El Ranchito

This restaurant is a hidden treasure at the vallarta shopping center. Best pupusas ever! And only $ 2.50 each. Love the service and food!!.

I get a kick out of the fact that we have so many Salvadorian restaurants in Bakersfield. I have a friend who’s a Salvie, and she’s the one who introduced me to Salvadorian cuisine. I’m not sure I would have ever realized there was such a thing without her, and ultimately, I’m quite thankful.
The newest Salvie place in town, El Ranchito, is a little difficult to spot from Panama Lane. It’s tucked into one of the corners of a strip mall, virtually undetectable without first exploring very carefully. The interiors aren’t too impressive. Some bright, tropical colors; a few decorations hastily thrown on the walls. The coolest part of the interior is probably that the kitchen is pretty wide open, so you can watch your food being prepared if you so wish.
I walked in and saw three people working behind the counter. All of them glanced at me and went back to what they were doing. I stood around for a hot minute, wondering if I was ever going to be noticed. Finally, I walked to the counter and grabbed a menu. That’s when one of the employees said, «Hello.»
After sitting down and pursuing the menu, I ordered the El Ranchito Special, which comes with steak, salad, fries, rice, beans, a fried banana, and a pupusa. Most of the meal was pretty standard, and you do get a lot for your money. But the real highlight was the pupusa. And I suppose if you’re running a Salvadorian restaurant, you’d better make a good pupusa. If I ever go back, I’m gonna stick to a heaping plate of the things.
Then again… it took forever for the waitress to bring me my bill. Mostly because she was chatting with another employee the whole time. While the service wasn’t hostile, it certainly wasn’t friendly. And why bother when you could go elsewhere and get awesome pupusas AND service?