (or other choice of meat) sprinkled with fresh cilantro, diced onions and served with a lime wedge. But my current obsession is the Bravo Burrito ($4.75) packed with carnitas, rice, beans, sliced jalapeños, cilantro and sour cream. Tender tamales ($1.75) are another treat, so popular they often sell out before the day is done. 

Lunch and dinner daily. Rancho Bravo; Capitol Hill, 1001 E Pine St.; ¢