eGOSHEN—Everything in the menu shouts ‘Homemade Ole!’ at El Rancho restaurant in Goshen. Owner Terri Hernandez says every dish is made from scratch from the preparation of the meat in each dish to the various flavored waters available.
Once you taste the homemade molé on the enchiladas poblano, a traditional Mexican dish, you'll keep coming back. The savory dish arrives as a traditional soft corn tortilla stuffed with chicken, covered with a chocolate non-sweet molé, a side of beans in a crisp shell, and rice. The deliciously spiced chicken is presented with a layer of avocado slices, onion and fresh radish.
Molé has its legendary beginnings in the Mexican state of Puebla, ancestral home of the Hernandez family, and has been called the national dish of Mexico. The sauce is prominent during celebrations around Cinco de Mayo, especially in Puebla. The restaurant serves red, green, and chocolate mole on their dishes.
Hernandez says customers come for the tacos and tortas (Mexican sandwiches) that other restaurants don’t serve. Nothing is frozen. “We stand out because we have special tacos that people don’t have in other restaurants.”
The homemade huaraches—large, thick, homemade tortillas topped with a choice of meat, refried beans, onions, lettuce, and fresh cheese—are also popular. They even make their own cheese?
He Earned It
Hernandez, 21, started his restaurant the old-fashioned way—he earned it. He saved his earnings from working at jobs since he was 14. Before he opened his own place, he also learned about the business from the ground up as a busboy, waiter, cook, and dishwasher. His own restaurant is a new experience which he relishes.
“I’m still learning,” he said.
