Eating-wise, there's a lot to like at the Quarry Ponds Center in Granite Bay. The deeply flavored, two-days-in-the-making short ribs at Hawk's restaurant. Any of the meat and fish on display in the Vande Rose Farms cold case, where the butcher will hand-cut a hangar steak on request. The homemade brownies at Pullman Kitchen. The French toast and applewood-smoked bacon at Toast. The Acme breads, cheeses and jams at Bay Gourmet Market.

Add to that list the relatively new place on the block – Rincon Tarasco, which opened in July in the large space (with a deck) formerly occupied by Sammy Sausage. The Mexican restaurant emphasizes the cuisine of Michoacán, one of the 31 states of that country.

It's family-run, and the dishes are from-scratch and made-to-order, said manager Irma Jimenez. Their fresh tastes reflected that.

Irma Jimenez's mom, Irma Mendoza, makes the salsas fresh daily and cooks the menu items from recipes "that go back to her great-grandmother," said Jimenez.

I was there with lunch pal Beth, a world traveler and veteran diner. We began with a basket of crunchy tortilla chips paired with an excellent dipping salsa that had the look and texture of puréed watermelon but was really a smooth mix of tomato, jalapeño, onion and salt. There's some heat involved – and some addiction.

Next, we agreed the ambitious guacamole ($5) had too much crunchy pico de gallo ("rooster's beak," a salsa of chopped tomato, onion and chiles). "I'm tasting a lot of onion and tomato, but not avocado," Beth said. "It's too cluttered. Sometimes, the best things are the simplest."

Under the heading "Choices of Meats" are carne asada (cut-up steak), desebrada (shredded beef), al pastor (sweetish smoked pork marinated in pineapple juice and topped with pineapple on the grill), carnitas (seasoned pork roast cooked in lard and simmered till tender), chorizo (sausage) and pollo asado (grilled chicken). The idea is to pick a meat as a filling for an item.

We chose two soft tacos al pastor, topped with cilantro, onion and salsa ($3.50 each); a grande quesadilla, the blistered and toasted tortilla filled with gooey cheese and tender carnitas ($8, with sour cream and guacamole); and a torta, an airy toasted bun holding carne asada, beans and cheese (think sandwich), with an excellent fiery house-made dipping salsa we were told is made from "cauchiles" ($8). I spooned it up like soup and wiped away tears, and then poured it on everything and asked for more.

The meal was better than fine, with the tender, tasty meats complemented by salsas and tortillas, sour cream and that chunky guacamole.

To our dismay, the homemade chiles rellenos were still being cooked when we arrived at 12:30 p.m., but we'll certainly go back for them – maybe even today.

RINCON TARASCO

WHERE: Quarry Ponds Market Hall, 5550 Douglas Blvd., Granite Bay

HOURS: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily; one menu for lunch and dinner

FOOD: 3 stars

AMBIENCE: 2 stars

HOW MUCH: $

INFORMATION: (916) 772-7333

Hand-crafted chocolate

Next time your travels take you near Tahoe City, don't miss the Tahoe City Chocolates store in the Boatworks Mall (530-583-6652).

There you'll find restaurant and catering veteran (and big-time skier) Mike Akay and his hand-crafted chocolates and candies.

"I'm exploring and creating intense flavor profiles," he said when we dropped by to taste some of his most popular offerings: blueberry-pecan-jalapeño cluster in dark chocolate; milk-chocolate ganache truffle with grapefruit-habañero dipped in white chocolate; cherry-almond in dark chocolate; and avocado-key lime in milk chocolate.

The rich combinations were certainly different and made for an exciting change from the run-of-the-mill. Plus, this time of year we don't have to worry about them melting in the car.