A Prickly Critique of the Rana's Burrito

Last year, Mount Helix Patch's restaurant reviewer gave to in Casa de Oro. I've always wanted to try Rana's so I thought what better way than to bring there and try one.

After taking a gander at the menu, I saw something that drew my interest: The Rana's Burrito ($6.50), which features carne asada, pico de gallo, guacamole, and nopales (tender cactus).

As always, we'll break it down by ingredients:

Tortilla
The tortilla was a little on the crispy side, which is not to say that it was bad, but I tend to like my tortilla softer. As evidence of its texture, there was a big split that occurred halfway through eating. Still, it had a nice flavor.

Carne Asada
It was tender and juicy and pretty well seasoned, which is what you would expect. Aside from that, I can't say that it was memorable or special in any way.

Nopales
Seeing the tender cactus as part of this burrito was why I was interested in trying it. I'd never had a "cactus-specific" dish before. For those who haven't tried it, it has the same texture as a cooked down bell pepper, but is a lot more sour than sweet. I enjoyed the texture of the nopales for the first third of the burrito, but soon found the flavor (or lack thereof) a little tedious. Additionally, the ratio of carne to nopales weighed a little more on the cactus side, which is always a no-no in my book.

Guacamole
The guacamole naturally added a nice creamy texture contrast, but there was nothing about the guacamole that made the burrito sing. The pico de gallo was also served on the side. It may have been better suited to be inside the burrito.

Cotija Cheese
By far, the highlight of this dish. There was a generous sprinkling of crumbled cotija cheese, which really added a salty, flavorful element. It also helped to bring some of the other flavors together.

Overall
I was a little disappointed that I didn't like this burrito more. As I mentioned before, eating such a generous amount of nopales started to get a bit mundane. It wasn't flavorful enough to really keep my attention, or my appetite. For one of the few times, in the history of this column, I didn't finish the burrito. Bottom line, if you've never had nopales before, this might not be the dish that you should indulge in. However, if you are a fan of the tender cactus, it will be right up your alley.

Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)