Seattle’s Southwest Restaurants Get Fired Up
Southwest heat in the Northwest chill.
By Chelsea Lin, Naomi Tomky and Megan Lamb February 5, 2018
This article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the February 2018 issue, as part of the cover story, “The United States of Food.” Click here to subscribe.
Bang Bang Cafe
New Mexico Red and Green Chile Sauce
If you’ve spent any time at all in New Mexico, you’ve had something smothered in chile sauce—after all, the state question is “Red or green?” in reference to your preferred sauce. At Belltown’s casual, homey Bang Bang Cafe, you can opt for both in the signature Bang Bang burrito ($9.25), filled with eggs, potatoes, whole pinto beans and cheddar, with half drenched in red chile sauce and the other half in green, the latter made with Hatch chiles flown in from New Mexico.
Know Before You Go: Every August, local markets from Whole Foods to Fred Meyer roast Hatch chiles and sell them cheap. That’s the time to fill your freezer for eating year-round.
Bang Bang Cafe, Belltown, 2460 Western Ave.; 206.448.2233
Off the Rez
Native American Fry Bread Tacos
This food truck offers something Seattle disappointingly lacks: an addictively delightful take on fry bread, the anchoring dish of Native American cuisine, regardless of tribe or region. Mark McConnell (who owns the truck with his partner, Cecilia Rikard) spent his childhood eating fry bread; his mother grew up on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. Go sweet and get yours topped with cinnamon sugar, lemon curd or strawberry preserves, or savory; we particularly love the classic chili Indian tacos ($4.50) served on fry bread.
What To Order: Need a gluten-free option? Get yours on corn tortillas instead.
Off the Rez, Mobile food truck
Jules Maes Saloon
Texas Chicken-fried Steak
Every diner in town does its best to give life to a fried-from-frozen, paper-thin version of chicken-fried steak drenched in greasy gravy, but at Jules Maes Saloon in Georgetown, they make this Texas dish in Texas fashion: bigger, thus better. The steak ($15), so thick and flavorful it would please even without the crunchy coating, gets an aromatic bath in fennel gravy, a side of bright (in both color and flavor) green beans and a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes. It’s an almost disconcertingly refined version of the dish. Almost.
Where Else To Find It: Find a near facsimile of the dish, minus the 100-year-old historic bar, at sibling spot Noble Barton in White Center.
Jules Maes Saloon, Georgetown, 5919 Airport Way S; 206.957.7766
Follow Us
Hometown Harvest
Canlis finds inspiration—and a new chef—in its own backyard.
For most of its history, Canlis has looked for inspiration both far and wide. The iconic fine-dining restaurant, perched on the edge of Queen Anne with sweeping views of Lake Union, helped define Pacific Northwest cuisine by marrying global influences with a reverence for craft and service. Now, however, as it marks a milestone 75th…
Industry Entrees
Seattle’s newest spots to eat, drink, and gather with friends.
De La Soil Kenmore Inside copperworks distilling Co.’s spacious Kenmore location along the Burke-Gilman Trail, De La Soil is a relaxed, community-driven, farm‑to‑table kitchen run by chef duo Cody and Andrea Westerfield (Lecosho, Serafina Osteria). Their focus is on seasonal, hyper‑local produce—almost entirely sourced from Tuk Muk Farm in nearby Woodinville—styled into approachable counter‑service dishes….
Sound Bites
New restaurants, a music venue and a nod to Ballard’s history
Just a few blocks from Lumen Field, Four Diamonds quietly took over the former Local Bigger Burger space at Second Avenue South and South Washington Street this spring. Serving pho, banh mi, vermicelli bowls and other Vietnamese standards in a streamlined space, the shop’s got a few unusual menu items too, like a saucy shrimp…
Restaurant Roundup: Panda Fest, Canlis Chooses a Chef, and Good Voyage
One of Seattle’s most resilient restaurants is open and hitting its stride
The best salads are a bit like summer: filled with bright and flavorful produce and definitely not soggy. If you’re looking to toss that questionably healthy hodgepodge you made at home, lettuce point you in the right direction. And while we’re at it, here are some other fresh Seattle food finds to stick your fork…