Worth the Hunt

Mi Ranchito is easy to miss. Even if you know where you’re going, its red-and-white facade passes in the blink of an eye. One minute you’re scanning Washington Boulevard at the western fringe of Culver City for the flickering Christmas lights that festoon the restaurant’s small front windows and listening for the Mexican music from its jukebox; the next, you’re watching the place recede in your rear-view mirror.

This inconspicuousness must discourage drop-in traffic. It’s the only reason I can think of for Mi Ranchito to be half-empty on a Friday night.

Certainly neither the atmosphere nor the food is at fault; both are inviting, from the CDs on the jukebox to the thick, slushy margaritas in snifter-style goblets. The place is marked by a comfortable clutter, from the restaurant’s baseball team trophy beside the front door to the shelves of curios illuminated by winking Christmas lights and copies of the restaurant’s several favorable reviews. Booths and red vinyl banquettes crowd the small front room and a second room in the back. The low ceiling is dropped even lower by a wooden lattice hung with flags and other odds and ends.

The effect is low-key and, sometimes, so is the service. One recent evening, I waited 45 minutes without seeing so much as an appetizer, and when the meal finally arrived, one of the entrees was wrong. We fared much better another night when, as we enthusiastically began ordering dishes from all over the menu, our waiter counseled against mixing too many flavors. Later, when we’d eaten our fill of seafood, he brought fresh plates for our chicken without being asked.

Our waiter was right; so much of Mi Ranchito’s menu is so appealing that to best appreciate a meal here, you’re well advised to order cautiously and save whatever doesn’t fit for another time.

Entrees are served on heaping platters with generous helpings of refried beans and yellow rice and include fish soup and fresh warm tortillas, as well.

If you like fish, try the red snapper or the ocean perch. Both come whole, heads and tails on, although you can ask for these to be removed if you prefer. The thick grilled snapper is moist and delicious, served plain or in a Veracruz-style sauce. Particularly successful is the garlic-marinated perch, a flaky, delicious fish with an almost smoky taste and a delicate texture.

Among the specialties of the house is camarones Veracruz style, large, juicy shrimp prepared with chunks of stewed tomato and onion floating in a thick, spicy red sauce, but without the capers and olives that usually are featured in seafood a la Veracruzana. If I have one quibble, it’s that this sauce seems almost indistinguishable from those on the steak ranchero and the Mi Ranchito-style chicken, which is also flavored with bits of jalapen~o and green bell peppers.

Mi Ranchito also serves standard southern California Mexican dishes like burritos and enchiladas, as well as a selection of vegetarian specialties. The steak ranchero is straightforward, if nondescript, while the Mi Ranchito-style chicken comprises three large pieces of chicken slathered in red sauce; the meat is well-done but still succulent and slips off the bones with a gentle pull.

Although there’s not much to the appetizer menu, the chicken quesadilla is an excellent choice, with chunks of chicken and just the right amount of melted cheese. The restaurant also offers a variety of hearty soups, like menudo and pozole, in portions large or small.

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WHERE TO GO

Mi Ranchito, 12223 Washington Blvd., Culver City; (310) 398-6106. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. All major credit cards. Takeout. Dinner for two, $28 to $40.

WHAT TO GET

Margaritas, chicken quesadilla, grilled red snapper, shrimp Veracruz style, Mi Ranchito-style chicken, garlic-marinated ocean perch.