ABOVE: A plate of lomo saltado and rice at Mi Ranchito in Stamford. ($7)
MI RANCHITO: 262 HOPE STREET, STAMFORD
2/22/2010
In my years at the Advocate the little restaurant on the corner of Hope and Pilgrim Walk has changed hands seemingly countless times.
It was a falafel joint, or a cafe, or maybe a cafe that sold falafel, a Salvadoran place, then closed for a while and now Mi Ranchito.
In it’s newest incarnation, Mi Ranchito is a Guatemalan restaurant that also has a number of Peruvian dishes on the menu. With two small tables it makes my favorite stamford taqueria, Casa Villa, look like a Michelin three star. Let’s just call it, um, bare bones.
But seven bucks for a giant plate of lomo saltado? I’ll endure.
Peruvians gave the world both tomatoes and potatoes, but they didn’t stop there: utilizing both, they gave us lomo saltado.
A stir fry of steak strips, french fries, tomatoes and onions, the dish also employs soy sauce which reflects an Asian influence on the South American country’s cuisine.
If you haven’t tried lomo saltado, there are a more than a few places in Stamford that serve it, but at seven bucks Mi Ranchito gets the LBC Pick of the Week.
–CP
How is the aji sauce to go with it? Pollo a la Brasa Misti in Port Chester has it spicy; I tried Fiesta Cove for the first time recently and found their aji to be too mild. Misti’s is also much greener than Fiesta’s, which is more yellow, if there’s any correlation.
Comment by J from CT — February 24th, 2010 @ 7:47 am
My vote still goes to Maya Restaurant on Stillwater Ave. I’d make a special trip there any day. I have yet to have a bad meal there. The lomo is perfect, and their tallarines con carne are the best I’ve had.
And J from CT, their aji sauce is better than Fiesta’s. I know what you mean about it being too mild, and Misti’s is great, but I’m pretty partial to Maya.
Comment by Melissa — February 24th, 2010 @ 4:20 pm
I’ll have to try mi ranchito. Up to now, my Stamford favorite for lomo saltado is Omar’s restaurant just up the road from Casa Villa, next to antojitos chapines. It’s been a while since I have been there, but when I tried it it was surprisingly, refreshingly good.
Comment by adamclyde — February 24th, 2010 @ 11:06 pm
I’m not saying that Mi Ranchito is the best in Stamford by any means. A lot of it’s appeal to me lies in the fact that I drive past it 4-6 times during the course of each workday.
I like the lomo saltado at Omar too, but haven’t tried it at Maya…there is a lot I want to try there, the menu is huge.
–CP
Comment by Chris Preovolos — February 25th, 2010 @ 12:22 am
mi ranchito has the best lomo and food in stamford i really recomend the food the food is fresh and the place is very clean and cute .
Comment by maribel — April 12th, 2010 @ 9:38 am