El Vaquero has practically become synonymous with Mexican food in Columbus. A local pioneer in the cuisine back when soft corn tortillas were rarely seen elsewhere in the area, the original El Vaquero on Riverside Drive — which opened in 1993 and is the subject of this review — was among the first Columbus restaurants to list mole and carnitas on its menu.

Obviously, things have changed since then: El Vaquero has grown into an 18-branch juggernaut, and good Mexican food now can be found all over town.

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Still, year in and year out, nearly every readers’ poll from just about every local media outlet declares that El Vaquero offers the best Mexican food in Columbus. I hadn’t visited the place in at least a decade, so I figured it was time to catch up.

El Vaquero’s success has gone to its headcounts, which are routinely copious, and spread throughout a patio and two dining rooms — one rife with windows and the other (my preference) equipped with comfy booths and the sunken bar that has been a fixture at the original location since its early days. Aside from fairly handsome flooring, the decor comprises a conventional blend of ochre walls, TVs, souvenir shop-quality Mexicanesque “art” and booze-company displays.

Within seconds of being seated, customers are brought thin tomato salsa with a spicy kick plus warm-and-thin tortilla chips that curiously remain crisp for just a couple of minutes. Multiple Mexican beers ($4.47 for 21 ounces) are available to mitigate the salsa’s sting, as is a solid Mexican-style lager bearing the restaurant’s name produced by the Cincinnati-based Taft’s Brewing Company.

Prefer a cocktail? The overpriced Jumbo Roca Patron Skinny Margarita ($13.89) is a little better than the undistinguished, premixed House Lime Margarita ($8.89 for a jumbo).

Initially gobsmacked by the humongous menu, I acted on instinct and started with an old favorite: pollo ranchero. The price had increased ($13.89), but this dish of tender, seared chicken strips swamped in a zippy sauce related to queso dip and nacho cheese was as irresistible as I remembered. Its sides — Mexican rice or veggie-accented brown rice, and refried beans or more interesting black beans — accompany most entrees and are pretty good, if oversalted.

The pozole ($7.19 for a bowl) tastes mostly of pulled chicken and pico de gallo. It’s hardly the most nuanced version of the hominy soup I have tried, but it’s pleasant enough.

Tacos al pastor fans will find an extremely likable take on them here ($10.99): smoky, crisply seared pork bits enhanced by a perky marinade, grilled pineapple, cilantro, onions and decent soft corn tortillas.

“Create your own combo” platters ($12.49 for three items) allow diners to graze on cuisine standards such as a flavorful, tender tamale; an OK chile relleno that would be better if skinned; and a not-bad enchilada. This trifecta arrived doused in a pale-orange, enchilada-style sauce that blurred everything together and was quite salty.

A tempting new entree starring stewed chicken — tacos de tinga ($10.99) — was a bit too spicy and way, way too salty.

Unlike revenge, cochinita pibil ($13.89) is not a dish best served cold. Too bad that’s how mine was served, and too bad mine was missing its onions cooked with lime and habaneros. Otherwise, the piquant and delicious, slow-cooked and tender Yucatan-style pork entree fragrant with achiote and served over rice was terrific.

I won’t be waiting another decade until visiting this eatery again because it features plenty of crave-inducing dishes among its legion of crowd-pleasing offerings. But if El Vaquero wants to earn my praise as the best Mexican restaurant in town, it has some work to do.

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