June 24, 2006: Mesa Ranch.

8108 Mesa Drive
853-9480
30.37333° N, 97.75672° W
Pepper grinder rating: 3.
Men’s room rating: 2.
WiFi: No.

Dwight’s comments:

Things I liked:

• the grilled quail I ordered on the side, which was the
  best quail I’ve had in town.
• the bread.
• the service.

Things I liked less:

• the duck breast that comprised my main course. It was okay, but would have benefited from more of the “balsamic Chambord reduction” being applied.
• the cinnamon-whipped sweet potatoes, which were a little runny for my taste.
• the fried cactus.

Verdict: I’d give it a marginal thumbs-up. It isn’t a sure thing, like Mirabelle across the street, but it’s worth trying if you’d like something different.

Lawrence’s comments:

Mesa Ranch has a good concept going for it: A high end Southwestern steakhouse with lots of unique dishes. Unfortunately, the execution seemed to fall short of the concept.

Things started off well with a nice free bread basket. However, the appetizers were a bit disappointing. The batter on the fried cactus was quite nice, but the cactus itself was pretty much tasteless. (That may be the case with all cactus, no matter how you serve it, but if so, why bother?) I did not detect any bacon wrapped around the stuffed jalapenos, and both my venison chili and the venison quesadillas were disappointingly bland (and there was almost no detectable heat in the chili). The salad was good.

My entrée was equally mixed. The broiled bison strip (which I had with crabmeat Pontchartrain on top), though very flavorful, was marred by the unwelcome and unexpected presence of a tough strap of gristle along the side; if you need to cook it with the gristle to get the benefit of the fat lying aside it, fine, but this should have been cut off before being brought out. The “ranch fries” were lackluster. My broiled corn on the cob would have been quite good were it not for the fact that it came out cold.

This does not bespeak of a keen attention to detail.

Finally, my Tres Leches cake was good, but not quite up to the standard of other competing offerings from area restaurants. Service was generally very good, and they brought drink refills without my asking.

I don’t know what to tell you. I certainly would be willing to try Mesa Ranch again, but I honestly couldn’t recommend getting any of the particular items I ordered, especially not at these prices. I think more imagination and consistency is in order.