Having lived in SLC where there is a huge mexican population (and seeing you’re from L.A.) I can say I have not yet found any really great Mexican food in Seattle.
The Turkish Place is across from Pike Place Market and that little park (down the street from Starbucks). It’s almost at the corner of Western. Their Doner Kebab is fabo.
Down near Cutter’s? (I usually go down First to go to the Market. And I don’t go to Starbuck’s, so I don’t know where they are.)
I ended up going to El Puerco Llorõn, on Pork Rind’s suggestion. Quite good. Couldn’t finish it all.
Yup diagonally from Cutters just past the knife and wine shops.
Try the El Asadero taco bus on Rainier. Also La Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard. And Barrio on Capitol hill.
What he said.
You know, I’m not sure. I’m addicted to their tamales and their breakfast tacos.
I’ll keep an eye out for it. We had a staff meeting last week, and we all got $15 gift cards to Cutters; so I’m trying to get my coworker and my boss decide on when to go. We’ll get down there eventually.
When I worked in Orange County there was a Mexican market/carniceria near the office. They had tasty chicharones. Haven’t been able to find chicharones since I moved up here.
And I haven’t had a really good breakfast burrito in 20 years. There was a catering truck run by a Thai woman when I worked near LAX, and theirs were the best. I liked mine with Vegemite and those hot carrots/onions/jalapenos (which I had with lunch today, BTW).
Breakfast burritos just miss some ingredient. I have no idea what that ingredient is though. All I know is it should replace the potatos they use as filler.
OK, this thread is drifting a bit. But I don’t feel like starting a new one.
I found this thread over at Chowhound: Searching for the Seattle equivalent of L.A.'s Mexican food I LOL’d at the comments about Mama’s. So true! So true! 
For the life of me, I can’t remember whether Thai Lady put potatoes in the breakfast burritos or not. I know they had two eggs, two rashers of bacon, two link sausages, and ham. And mine had Vegemite and hot carrots and jalapenos. Potatoes? Can’t remember. Cheese? Can’t remember.
I have to agree with Johnny… MOST of Seattle doesn’t do hot. I, too, grew up in SoCal. I’ve yet to find really good Mexican food. I was down in Calif. last summer and went to San Diego for good stuff!
As far as pizza, Papa John’s does ok for the west coast. My SIL is from east coast and he’ll at least eat it. 
There’s a little hole-in-the-wall on Queen Anne that does Mexican… haven’t been there for ages, cause I moved to the eastside, but it used to be good. It’s a few blocks away from the … hm 5 Spot, as I recall. North of Trader Joe’s. I’m sort of vague, I know 
Just googled and it might be Malena’s.
Mama’s is at least better than Las Margarita’s or Mazatlan, imo.
The worst I had was in Sequim. They used tomato sauce on their enchiladas. I took one bite and ended up at the grocery store buying prepackaged stuff that was way better.
A taqueria opened up in near where I work, I may have to see if I can get the makings for my own homemade stuff!
The Mexican grocery is in the middle (again, across from the Market) kind of near the pieroshky place. If you’re smelling cinnamon, you’re in the right area.
Then, of course, there’s everything below and behind. (I give horrible directions. But the stairs all around - they go places.)
Also, you’ve not had truly bad Mexican food until you’ve tried Mexican food in Canada.
I believe it was someone on this very board that once said “I wouldn’t hit a dog in the ass with Papa John’s pizza.”
I dunno about Seattle pizza, but you said “west coast” and and the west coast most certainly makes better pizza than that.
I’m glad it’s not just me. It does seem that the spicyness, particularly of Thai foods, has been dumbed down a lot in the past few years (based on samples in Bellevue, Marysville, and Arlington, all near to Seattle). Fifteen years ago asking for five stars in a Thai restaurant resulted almost in a prefontal lobotomy without anesthetic. Now you don’t even break a sweat with that. I’ve taken to asking for Thai style five stars, plus a tray of condiments, and using all that can manage to get things up to what used to be around three stars.
Buncha wimps!
Yeah, I had to upgrade my spice at Thai places in Seattle recently (from two stars to three, so I guess I’m not into hot food either, but still).
Pizza: that Tom Douglas embarrassment downtown aspires to mediocrity. I don’t mind Pagliacci’s but I think Piecora’s (on Capitol Hill) is better.
Complaining that Seattlites don’t like hot food based on what Uli’s sells at Pike Place Market is absurd, considering that their clientele is out-of-town tourists. There is a whole world of spicy food here. Have you gone to the International District? Little Saigon? I recently had a dish of Kung Pao Chicken I ordered with NO heat for my daughter that came with 14 hot peppers in it.
This place isn’t Mexican, Indian, or Thai but, in terms of hotness, how’s Mike’s Chili Parlor? I’m thinking of stopping there the next time I’m in Seattle.
I stopped at Mama’s when I was in town a couple years ago. I was craving Mexican food and wanted to find a place within walking distance of the hotel where I was staying. I thought it was fair but not all that special. The decor was only thing that really stood out.
I remember Pagliacci’s being pretty good back when I was going to UW. Of course, I think they only had one or two locations back then. Perhaps with expansion, blandification of the product set in. The last time I had anything from Pagliacci’s, I ordered a calzone and was surprised to find the marinara sauce outside of it. I had no idea that the calzones I’d eaten before then may have been made the “wrong” way.
How good is Vince’s? I’ve been wanting to try that place for years and notice one of the earlier posters recommended it.
Mike’s is my favorite place in Seattle, maybe the whole world. When I die, if I end up in a place like Mike’s, I’ll know I’ve done well.
That said, the chili’s not really that hot. What you need to do is order it with jalapenos on top. If you really want to do like me, have them go heavy on the jalapenos.
I had another thought about I place I’ve heard to be for-real spicy. Crawfish King down in the ID. You order your crawdads by the pound and choose the level of spiciness, all the way up to “extra crazy”. Disclaimer: I’ve never been, despite the fact that I badly want to go. Can’t seem to get my group of friends interested in the trip.
I had good experiences with Serious Pie when it opened, but the last couple of visits have been so so. I agree that Piecora is better than Pagliacci. What are your thoughts on Via Tribunali or Tutta Bella? The crowning disappointment of this year is that I stopped working in Belltown just as the V.T. opened there in the new Croc.
I’m 3,000 miles away and I’m considering lunch at Dixie’s.
There used to be a place near the Market that was very spicy; Chinese and Thai, I think. The inside was all done in white tile; before it was a restaurant they used to make cheese there, or it was a slaughterhouse or something. I think the name had “garlic” in it.
A web search finds the Garlic Tree in that general neighborhood, but I’m not sure if that’s it.
That was it, but it’s long gone.