Chocolate + Peanut butter + Chicken = Awesome

Tuesday night we sat down to a festive family dinner at Rancho Chico . If you’ve never seen their menu, let me just say this … bring your cheaters and request an extra basket of chips to get you thorough.

They’ve packed so many awesome dishes into the multiple pages that it took me close to 20 minutes to realize there was no way I was going to come to a decision without the aid of a margarita and a recommendation from a regular customer. So, after a few sips of tequila-tainted nectar, I leaned over to my cousin Joslyn, who is an oh-so-frequent patron of the place and said, “OK, girl. I. Am. Starving. What should I eat?”

“Do you like chicken?” Yes.

“Do you like a little spice?” Indeed.

“Do the Chicken en Mole.” Alleluia. (Obviously she didn’t have to ask if I was a fan of chocolate or peanut butter … I mean, this is me we’re talking about.)

I’d seen Chicken en Mole on menus at countless Mexican restaurants. But there was something about the iffy-sounding combo of chicken and sweet breakfast foods that put me off. And, let’s face it, at first glance even the name of the dish is a little off-putting. Chicken en mole? Brings to mind terducken … a chicken inside a burrowing ground creature? I’ll pass. (For the record I now know it’s pronounced mow-lay … please make a note of it.)

Anyway, now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to give it a go. Everything sort of blends together into a deep flavor combination that makes it almost impossible to put your tongue on one distinct taste. I got a whiff of peanut butter when the waiter was placing the “very hot plate” in front of me, but really, that was the only time I could pick out one specific ingredient. As soon as a forkful made it to my mouth I didn’t give a rip what was in it … just get in my belly. All I know is whatever they were stewing up back there in the kitchen was muy delicioso.

You can find Rancho Chico up on the North Side at 9204 N. Division and just north of downtown at 2023 W. Northwest Blvd.