Hungrygrrl

I have been on a quest for good mexican food. Not the fancy kind, not margaritas made with agave nectar and reposado. Mexican grandma food–homemade tortillas, spicy salsa, jugs of horchata.

I think I’ve found the place.

First a warning…I have only been here once. But it was so good I have to tell you about it.

It looks like an old Taco Bell which is nice because the inside is so familiar. Much less intimidating than a taco truck. It has windows on three sides and the old Taco Bell booths. The guy at the cash register looks like somebody’s old uncle. He smiles at you when you walk in, “Que quieres?”

There wasn’t a gringo in the place the day I went. An older lady walked by me to hang a “recamara para alquilar” sign on the already full bulletin board, chatting to the families as she went. The 3 year old next to me kept chanting: “sopa, mama, quiero sopa!”

I ordered in my paltry spanish and the cash register man seemed to put up with me, but he also spoke some english. And he’s just so nice it’s hard to be intimidated. The menu is extensive, everything from birria (goat) stew to 6 kinds of tacos, gorditos, churros, and even a “parillada”–a grilled meat extravaganza for two. And they serve beer.

As this was just a test run and I was running off to a game later that evening, I went with tacos de carne asada, tamales de puerco and a side of guacamole. When I got home and unwrapped it all I first encountered a creamy green sauce, but it was too smooth to be guac. Creamy and spicy, like someone had mixed sourcream with roasted jalapenos and maybe added a hint of lime. It was fantastic. Their red salsa is more of a dried red pepper sauce, very sharp with vinegar. The guacamole turned out to be like a fresh salsa with chopped tomatoes and onions accompanied by thick pieces of avocado.

I swear those tacos were homemade, so soft and pliant. The meat is cut so fine it’s hard to describe it as flavorful, but all I know is I couldn’t stop eating. There was a bit of pickled onion, some cilantro, radish. It all blended well. The tamales tasted like the best comfort food, the filling warm and the pork perfectly cooked, tender and slightly sweet.

The most amazing thing is that the next day when Cobe found the extra tamale in the fridge (because they were a lot bigger than I thought) he ate it. Cobe never eats leftovers. And he loved it, even though he had smothered the thing with the spicy green sauce.

Maybe if this cool weather stays I’ll have to head back for some champurrado with churros. Or I’ll convince Cobe to split the parillada.

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Taqueria La Estacion
14820 Ambaum Blvd SW
Burien, WA 98166