El Rancho – Evergreen

El Rancho Brewing Company

On my way to hike Squaw Mountain I saw a sign for the historic El Rancho restaurant in Evergreen. After having so much fun at the El Rancho Hotel in New Mexico I was excited to give this one a chance as well!

The El Rancho Brewing Company in Evergreen has been around since 1948 and while it didn’t have the Hollywood connection as its namesake to the south, it did have one very well known patron. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was known to visit!

The restaurant has gone through many changes over the years and most recently has been renovated in 2020. Currently it has what I would describe as a classy cabin feel to the inside and amazing views from the back patio.

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The Food

While I always love a historic restaurant, the food is the most important part! After a hike it is always important to get a good meal and El Rancho was definitely up to the task.

I started out with the Lamb Meatballs. The meatballs were locally sourced from Superior Farms Colorado Lamb and added a house made marinara. Topped with parmesan and gremolata, which I learned was an Italian Herb sauce, and served with a side of grilled ciabatta bread.

The small lamb meatballs were very good. They were seasoned well and had a nice texture and consistency. The marinara sauce had a bit of a sweeter flavor to it which I liked as well. The meatballs had a mild lamb flavor to them mixed with a touch of a smoked flavor as well. They were very good.

The Special

On Monday’s, El Rancho has a daily special which is a home made chicken pot pie. The puff pastry is stuffed with roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots, parsnip, celery, onions, peas, and a veloute sauce.

Wow, this was a good pot pie! The pastry was light and flaky. There were huge chunks of chicken as you can see from the picture above. The pie was stuffed full with the veggies and chicken and wasn’t just a bunch of pastry hiding a small amount of meat. I really enjoyed the sauce. The sauce was very creamy but its flavor didn’t overwhelm the flavors of the vegetables. I could taste each carrot, onion and pea along with the sauce.

I really enjoyed my meal at El Rancho. If you find yourself in Evergreen make sure to give them a shot.

Finding El Rancho

The El Rancho Brewing company is located at 29260 US-40 in Evergreen. It is right at the corner of where US-40 and I-70 intersect.

I have added this restaurant and all of the restaurants I have been to on my interactive map that you can find here. If you have a suggestion for a restaurant or any comments feel free to email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com or you can follow me on any of the below social media platforms. Bon Appetit!

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