Ripon Travel Guide

I spent a weekend with my good friend Juli, she wanted to show me her home town of Ripon, CA located in the Central Valley next to Modesto, CA. She knows I like good Mexican food so she brought me to her favorite Mexican restaurant, "El Ranchito" located in the town of Riverbank which is next to Ripon. This is a family owned business owned by the Tinajero Family. One of the brothers introduced himself and when I asked him what he recommended that was spicy he said the Enchiladas with green tomatillo sauce was the best. We ordered a pitcher of Margaritas to wash it down. While we waited for our meal, another younger member of the family brought out some fresh spicy salsa and chips made with corn and flour tortillas and a small green salad with Thousand Island dressing. Our meals were brought out quickly, served hot and fresh and filled up 90% of the plate. The refried beans had to be some of the best I have ever tasted, the rise was fluffy and didn't overwhelm the rest of the meal like some rice dishes do when too many things are added to it. The Enchiladas were incrediblly good, the sauce was like a minty green color but was flavorful and spicy, on a scale of 1-10 for spiciness I'd give it a 6 but then I like it hot! The enchiladas were made with a shredded and spiced carnitas (shredded pork) that just made the dish that much better.

Favorite Dish: See above for my favourite dish. Riberbank is off of hwy 108 near Modesto, CA. If you find yourself heading south from Sacramento or the Bay Area, do yourself a favor and take hwy 99 vs I-5, the food is definitely worth the side trip and very affordable. Just google Riberbank, CA to get directions.

We ran into this lovely farm enroute to Yosemite National Park...and just opposite the road you'll find Bruno Farms, they have all sorts of fresh fruits, dry fruits and what not. I loved the almond butter toffee, it was so cruncy and also if you are into eating jams, then I suggest you buy the apricot preserves :P