Service with a sizzle at Mi Ranchito

CABOT -- Mi Ranchito sits on one end of a very short strip center near the intersection of Arkansas 5 and 89.

From the outside it's hard to tell what to expect, but the building looks relatively new and neat.

Diners have the option of sitting in one of the booths lining the left and right walls, or at one of the tables clustered in the center. I was enchanted by a tall fountain in the center of the room adorned with strings of Christmas lights. The sound of the bubbling water was soothing.

We were greeted and seated promptly in a booth with a rather hard "cushion," and our drink orders were taken by a friendly server with a big smile. Since we weren't familiar with the menu (which lists additional locations in Batesville, Bryant and Kennett, Mo.), it took a few minutes to make our choices. The menu is not extensive, and it's broken down into appetizers, vegetarian, house specials, combinations and new specials. There is a lunch menu served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

We started with a small cheese dip ($3.25), which came to the table before we figured out what we were hungry for. Thankfully the server didn't hover or pressure us to order.

Mom decided on the Camarones Al Mojo De Ajo ($9.99). The dish is made with medium-size shrimp tossed in garlic sauce, and served with rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo.

My son and I decided to share two entrees. First were the Fajitas Alex, ($11.50), made with strips of chicken, beef and shrimp, peppers, onions and tomatoes. It comes with tortillas, rice and beans and a salad, which turned out to be just some lettuce with guacamole on top. We told our server to hold the tomatoes and peppers.

We also decided on the Enchiladas Supremes ($7.99), which comes with four enchiladas -- beef, cheese, bean and chicken -- but no rice or beans. We chose to pay $1 more to have cheese dip on them instead of the traditional red sauce.

The cheese dip was a pretty standard white version that had a little bit of a kick to it. But it wasn't too spicy, nor was the salsa.

The food came out of the kitchen quickly. The sizzling hot fajitas were first, followed by the shrimp dish then the enchiladas. We did have a bit of a time trying to get all the dishes and plates situated on the table, but nothing was spilled and no fingers were burned on the hot iron fajitas platter.

The beef, chicken and medium-size shrimp on the fajita platter were delicious. The meat was tender and thankfully had not been overly seasoned. The rice and refried beans were standard, but good nonetheless. I noticed there were vegetables mixed into the rice, mainly what looked to be smallish lima beans. As for the guacamole, it was a light shade of green that made it look like it wasn't homemade. It was well seasoned, just not as memorable as it could have been.

I snagged one of mom's camarones. The shrimp was tender and the garlic sauce didn't overwhelm the delicate flavor.

The Enchiladas Supremes were topped with the restaurant's white cheese dip and such an abundant amount of shredded lettuce, one almost could not see the enchiladas underneath. My favorite was the ground beef, but the bean, chicken and cheese were good too.

We rounded out the meal with an order of four sopapillas ($3.25). The sopapillas at Mi Ranchito are made with a large fried flour tortilla. It's flat and crispy, and topped with cinnamon, butter, honey and a swirl of chocolate sauce. Normally the dish comes with a scoop of ice cream but they were out, so we just got the tortilla, which was still delicious.

Overall the dining experience was relaxed and convivial.

Weekend on 01/01/2015