Matt's Ranchero Part II-3/26/09

First of all, a hearty thank you to the Quesorita team for moving this week's event to Thursday so a frozen Minnesotan with limited Queso experience could partake. For this special event, the group headed to Matt's in Lakewood. Although a little hard to find (look deeply into the strip mall), Matt's had a nice atmosphere and vibe...high ceilings, lots of tables, and a nice looking patio. We headed inside to avoid the coming cold, but maybe next time it will be patio time! The best part about our table was the 2-year-old next to us who liked to throw plates and knives. Fortunately, we were out of harms way (she could only throw about a foot) and it made us look sophisticated and accomplished by comparison.

So, on to the main event...when I got there queso had already been ordered so I had to sample it a little bit cooled, although it was delicious. The queso is a traditional Bob Armstrong variety, but with L.E.'s innovative ordering technique, we had it with no meat and it was great. Nice chunks of avodado, sour cream and lots of yellowy-almost velveeta style cheese. A few bites were almost too much like Velveeta, but other bites were just perfect. The chips were nice and crispy...maybe needed a little bit of salt.

I had a margarita on the rocks and it was almost perfect. A tad too salty, but otherwise one of the best I have had while touring the Dallas area over the past year. It is also nice that they come in three size: small (6 oz), medium (maybe about 10 oz.) and large (big!). John had the king variety of margarita and had no compliants although I didn't sample it myself.

Some in our group ordered the micheladas...they were inconsistent though. The first one out had almost no tomato or tabasco in it although it was spicy. Shelby still loved it. Others were not as in love, but sequential micheladas seemed to redeem.


Queso gets at 5 out of 4.  Remains the best in town and going to be hard to top.

Margaritas get 3.5 out of 4. A little less salt in the mix and it would be perfect! 

Micheladas get a 2.5 out of 4. Inconsistent quality.

Matt's is a solid quesorita spot, especially if you can hit the patio. I look forward to the next quesorita outing and sampling more regional fare!