I love Mexican food. If I had to choose one type of food to eat for the rest of my life it would definitely consist of carnitas, tacos, guacamole and pico de gallo. Until recently, however, I’ve been fairly hard-pressed to find decent Mexican food in Seattle. Sure, there’s the “fancy” Mexican and the obligatory food trucks, but sometimes I want a good, sit-down, home cooked Mexican meal. Until last week, it was nowhere to be found. And then I discovered Senor Moose in Ballard.
Senor Moose appears deceivingly small from the outside but actually boasts a rather large dining room and seating area. A converted old house, it warms you up with authenticity the moment you step inside. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and had to wait a few minutes before being seated.
After perusing the menu, we promptly decided we needed one of everything. Instead, we settled for tacos de machaca (shredded beef), sopes de tinga (two masa cakes filled with shredded chicken, topped with cream and served with black beans), plantanos con crema y queso (fried plantains topped with cream and cojita cheese) and a side order of chips and guacamole. We ordered the guacamole after we’d already placed our main order and were told it would be a short wait because they had to make a new batch of chips. Honestly, is there a better sign than that?
The food exceeded what we’d hoped for and my boyfriend felt as though he’d been transported back to his host family’s house in Mexico (he lived there for 6 months during college). If you’re looking for good, authentic, down-to-earth Mexican food in Seattle, there’s no better place to go.