Rancho la Lena - Old Town

[Update - Closed]

A couple of weeks ago, we were in the Old Town area. Bert had taken in my wedding ring to get it fixed. Fixed you say? That shit was downright broken. I'm lucky the diamond didn't fall out. I only have a wedding band but it's pretty nice. I didn't want a separate engagement ring and wedding band, so it's two in one - it's got channel set diamonds flanking the diamond in the middle. There used to be SIX prongs, but over the years (14 to be exact), three have worn down. The prongs that remained were also worn down - so much so that they barely hugged the top of the stone. The remaining three were totally and completely stripped. So, Bert brought it to the diamond place in Old Town and the prongs were redone and ready within that week. It was wierd for me being without a ring; my finger felt naked.

The weather was quite warm and since it was a weekend, parking was really bad and of course, there were tourists galore. We parked past Acapulco Restaurant on Juan Street...Nice hill walking we did. Anyhow, because I like to kill two birds with one stone, I brought out the trusty old coupon book. What places would we eat at in Old Town? There were several choices, but we ended up here...Rancho la Lena, down a few steps away from El Campo Santo cemetery (that will be a separate post - I just had chills typing that...More on Rancho la Lena here and on the cemetery here, here, and here.This place is a little off the beaten path - not on the main drag...They were touting their all you can eat buffet, but at $14.95 a person, I didn't feel like spending $40 on lunch for us three. Hell no. I had the power of the coupon.
We chose a table with shade since the others on the periphery were taken. There was also a reason why the middle tables weren't chosen. They were on a damn slope.

We checked out their combos...

Free chips with salsa...I liked the fresh salsa but the more watery red one was spicier. Some of the chips were stuck together though...

For TC, she had the chicken enchilada kids plate with fries. She happens to like enchiladas - tacors are too crunchy for her ever since she got her "expanders" in (needed to move her teeth around before she gets braces).

I had the Chicken Chimichanga plate with rice/beans/salad. I found part of the wishbone with breast meat in the chimichanga. Glad I didn't wolf this down! Like I ever do. The rice was kind of "eh" and so were the beans. I ate only half of this because it didn't taste as good as I thought it might have. I like the hole in the wall Berto's joints better.

Bert got the two taco combo - One beef, one fish with rice & beans. The fish was fresh which he liked. Nice and soft, not liked a fried fish filet a la Rubio's. It was actual fish. However he felt it wasn't as tasty like Rubio's.

Dude playing guitar and serenading customers at a nearby table. There were some blind dudes next to us. That guy in the red shirt wasn't one of them though.

OMFG - I can't wait to post the pix for the El Campo Santo cemetery. Put it this way...I'm glad I knew NOTHING about that place until after we checked it out. Turns out it's mega haunted and all kinds of eerie things have ocurred there...Chills...Shudder. Fuck. Oh yeah, there's also a creole cafe hidden on the side near the Whaley House; it's The New Orleans Creole Cafe. Yes, it's next to The Most Haunted House in the USA. Don't know if I'd want to eat there. I read the Yelp reviews of that creole place and one diner (assuming he/she was telling the truth) said this:

"The server came and brought us our drinks and some bread. As I was eating a piece of the bread (which was yummy), it felt like someone hit my hand or was messing with me. The piece of bread flew out of my hand and made a complete circle and then landed on the table. I looked at my friend and she was shocked. We both knew that something strange had just happened!

After we ate my friend asked the server if this place was haunted. He said actually they believed that it was. He left and the owner came and asked us what happened. We explained the story of the bread flying out of my hand. He said that there were a few ghosts that lived there. He said the kitchen was a brothel and the dining area was a pharmacy. Both building were moved there from downtown in the 40s. He said one of the ghosts was a woman and the other a child. He believed that the child was the one playing around with me. He said that they were harmless. As we were leaving and passing the patio area I felt really strange and I got goose bumps all over."