Matt’s El Rancho starts off with a great first impression — their old Spanish style hacienda surrounded by large oak trees and lush landscaping. Course, on almost any night after 7:00 p.m. their huge parking lot is jammed — a good sign to be sure. But once you go in, I think their best dish is the Chile Relleno — beef or chicken. I’ve tried other dishes, but always go back to the Chile Relleno. The Relleno is lightly battered, filled with chicken or beef and sprinkled with pecans, raisins, and onions (I ask them to leave out the sour cream). So good! Matt’s also has the best chips — large, crispy, but not greasy. And of course, can’t go without taste testing their margaritas and their “Janie’s” is my favorite — quite strong, and most importantly, not made in a machine. We usually take out-of-town friends who love Mexican food to Matt’s even though we live way up near Cedar Park.

An Austin institution. It may not be the absolute best food ever, but the atmosphere and tradition helps. The food is pretty good and from what I hear so are the margaritas. There is an awkward clown there on busy nights, try to avoid him.