With Cinco de Mayo upon us May 5, thoughts turn to Mexican cuisine. What is “authentic” Mexican cuisine, anyways? Gino Garcia, who grew up California’s Central Valley and traces his family roots to Mexico going back more than a century, says it’s a futile exercise to search for “real” Mexican cuisine in Seattle.

“I don’t bother much with authenticity,” says Garcia, who is a local chef, culinary instructor and cookbook author specializing in Mexican cuisine. “I describe myself as unauthentically authentic. The food that I grew up with is so much different than the food that my friends in Mexico grew up with. That version of the culinary game of telephone has transformed the foods that I grew up with. It changes generation to generation as recipes are passed on.”

Chefs such as Gino Garcia and Vicky Garcia (no relation) have turned their family recipes into thriving professions. Vicky, who was born in Northern Mexico and was raised in Texas, founded Rice, Beans and Happiness, a catering, meal kit and pop-up cooking business. Find her on Instagram for her next pop-up date and location.

“The Mexican food in Seattle is quite lacking,” she says. “That’s why I started my business, because nobody offered the food I grew up with. I want to say that it is up and coming. It is emerging.”

Mexican food is not monolithic. Mexico is a diverse country, ethnically (native populations as well as historic migrations), topographically, as well as by weather, crops raised, and in traditions, which is often expressed in its regional cuisines. The country can be divided into seven major regions that expressed their cuisines in unique ways. 

“I heard a lot of people moan and groan about Mexican food in Seattle,” Vicky Garcia says. “I recommend places that make a very specific dish. “When I go to a Mexican restaurant I go for a specific reason.”

Here are some of our favorite places to find Mexican food in Seattle:

• Carniceria El Paisano is a full-service butcher shop. But it’s the tamales that have hungry diners flocking to its White Center location. Tamales filled with either beef, chicken, pork, cheese or vegetarian are available seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• As the name suggests, Carnitas Michoacan on Beacon Hill specializes in carnitas (shredded pork shoulder) native to Michoacan. It is served in tacos, tortas, quesadillas, burritos, sopes or mulitas. There’s much more to this menu of homemade recipes from the Santacruz family. Check the daily specials.
• El Cabrito in Burien specializes in the Oaxacan fare of Southern Mexico. The Tlayuda — a medium pizza-sized tortilla topped with asiento black bean puree, cabbage, Oaxacan cheese, hot sauce, tomatoes, avocado and your choice of protein — is the ideal shared starter before digging into the mole enchiladas or tacos.
• After a nomadic existence setting up a taco cart in locations on Aurora, Northgate and Rainier Avenue, Tacos La Cuadra has found two permanent homes. The first opened in Kent in March. The second opens in Ballard this weekend. Devotees who have followed the nascent taqueria can expect the same al pastor tacos that have created a cult following.
• Maíz Taquería closed its Ballard location in late March. Diners seeking the delicious Rajas con queso tamales, juicy chicken tinga gorditas, or Ranchero beef huaraches, can find it all at Maíz Pike at the Pike Place Market or Maíz Molino in Belltown. Save room for dessert of pan dulce and wash it down with an Horchata latte.
• Mendoza’s Mexican Mercado on Aurora by Greenwood and Greenlake is part grocery story, part restaurant. Sonia and Carlos Mendoza serve carnitas, gorditas and tamales made with recipes from Sonia’s family. Both common and scarce ingredients from Mexico are also available for retail sale.
• Tucked away in a strip mall in Renton, El Recreo is the creation of Mexico City natives Juan Carlos and Maribel Lozada. True to their Mexico City roots, the Lozadas specialize in tortas, essentially, sandwiches in a soft roll stuffed with traditional Mexican protein choices.
• Osbaldo Hernandez and Dennis Ramey opened the permanent home for their businesses Frelard Tamales and El Sueñito Brewing last summer in Fremont. The Meztli stout is a natural pairing with the chicken mole tamales. For vegetarians, try the jalapeño & cheese with the Alebrijes Mexican lager.
• Pancita chef and owner Janet Becerra obsesses over the quality of heirloom corn to craft toothsome and lustrous dishes such as chicken in Mission fig mole or coullote asada, or the traditional carnitas tacos.
• Fonda la Catrina in Georgetown excels in everything from soups to tamales to specialties such as puerco en salsa verde. The tacos range from alambre (beef, poblano, onions and bacon, onion, avocado, cilantro) to the champiñones (grilled mushrooms with tomato and serrano, onion, cilantro).
• Gracia chef and owner Chester Gerl imports non-GMO, heirloom corn varieties from Oaxaca to make tortillas in-house, the foundation for his traditional barbacoa de res tacos or the less traditional pork belly tacos.
• La Chingona has a brick-and-mortar location in West Seattle, as well as a permanent location for its food truck in Bellevue. Flavors range from Baja-style fish tacos to vegetarian nopal asado (grilled cactus leaf) to the hearty carne asada.
• D’La Santa on North Capitol Hill offers a Mexican steakhouse experience traditional to Northern Mexico.
• With locations in Ballard and Kent, Asadero steps up the Mexican steakhouse experience with Australian Wagyu, American Wagyu and A5 Japanese Wagyu, widely considered the finest beef in the world.
• Restaurateur Travis Rosenthal imports heirloom corn from Mexico to make fresh tortillas daily at Agua Verde, a favorite of University of Washington students and other hungry diners on the shores of Portage Bay since 1998. Rosenthal, who bought the restaurant in 2019, strives for authenticity. “It’s pretty comparable to what they serve in Mexico City or Baja,” he says.