****NOTE: This review was done prior to the Covid-19 outbreak. Of course, things are much different at the moment, but we hope things will get back to normal soon and hope you will continue to support these local businesses****
La Conasupo Market
Recommended by: In our D’La Santa review we mentioned La Conasupo Market in our list of Mexican restaurants in Seattle.
Description on the La Conasupo Market’s website: They ain’t got one.
Neighborhood/Type: Greenwood
Address: 8532 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103
What we ate/drank: Barbacoa Taco, Carnitas Taco, Asada Taco, Carne Asada Quesadilla.
Comments: As we have mentioned before there are three tiers of Mexican restaurants in Seattle.
- The fancy modernish ones like Barrio, Mezcaleria Oaxaca,
Chavez(RIP), Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Poquitos, Pablo Y Pablo - The mid-tier ones like D’La Santa, La Carta de Oaxaca, El Quetzal, Casco Antiguo, El Borracho,
418 Public House(RIP), Senor Moose - The hole-in-the-wall cheaper ones like La Conasupo, Mendoza’s Mercado, Taco Chukis, Gorditos
This is our 200th post on Seattle Unexplored and La Conasupo Market is a fitting review for such a milestone as it’s one of our favorite eateries in all of Seattle and bonafide secret.
Of all the “secrets” on this blog, this is the one I’m most scared about being “discovered”. What makes La Conasupo Market a secret. First it’s located in the back of an unassuming Mexican general store. It doesn’t stand out while your driving down Greenwood Ave, because it’s one of a long line of businesses located in the area.
Parking is hard to come by around here, so the only way you’ll find La Conasupo Market is if somebody tells you about it or if you happen to be walking in the area and accidentally stumble upon it.
As you enter the door it looks like it’s just a normal general store, but if you head all the way back you’ll see a small restaurant with a few tables in the back. We’ve never actually eaten here. We normally do take out and eat at home, but we often take it down the street to Flying Bike Cooperative Brewery and enjoy our meal with brews.
Our favorites are the tacos and the La Conasupo Market tacos actually made Our Top 15 Best Seattle Dishes of 2018 post and came in at #5. Here’s an excerpt from that post:
5. La Conasupo – Carne Asada and Carnitas Tacos
Take a look at these bad boys in the pictures. Each dish pictured below is just two tacos! If you take this home and have some extra tortillas you can easily turn this into 4 or 5 tacos. These are definitely the best tacos when looking at bang for your buck due to the portion size, but these are also the best tasting tacos in Seattle. I defy anybody to name me a better taco in Seattle.
As mentioned in the excerpt above, these tacos are huge. Not only are they huge, but for what you pay, it’s a total bargain. And not only are the portions huge and a bargain, but they are yummy as hell. Ordering just two tacos will have our family of four happily fed and full without breaking the bank.
Quesadillas are another option. Like the tacos, the quesadilla is huge, a bargain and yummy. It’s the perfect dish for sharing. Whenever we meet friends at Flying Bike Coop for beers and bring back a quesadilla from La Conasupo Market, their eyes widen in astonishment how big it is and then they start tearing off pieces of it and stuff it in their mouths.
Truly one of the best kept secrets in Seattle. Whenever we mention La Conasupo Market, most people are aware of it, but have never been there because they think it’s just a general store, not knowing what deliciousness lurks in the back of the store. Us Seattleites also know how badly we are lacking in really good, authentic and reasonably priced Mexican food. Check them out, but don’t spread the word. We want this to remain a secret.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.00
Service: 5.00
Food/Drinks: 5.00
Bang for the Buck: 5.00
Overall: 4.75
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
Sazon Kitchen
Recommended by: Back in the spring, a friend of ours mentioned a new Mexican restaurant that opened on 15th Ave NW that served breakfast everyday. He couldn’t recall the name of the place, but on the way to one of our Watson’s Counter visits, we saw Sazon Kitchen and tried it out a couple times.
Description on the Sazon’s Yelp section written by the owner: Clean, newly renovated and open kitchen concept makes Sazon Kitchen a great breakfast and brunch option. Specialty dishes like Machaca de Res, eggs-clusive items and the grain casserole are just an example of our northern Mexico Cuisine delights.
Neighborhood/Type: Ballard
Address: 7301 15th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117
What we ate/drank: Rox’s Signature Eggs – Motul style eggs, fried tortilla, beans, ham, criolla sauce, queso fresco, chicharron, cilantro, avocado, fried sweet banana, picked red onion. Machaca De Res- Shredded Beef, Chimi Potatos, Chiloquil, Two Eggs, Tortilla. Grain Casserole – Mix of grains in criolla sauce, braised tri-tip and eggs. Toppings include chicharron, cilantro and pickled red onions + greens and bread.
Comments: As mentioned above we heard Sazon Kitchen a new Mexican restaurant opened and served breakfast daily opening at 7:00am. As you know from our Varsity Inn and Senor Moose reviews, Mexican + Breakfast = instant visit.
Here’s a history of Sazon Kitchen per the owner from their Yelp page, “ Sazon started as pop up food vendor at a number of events like bumbershoot, bite of seattle, hempfest and others… Last year we invested in a food trailer but for health laws trucks need to be parked at a commissary kitchen overnight and driving and pulling a 20′ trailer back and forth was too tiring and time consuming. Luckily after looking for a place to make our truck stationary we end up finding a good place to open our dream breakfast place where we can also have our lunch and dinner taqueria.”
As mentioned, Sazon Kitchen is open everyday(except Wed) at 7am. Each time we’ve been we’ve been able to get a seat very easily. There are tons of outdoor seating, but we chose to eat inside. It’s very bright due to having windows on all three sides. You pay at the cashier, they give you a number, you choose a seat and they’ll bring it out to you. As soon as we sat they brought over some glasses and provide an individual glass bottle of water for the table, which is a nice touch.
They have an open kitchen and on multiple occasions we were entertained with the chopping while prepping the dishes being in sync with the beat of the music being played. Over the kitchen you’ll see a collection of French presses. We’ve not ordered a French press opting for either drip or cortados during our visits. The coffee being served is from Caffe Vita.
The owner mentions specialty dishes, Machaca de Res, eggs-clusive items(Rox’s Signature Eggs) and the grain casserole, so those are the three dishes we’ve had so far.
Lot going on on the plate. garnish of onion, avocado, radish. Makes for good presentation but ingredients involved from the main portion of the dish to the garnishes. You can see all the ingredients involved in the description under each photo of the dish.
We enjoyed all the dishes we’ve had so far. All are really flavorful and due to the number of ingredients/garnishes, you can practically experiment with different combinations of spoonfuls of flavors. Almost on every dish, I wished there were a little more pickled onion or avocado or banana or chicharron. We would say the Machaca De Res was the simplest and most familiar of the dishes with the least amount of ingredients. The machaca was moist and tender and with the beans, potatoes, eggs and tortillas make a great breakfast option.
Rox’s Signature Eggs is a dish you won’t find anywhere else. It’s served Motul style which means the tortilla is on the bottom and the egg is on top. In between was the ham.
The best of the bunch is another dish you won’t find anywhere else. It’s the Grain Casserole. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but this is the dish I’d order again on return visits. It was braised trip tip and some peppers and onions over a bed of various grains- I think lentils, beans, long rice and regular rice? I’m not sure, truthfully, but with the sauce and generous topping of protein and veggies, it was so delicious. The one minor thing, I’d prefer is tortillas instead of bread accompanying this dish. Perhaps the abundance of grains wouldn’t be a good match with tortillas? At $18, I was a bit hesitant since it’s bit on the high side, but after tasting it, I’d get it again.
We’ll definitely keep Sazon Kitchen on our list of breakfast/brunch options that’s served all week. Although Senor Moose has a relaxed atmosphere, Sazon Kitchen is even more informal and a good option for us to take the entire family due to the large outdoor area. We’re also looking forward to return during lunch or dinner hours since we’ve only come during the mornings.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.25
Service: 4.75
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.25
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
- Most locals know about it
- Locals “in the know” know about it
- Only those who live close by know about it.
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future:
Related Articles:
D’La Santa Mexican Cuisine & Grill
Recommended by: We advised in our Senor Moose review that we thought Senor Moose was the best Mexican restaurant in Seattle for the mid-tier level(see below) and probably the best overall Mexican restaurant in Seattle. A reader suggested that we try D’La Santa Mexican Cuisine & Grill and promised we would be impressed.
Description on the D’La Santa’s website: We pride ourselves on being 100% family owned. A team of brothers, uncles, aunts and daughters serving grandmothers old recipes. Combined with new rustic and old traditional Mexican food we thrive to serve you the best quality prime meats and organic vegetables.
Neighborhood/Type: Capitol Hill
Address: 2359 10th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102
What we ate/drank: Tuetanos-Fire roasted bone marrows boat with cotija cheese and green onion, Picocitos- Jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese & bacon, Tacoarte-Platter filled with a variety of delicious taco fillings: carne asada, pollo asado, cochinita pibil, pastor & refried pinto beans. Tortillas served on the side. (serves 2 people)
Comments: Not taking into account taco trucks, because you know we love us some taco trucks, but in our opinion there are three tiers of Mexican restaurants in Seattle.
- The fancy modernish ones like Barrio, Mezcaleria Oaxaca, Chavez, Fogon Cocina Mexicana, Poquitos
- The mid-tier ones like La Carta de Oaxaca, El Quetzal, Casco Antiguo, El Borracho, 418 Public House, Senor Moose
- The hole-in-the-wall cheaper ones like La Conasupo, Mendoza’s Mercado, Taco Chukis, Gorditos
D’La Santa falls in the mid-tier category.
As mentioned above, a reader suggested D’La Santa as a worthy adversary for best Mexican restaurant in Seattle. We’d never heard of D’La Santa, which opened in late 2017. And I don’t think anybody could blame us since it’s located near a secluded stretch of businesses in North Capitol Hill on 10th Ave E away from the more popular areas of Broadway and the Pike/Pine Corridor. It’s almost borderline Eastlake. Regardless, we gotta give props to this reader for pointing us in the direction of D’La Santa. It is indeed a worthy adversary.
Because the area is away from the more popular streets, parking is no problem at all. The outside has a façade of hanging lanterns that continue inside with a massive tree in the middle of the restaurant also with hanging lanterns. The lights are dimmed, so it definitely gives a romantic vibe that would be a perfect date spot. It did seem like a lot of couples there were on dates, but there was also a good number of groups there with kids in tow.
Another thing that makes this a perfect date spot is the dish that literally every table we saw ordered. That dish was the Tacoarte, which comes as two platters. One filled with a variety of taco fillings: carne asada, pollo asado, cochinita pibil, pastor, pork chorizo & refried pinto beans. For those keeping track at home that’s one steak, one chicken and three pork. The price of this dish is $31.99, but it serves two people, which we feel is totally reasonable. You can definitely fill up 3 people with this dish. Along with the meat fillings, came another platter of toppings, which included onions, cilantro, salsa, pico de gallo, radishes and pickled red onions. The refried beans are really creamy, not lumpy like what you see in most restaurants. This is the perfect date dish because you’re interacting, sharing, you can discuss your favorite fillings, topping and combinations. We quickly ran out of tortillas since the fillings and toppings will easily make 15 tacos minimum. We were asked if we needed extra tortillas, which we did. Every single table had ordered this dish and if when we go back, we’d definitely order it again.
The filling rankings:
1) Carne Asada (my favorite)
2) Al Pastor (wife’s favorite)
3) Pork Chorizo
4) Conchinita Pibil
5) Pollo Asado
One other item that most tables ordered, but we didn’t, was the House Margarita that came in a coconut shell. I noticed there were four tables in a row that each ordered it. We also ordered some appetizers. The Picocitos, which are jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese & bacon. This dish was $4.99 and again we felt it was a very reasonable price considering how big the peppers were and how much cream cheese was applied. It had just the right amount of bacon for a very balanced dish.
The other appetized we got was the Tuetanos, a fire roasted bone marrow boat with cotija cheese and green onion. This was more of a dish for me since my wife doesn’t really enjoy bone marrow. The frustrating thing about bone marrow is there’s just so little of it per bone, but oh how I love me some fatty goodness.
Picocitos $4.99 (3) Jalapeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese & bacon
I have to say that service started out a little rough. We arrived and we had to wait awhile to be seated as there was no workers to be seen even though there were about 6 tables already being served. Somebody eventually came out from the back and we were seated with menus. Again, we waited quite a while before our order was taken. In fact, in thinking back we actually had to flag down somebody to take our order.
To their credit, after this service was impeccable. Our server answered our questions about the dishes, warned us that the bone marrow would take a little longer due to the preparation, periodically checked on us, took away dishes as we finished, asked if we needed more tortillas and also asked if we needed anything boxed up.
Aside from the dishes we got there are so many other interesting dishes that we’d love to try in the future like the Torta Caramelo, which is bread stuffed with anaheim pepper and melted asadero cheese, filled with your choice of meat. Taco Gobernador, which is shrimp sauteed with garlic, onion, butter & cheese.
Let’s not forget their extensive steak menu, starting with a reasonably priced (Wagyu) Mishima Reserved Ultra, grade 8 at $29.99 all the way up to their 40oz Tomahawk for two that’s $119.99. We’ll save that one for a very, very special occasion.
Finding this undiscovered(to us) restaurant is the main reason we try to ask locals where they like to eat. We would have never visited D’La Santa without a local reader suggesting it. This quaint family run restaurant would probably never appear in a Seattle city guidebook. We’re not quite ready to hand over the mantle from Senor Moose as Best Mexican Restaurant in Seattle. We’ll take a few more visits and try a few more dishes, but they are in fact a worthy adversary.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: 4.50
Service: 4.50
Food/Drinks: 4.75
Bang for the Buck: 4.75
Overall: 4.65
Locals Only Factor: “Locals Only” grading-We’ll assign a grading as to how “local” a place is.
-
- Well known or Touristy. Most locals don’t go there unless they have business dinners or visitors in town.
-
- Most locals know about it
-
- Locals “in the know” know about it
-
- Only those who live close by know about it.
-
- You’re in on the secret. Don’t tell anybody!
Servers recommendations to visit in the future: Up above we mention La Conasupo Market,which is one of favorites.
Related Articles:
Recommended by: Lara(?) at Kona Kitchen
Name: Varisty Inn
Description on their web: They don’t have a website
Neighborhood: Wallingford
Address: 1801 N 34th St, Seattle, WA 98103
Type: Brunch
Packed?: Was not busy when we arrived shortly after opening, but was almost full when leaving around 9:00 am on a Saturday
Music playing: None
What we ate/drank: Beef Fajita Omelette, Carnitas in Tomatillo sauce with corn tortilla and hash brown. Side order of cinammon roll.
Comments: From the outside and from appearances as you first walk in, you’d think this is a greasy spoon diner, that isn’t always the cleanest, but I’ve got to say, the place is dated but immaculate. Varsity Inn is only open for breakfast and lunch. It appears there are a lot of regulars that frequent the place due to many customers being greeted by name as they walk in the door. Where most popular Seattle brunch places are packed with youngsters and young families, Varsity Inn seems to cater to regulars who have been coming here for years and years. They have your typical diner fare, but truthfully we’ve never had any of those dishes. Then why do we go here?
This is listed as a secret but what is the secret? You can see a copy of their menu online and you’ll notice it looks like your standard diner breakfast go to’s. The secret is that they have Mexican specials that are not listed on the menu that are just as good or better than nearby Pablo y Pablo, Senor Moose or Barrio, but cheaper. The portions are huge and you’ll surely need a box for leftovers. Take a gander at these….
We’ve read their Yelp and Google reviews and we’re flabbergasted that most people do not order these dishes. We ask our friends about their favorite places for Mexican and nobody ever mentions Varsity Inn. I think it’s one of those things where people who want normal American diner food go here specifically for that and people who may want Mexican have no idea Varsity Inn serves it nor would they have any reason to know they serve it unless they were tipped off or happened upon it by accident.
The staff is always nice and engage in small talk. I don’t know if they have a bin of toys, but the first time we came in, our server provided out daughter a toy cell phone to play with while we waited for our meals to come out. There is a small parking lot, but street parking can be a bitch especially lately due to the new construction of condo/apts in the neighborhood.Good recommendation, Lara!
Note: This is not to be confused with Ravenna Varsity Restaurant, which is a totally different restaurant.
Ratings(Scale 1-5)
Atmosphere: 3.0
Service: 5.0
Food/Drinks: 4.50
Bang for the Buck: 4.75
Overall: 4.40
Locals Only Rating: Locals “in the know” know about it.
Server recommendations to visit in the future: The staff was pretty busy, but a customer sitting next to us made small talk with us since our daughter just started walking. He mentioned a Mojito as a place we’d might want to try.
Related Articles: