It's hard for me to review it, in fact, without disolving into a puddle of my own drool. I ate here at least twice a week during my visit, and when I lived here, Ricardo's was a staple of my diet. Now that you know I'm nowhere near unbiased...

The offerings are fairly standard -- tacos, enchiladas, nachos, salads. The one dish that seems to be Ricardo's specific is the "sancho", a burrito-like creation with only meat, cheese and lettuce, wrapped in a soft corn shell. Though it sounds rather bland, the meat has a special blend of spices that nobody else has ever matched, in my opinion, and with the addition of the special mild sauce (the hot has a different flavor) and sour cream (both are free on the "salsa bar"), the sancho should be added in as one of the major food groups. All C. Everett Koops aside.

The interior is cheezy. Of the establishment, not the food. I have to be honest about this -- the velvet painted matadors and smiling terracotta suns would probably be borderline offensive, if anyone from Mexico happened to stop here. Chalk it up to midwest naievety.

The food is cheap. With a drink, a sancho dinner will run you around $5, and even that's considered to be expensive, so they throw in a taco and a dinner salad. It's an amazing price for a very large portion of food, half of which you'll probably have to take back to the hotel with you because it's extremely filling.

If you go out for dinner no other place, make Ricardo's a part of your Norfolk experience.