El Ranchito Original

I agree the tourist spot right off the highway is kinda like going to an island for vacation, renting a car, driving to the middle of nowhere and then eating at the equivalent to chilis… seriously people drive up the road and go to a local spot… this one was my favorite and they were much more attentive and helpful. Try it

After a disappointing first tasting of Pork Highway at the much hyped Los Pinos, the boy and I decided to walk around and try other places to redeem the experience. El Ranchito did not disappoint!
I was a bit wary when we initially walked by cuz no one was eating there and none of the parts on their roasted piggy had been hacked off. Not sure if they were just friendly or desperate for business as they watched everyone flock to Los Pinos and Rancho Original, the staff enthusiastically started to tell us about every item they had. After they told about their small spread (compared to Los Pinos, heck, they only had one piggy roasted instead of two!), I asked if they would serve us the cheek and ear. The guy said yes and we decided to stay. I guess no one had asked them to hack off the ear before, cuz after they did that, they spent a minute talking among themselves and deciding how much to charge for the ear. Other than the cheek and ear, we also ordered some ribs and a piece of flan.
The cheek was excellent! It was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten, but I love fat and skin and pork. It had the perfect balance of crackling almost caramel-​ly skin with melt-​in-​your-​mouth gelatinous fat attached to it. The meat was tender and not overly salty. It was beautiful. I, on the other hand, was not as I had grease all over my face, but I didn’t care.
The ribs were just okay, a bit dry and chewy, but they didn’t have too much bbq sauce on them like the other places did, so we could pour ample hot sauce over them and make them better.
The flan was light and not too sweet, which was good, but at that point I was still thinking about the cheek I just had, so honestly I can’t describe it well.
The ear was just for show, I wanted to take a picture with it. I took a bit out of it but it mostly just tasted of burnt stuff.
The restaurant was big and clean, and it had a nice cross breeze from the open area in the back.