Mexico comes to Ballard

[halland]

Last night we ended up at a new Mexican restaurant on Ballard Ave. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but its definately worth the trip. The restaurant serves the food of Oaxaca and serves in in "little plates" Tapas style.

We ate 2 plates of the Mole' Negro Oaxaqueno with pork ($7). The mole could have been a little spicier, but it was otherwise delicious and perfect with a rich chocolate and nutty flavor. We also had the tacos fritos (3 for $6) and the molotes (2 for $5). Molotes are potatoes & beef sausage wrapped in a tortilla, fried and served with guacamole, hot sauce, and Oaxaqeuno cheese.

I believe this place is owned by the guys who own Thaiku, which is across the street and down the block a little bit. It was late (11:30) and so I didn't get to ask a lot of questions or explore around too much. I think its only been open about a week now.

I have the take out menu that I'd be happy to type out here if someone wants, but you really should just get yourself there.

Hal

Its right next to the Sunset tavern

[mamster]

It's called La Carta de Oaxaca. Laurie and I peeked in the window on opening night, but we haven't tried it yet. Glad you liked it.

[halland]

Ha! That's what my menu said at the top but I just assumed that it meant that it was the menu. I was working off a bit of fuzz on the brain this morning.

Hal

[katlitish]

I Visit last weekend and had a pretty good meal. Portions are small for sharing - so order a few dishes. Flavors were fresh and bright, I think a few more weeks under their belt will help with speed of service. Nice addition to Ballard.

[halland]

I went back again on Friday (1/9) and had a meal there while slightly less inebriated. Still good. The tamales, especially the pork are delicious. The doug is quite flavorful and the filling is mole based. The tacos al pastor are fantastic. The albondigas (meatball soup) is good and has a very flavorful broth, but I don't think I'd order it again.

They forgot to bring us a few dishes and then over-charged us at the end, but I think those are kinks that will just get worked out. The service is conscientious and very friendly. Their head waiter/server used to be at Thaiku and seems genuinely interested in the success of this restaurant (its not his).

hal

[SparrowsFall]

Just had a very nice meal there. The pork (soft) tacos were delicious and complex. The corn meal in the tamale was a little more congealed, less grainy than I like, but the pork inside had a nice sweetness to it. The five-salsa selections was very good, with the tomatillo my favorite. That, and the tacos, were way cilantro heavy--what's not to like? Kind of funny to find that in Ballard, so laden as it is (was?) with Norwegian-genetic-cilantro-tastes-like-soap folks...

I'll be back.

Edited to add: $15 plus tip for two dishes and a beer.

Steve

Edited January 21, 2004 by SparrowsFall (log)

[little ms foodie]

Had dinner here last night. Wow were they busy. Showed up at 7pm and had to wait 1 hour. Good thing Matador and it's margaritas are right across the street!

We ordered a couple of dishes each. Quesodillas were very good, I love these homemade tortillas! My husband had the molotes which he wasn't real impressed with though. The house specialty mole was delicious. I'm not usually a big fan but wanted to try it and was really glad I did.

6 plates and 3 beers came to $53. A great price. We will be back to try more!

[ScorchedPalate]

Reviving this topic, as Cam and I finally made it over there.

In a word: YUM!

We waited about 30 minutes for a table, which ended up being two seats at the counter overlooking the kitchen. And what a view: All of the tortillas were being made to order; the all-female cooks were moving fast but deliberately to get their food out to the noisy Friday-night crowd. We were conveniently close to the salsa bar, which had 5 or 6 freshly-made sauces.

We started with guacamole and chips; the guac was on the creamy (as opposed to chunky) side, but tasty; the chips were fried to order. We moved on to picaditas -- sort of a mini pizza of grilled tortilla with a smear of porky black beans, cheese crumbles, and drizzled sauces-- and molotes, which were a bit like potato-and-chorizo-filled taquitos.

We ordered a pork tamal with black mole steamed in banana leaf, but got chicken instead. Even with chicken, it was delicious; I can only imagine how amazing it would be with pork instead! The chile relleno -- which we ordered with cheese filling --was perfectly battered and properly cooked. Though it lacked sauce, I would still vote it one of the best I have ever eaten. My only wish was that it would have been bigger. Like all of their plates, it was just a few tantalizing bites.

Black beans in varying stages of thickness and smoothness made appearances throughout the meal. On the picaditas, they were blended with smoky lard, and used as a sort of sauce. One of the larger dishes came with a small ramekin of mostly-whole beans topped with shredded dry cheese, and the other came with a pool of saucy, partially-smashed ones.

The food was very authentic, startlingly fresh, and entirely worth the wait. At under $50 (including tax, tip, and 4 bottles of mexican beer), it was also a stunning deal. The service was welcoming and friendly, despite the crowd of people. The decor was fun without going over the top into Latin kitsch.

~Anita

[SeAAttle]

Reviving this topic, as Cam and I finally made it over there.

In a word: YUM!

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~Anita

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We go to La Carta almost once a week. They are always busy and the food is consistently very good. Their version of mole is a bit too sweet for my tastes but one cannot be too picky in Seattle. If I recall correctly, the only items on the menu over $10 are the top shelf tequilas.

The photographs on the walls are terrific.