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| - El Rancho is a shopping experience. The store is smaller than most, but they seem to pack in twice the amount of stuff. The aisles are packed with all the usual groceries, and tons of imported specialties, but the real treasure in El Rancho is all around the perimeter of the store.
They have the most beautiful meats, poultry and fish. I'm accustomed to butchers in stores and did not appreciate how, in Phoenix, most grocery stores do not have butchers. El Rancho has butchers working there who will cut anything the way you want it. In addition, at the end of the poultry, meat and fish counters (which are huge and spectacular) there is a section devoted entirely to Mexican cheeses... Queso Fresco, Cojito and all sorts of Mexican white cheeses.
The aroma of fresh tortillas hits you as soon as you walk in the door. They have their own tortilla factory in the corner. A huge bag of white corn tortillas for tacos was $1.99. There were at least 6 different kinds of tortillas in many different sizes.
The hot foods section had at least 3 different soups, and 6 different hot dishes. They also had a cold counter that had fresh cut fruit, salsa, fruit cocktails and at least 6 kinds of fresh juices. I can't remember all of them, but I do remember that one was watermelon. They all looked delicious.
The bakery was filled with heavenly looking pastries and cakes. They also have plenty of breads cookies, and pan dulce.
The produce section was beautiful and diverse. The counters were stacked with ripe peppers and chilies. They stock all the usual grocery fare and lots of specialty items. They had big bags of fire roasted green chilies for $1.
It is a wonderful place, and even though they were quite busy, customers did not appear to be waiting very long for any service or checkout. Parking is easy, and the location is good for me. The construction on 19th Ave is a little bit of a hassle, but It's well worth the visit.
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