While tagging along with my boyfriend while he ran errands in Sun Prairie, he decided he was hungry and pulled in to El Patron for a late lunch. The outside of the building is kind of sad looking (my guess is it started as a family restaurant) but it improves when you enter. We were seated in the back parrot-themed room which was nice and bright (both in decor and natural light).
Our server was friendly and patient as we perused the giant menu - usually I order the same thing every time I try a new Mexican place (chicken chimichanga), but I'd gorged myself on spicy cheese bread at the farmers' market that morning and was not nearly hungry enough to attempt it.
I landed on a tostaguac from the a la carte menu with a side of rice. I had never ordered a tostaguac before, but a quick search told me it was beef, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and guacamole on a tostada shell (pretty much what I expected from the name).
When my food arrived I had to laugh at my attempt to end up with a reasonable amount of food - my plate was full. The tostaguac was piled high with salad and rice took up half the platter. I've gotten so accustomed to Madison Mexican joints giving you about five bites of rice or beans that I didn't anticipate being able to make a meal of rice alone.
The rice was fresh and not too greasy - I would order it again. El Patron's tostaguac didn't have beans but did have cheese. The toppings were fresh, but overall it just didn't do it for me. The beef was very juicy - I don't think it was given any opportunity to drain and it left a puddle on my plate. It also tasted like it was just straight up browned ground beef - no seasoning whatsoever, including salt. There was no spice or kick to be found anywhere in the dish - everything was very bland. I realize there is a segment of the population this would appeal to; I am just not one of those people.
Long story short: good service, okay prices, fresh but bland food.