For me, when it comes to dining out, especially on a hot summer evening, there’s nothing better than finding that little neighborhood restaurant that has a relaxed atmosphere and great food. With an open door letting in a cool breeze and no TVs blaring, the cozy cafe or bistro is great for two or a small family.
Recently my family strolled from our home to our neighborhood cafe in Mount Vernon, COA Mexican Eatery, which is named for the specialized tool for harvesting agave. Near Mount Vernon High School, COA is smack dab in the middle of a quiet hilltop neighborhood and has a perfect relaxed atmosphere.
We walked in with only one other table occupied and grabbed a small table near the window. COA has about a dozen four-top tables that can easily be mixed and matched for larger parties. It’s pretty simple: tables, chairs and food. No TVs, no blaring music, no frills. If you want low stimulation and relaxation with your Pacifico and chips and dip, it’s the way to go.
COA, which has a sister restaurant on Roosevelt Way in Seattle, specializes in authentic Mexican food with a Pacific Northwest bent. (Its menu is called “Mexiattle: Mexico in Seattle.”) I get tired of the cookie-cutter Mexican restaurants like Las Margaritas, Azteca, et al. They have their place — a lunch meeting, say — but the food feels like it came off an assembly line.
COA is not an assembly line. Head to the bathroom and pass near the kitchen and you’ll see two or three cooks slaving over a grill or carefully plating up tacos. With items like wild cod ceviche, plaintain sopitos and el conquistador — a dish of slow roasted pork, chorizo, pablano peppers and more — the menu goes beyond the regular Mexican eatery options.
We ordered a beer and margarita — Fridays margaritas are $3 — and a plate of taquitos fritos off the bocaditos menu. Bocaditos means piecemeal in Spanish and has a number of small plate options, including tostones, a triple dip starter with guacamole, mango pico de gallo and wild cactus pico dip, and the ceviche and sopitos dishes.
The taquitos fritos were crispy and served with a heaping helping of guacamole and pablano crema. The meat was a little overcooked, but overall it was a great way to get started and the kids loved them.
For the kids, we ordered a quesadilla off the kids meal and a burrito chiquito off the fresco, or fresh, menu, which also has a tostada, salad, enchiladas and tacos. There wasn’t anything special about the quesadilla, but the burrito, smothered in pimenton crema and mole was amazing.
The items on the bocaditos, fresco and kids menus are larger than one would expect with their $6 to $9 price tag (the one exception is the ceviche, which is $12). The two oldest kids easily portioned off part of their meals for our 2 year old, who also picked at the chips and a lime.
My wife got the ceviche, which was good. Slightly sweet from the mangos, the ceviche is fresh and full of flavor. I got the award-winning chile relleno. I’m not a huge egg dish guy, but this was really good. The thin layer of egg didn’t dominate the grilled poblano chile, which was spicy and earthy, and the amount of cheese was spot on.
Besides chile relleno, the entree menu has other Mexican eatery standbys, including carne asada, pollo en mole, fish tacos and fajitas. You can also order the burrito loco, big brother to the burrito chiquito, and taco plates (tacos are a $1 apiece on Tuesdays), with the choice of slow-roasted pork, beef, chicken or grilled vegetables. The entrees range in price from $10 to $14.
As we ate our meal the restaurant filled up. But our service remained prompt and helpful (the 2-year-old at one point accidentally smacked a waitress and she just laughed). It was still hot at 7 p.m. when we were winding down, but the second beer was still cold and the breeze was light and cooling.
COA Mexican Eatery
102 S. 10th St., Mount Vernon, 360-840-1938, coaeatery.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
Alcohol: Full bar
Note: The first Monday of each month is Customer Appreciation Day and customers receive 50 percent off their bill if it’s paid in cash.
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