The Rib Eye Steak with Green Chiles is a good example of the food that can be considered El Rancho Escondido's specialty. The steak was quite good, and I would say was comparable or better than the steak served at Cattleman's. I do not remember if any other types of steaks were served, but the rib eye was recommended, so this is the one I ordered. The green chiles on top were fresh and added a Southwest flavor that made this more memorable than some of the steaks that can be ordered elsewhere.

In the past I remember the Red Enchiladas being one of the reasons to visit El Rancho Escondido, with the red chile being one of the outstanding examples in the El Paso area. The one served at my most recent meal was not quite as spectacular as I had remembered on previous trips, but it was very good nonetheless. I have just about given up trying to determine who has the best red enchiladas in El Paso, and I will just say the one here was one of the better ones. It was spicy without being over the top, and had a good flavor. I had remembered the ones in the past being made with lard, and I am not sure how they are cooked now but it seemed to be vegetable oil. If so this is fine with me, since I am trying to eat a more healthy diet, but if you are concerned it would be a good idea to ask before ordering. In any case, the flavor is good enough now to be enjoyable.

The steak and enchilada shown in the picture is the "large" order (a smaller steak is also available), and in my case was large enough to serve two people. This order was very similar to the tampiqueña style steak served at other restaurants, but I thought the meat was better here than I have found at most other places.

An order of Chile con Queso turned out to be rather runny with more of a liquid composition than I would have liked. This made me think the three or four "specialties" served at El Rancho are probably better than the rest of the menu, but I may have just found the one item that was not prepared the way I would like. I know in Mexico there are quite a few different ways to prepare chile con queso that are not necessarily the same as are commonly served in the United States.

The restaurant has a non-smoking section (unlike restaurants inside the El Paso city limits where smoking is totally banned inside the building). I did not find the arrangement of the non-smoking section to be very satisfactory, and I did not get completely smoke-free air until some other customers left that were sitting in the adjacent room. The outside patio would have been very pleasant, but this was also designated for smoking customers, leaving me with little choice for seating. El Rancho is a fairly upscale restaurant in the food that is served, but I am not sure I can say the same about the atmosphere.