Foodcrawling: Seattle

As a former Texan who spent a year in Brazil, I didn’t have high hopes for the Latin food scene when I moved to Seattle. Don’t get me wrong – this city has some incredible restaurants. I just figured I’d have to do without margaritas, homemade chips and salsa, and legit enchiladas.

Fortunately, I was wrong. It’s true that some of the Mexican restaurants in the Emerald City are misses, but search and you will find the hits. With dishes like lamb taquitos, chipotle eggs Benedict, and my beloved Brazilian moqueca, these places have made my personal list of regular haunts in Seattle.

Señor Moose Café. 5242 Leary Avenue NW, 206-784-5568.

I first visited Señor Moose on a warm summer day just a few months after moving to Seattle. Inside, I slid onto a bar stool near the open kitchen door, drinking sangria and watching the guys work behind the steamy grill. As soon as my plate arrived, I knew good Mexican food could be found in the Pacific Northwest, after all.  

My enchiladas were covered in an incredible mole (above) made with cream and egg. Instead of rice, savory black beans were served on top of rich, mashed sweet potatoes. Though their menu now features dishes with several different types of mole, Café Moose didn’t start out as a Mexican restaurant. When they first opened, the menu offered Mexican specials – comida tipica – based on recipes the owners learned in Michoacan, Jalisco, and Mexico City. But when word started spreading about this joint’s tasty tortas and sopes de tinga (masa cakes with shredded chicken), the name was changed to Señor Moose Cafe, and one of the best Mexican restaurants in Seattle was established. 

Tango. 1100 Pike Street, 206-583-0382.

Though there are plenty of tapas and entrées to pick and choose from, Tango is worth the visit for the cheese menu alone. The gotes catalanes, an amazingly creamy and garlicky goat cheese; the caña de oveja, a sheep’s milk cheese from the Murcia region, buttery and rich; the manchego, firm and wonderfully nutty.

After the cheese (if there’s room) try the moqueca, one of my favorite Brazilian seafood dishes. Made with dende oil, a thick, bright red or orange oil extracted from palm fruits, coconut broth, and mussels, scallops, and shrimp, it’s a balanced, delicious dish.

If you’re with a group, Tango’s paella is served family style and is enough for up to four people. And don’t forget the cocktails. Go for the Cuban Sidecar – brandy, triple sec, and rum with lime juice, served in a sugar-rimmed glass. 

Pintxo Tapas. 2207 2^nd Avenue, 206-441-4042.

Tapas restaurants are a foodie’s best friend – go ahead, order six plates; no one’s judging. Of course, at Pinxto even six plates might not be enough. The bacon wrapped dates, or the pork and rice blood sausage? Gambas pil-pil (chili pepper prawns), or citrus-steamed clams with chorizo? There’s no question about what to start with, the pulpitos – baby octopus in a rich red sauce. For the less adventurous, the albondigas con salsa tomate – spicy beef and pork meatballs – are equally flavorful.

This spot is also one of my favorite happy hour zones in Belltown. Between five and six p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, Pinxto offers several of their more popular appetizers, as well as their house made sangria, all for less than six bucks. 

Mission Latin Bar. 2325 California Avenue SW, 206-937-8220.

Mission’s mission? Create a menu that fuses classic dishes from Spain, Oaxaca, and the Yucatan. If you don’t get the pork pozole as an entree, you can try the appetizer size – this tasty stew is worth at least a sample. The taco selection varies from spicy grilled ahi tuna to sweet potato to pork carnitas, and the pulled pork enchiladas with habanero orange adobo sauce are unlike any I’ve ever had. For a lighter dessert, try the crispy cinnamon-sugar coated fry bread with honey lime sauce for dipping. 

Peso’s Kitchen & Lounge. 6005 Queen Anne Avenue N, 206-283-9353.

Some restaurants offer a breakfast menu as an afterthought. At Peso’s, breakfast is the focus. Their Benedicts are the stuff of egg-and-chipotle-hollandaise dreams – crab and avocado, spicy habanero sausage, or bacon and arugula are just a few of the choices. If you wake up with a sweet tooth, try the decadent French toast stuffed with cream cheese and a Mexican chocolate compound butter. Need a reason to get out of bed early: if you dine between nine and eleven on a weekday, all breakfast entrees are happy hour prices.

There’s also a regular happy hour, featuring unique twists on classic drinks – try the apple-pear sangria, the sage and cucumber margarita, or the pomegranate cosmopolitan. Peso’s also offers one of the larger happy hour food menus in Seattle, with over forty dishes like lamb taquitos with jalapeno-mint coulis, house-made chorizo tacos with green chile mole, and Dungeness  crab fundido with asadero cheese, all running $5 or less.