By Bob Townsend

For the AJC

News of a talented, trained chef opening a burger joint or a taqueria isn’t exactly a big surprise nowadays -- it’s the economy, stupid.

Still, finding Jose Rego in the kitchen at Taco Rancho in Forest Park seems just a tad unlikely.

Rego, a native of Portugal and a culinary graduate of Johnson & Wales University, is a veteran of Riccardo Ullio’s Sotto Sotto and Fritti. After Rego’s well-regarded upscale Italian restaurant, Allegro, closed in early 2009, he went back to work for Ullio at Taqueria La Lupe.

Going to market

Rego and his wife, Sarah Copp, opened Taco Rancho last month. Hidden away in a free-standing building near the garden center at the State Farmers Market, the location appears oddly inspired.

Being far from the center of Atlanta but close to so many farmers and purveyors is an interesting trade-off. And the restaurant’s no-nonsense, working world presence -- which includes a wood-fired grill out back -- reflects that.

The open dining room is simple and neatly arranged, with booths on opposite sides of the rectangular space. You order at the counter and find a seat.

Not just tacos

The big menu includes appetizers, soups and salads, sandwiches, quesadillas and burritos.

Rego’s collection of tacos ($1.95-$2.25 each), served with soft, fragrant corn tortillas, diced onions and cilantro, can be an inexpensive and fun way to explore some of the ingredients and cooking techniques that show up in other dishes. And the sprawling fresh salsa bar is a riot of flavors and textures.

On a recent visit, the fruity guajillo chili salsa and smooth, garlicky guacamole salsa were standouts. The red salsa made with ground peanuts made an appealing topping for the succulent, red sauce-stewed goat taco.

Other juicy, slow-cooked tacos range from chipotle-stewed chicken to braised beef tongue or cheeks.

The wood-grilled skirt steak was dry and bland, though some lime and pico de gallo from the salsa bar offered a tasty remedy. The chopped smoked pork is called carnitas on the menu, but the meat had a texture like well-rendered barbecue, rather than the kind of larded goodness that word usually promises.

Plates and breakfast

Plates, such as wood-grilled chicken or salmon, braised goat or a ground beef-stuffed poblano pepper, come with two sides. Chicken enchiladas ($6.95) arrived in a messy mound of soft corn tortillas stuffed with savory stewed chicken and topped with shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, onions, sour cream and crumbly cotija cheese. Sides of refried beans and Mexican-style rice completed a bountiful bargain meal.

Breakfast is served all day, starting at 7 a.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. weekends. Huevos rancheros ($4.95) is fried tortillas with two eggs any style, red salsa, guacamole salsa and sour cream, and you can add carnitas, chorizo or carne asada ($2.50). Omelets, burritos and sandwiches with a variety of fillings round out the breakfast menu.

Dining out

Taco Rancho

Address, phone: 16 Forest Parkway, Building 38, 404-366-1968

Signature dish: Tacos

Entree prices: $6.95-$12.95

Hours: 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays-Fridays; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays.

Credit cards: Yes

Online: www.tacorancho.com

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