EVERETT — In the search for good Mexican food in Snohomish County, the taco trucks, cantinas and supposed fine-dining establishments have a way of dissolving together in a smudge of rice-heavy burritos and Old El Paso salsa.
So it is with trepidation that one must peer through the steamed windows, beneath the painted advertisement for fresh tortillas, into Casa El Dorado in south Everett.
Like many taquerias, this strip mall tortilla factory isn’t pretty. The floor and tables are so worn that it’s difficult to say whether they’re grimy or just well-used.
Bright fluorescent lights, illuminating kitschy art on the walls, compete with the glow of refrigerated cases holding soft drinks. There’s a banner advertising Corona, but no beer to be found.
There’s very little at first glance to keep moving forward toward the front counter, where men lean and gaze up at a television blaring CNN Mexico.
Then, the tortillas come into focus. There are stacks of them on the counter, and a constant stream of people filing in to purchase packages of soft corn and flour discs. A giant conveyor belt is visible through a window into the kitchen, and there’s a sense that the machine must spit the tortillas out so they land next to the cash register.
It’s a bare-bones operation.
Maybe that’s why the pillow-thick tortillas look especially inviting, even under a giant faded menu with old, unappetizing photographs of the standard offerings: burritos, flautas, tacos.
Don’t walk away.
Order a sope ($2 each). Choose steak. The cook, after a long day behind the tortilla machine, isn’t tied to microscopic measurements. Chopped meat is mounded high on a thick, fried cornmeal cake. Diced onion, lettuce and cilantro are sprinkled on top. Simple, pleasant, satisfying.
If a plate of those gems isn’t enough to fill you up, go all in.
The cashier smiles broadly when someone orders birria ($9.95).
“Have you had this before?” he asks.
The rustic stew comes in a giant portion — practically a two-liter of tender, shredded goat meat doused in a heady red broth. Cilantro and diced onion are on the side, with a three-inch stack of steaming corn tortillas. A thimble-sized container of cumin-heavy hot sauce is thrown in for good measure.
“Mix it all together,” the cashier says, winking as though he’s sharing a secret family recipe.
The result is a serious meal, for complexity in flavor as much for quantity. The goat meat lends a rural quality to the stew, without a gamey flavor.
The chef doesn’t cheat with tongue-searing chili to fill a void where there should be herbs and spices. Instead, the stew offers a glimpse of what hearty Mexican food can be, and should be.
Simple tacos with beef, chicken or pork come garnished with onion, cilantro and a little lettuce and radish ($1.25 each). Burritos ($6.95), smothered in a divine many-layered hot sauce, are heavy on the meat and served steaming. Flan ($3) for dessert is homemade.
There are as many things to ignore at Casa El Dorado as there are to appreciate. “Chocolate pie” ($3) turns out to be a thick slice of ice cream cake of the variety found in warehouse grocery stores. Flautas ($5.50 for three) taste more Taco Bell than genuine Mexican. The restaurant, with sagging Corona flags and a self-serve soda machine, isn’t the place to take a first date.
But for a take-away feast at home, topped with still-warm, fresh-made tortillas? Yes.
A quick, satisfying lunch stop? A stack of tortillas to use at home?
Yes, and yes. Please.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 kkapralos@heraldnet.com.
Casa El Dorado
205 E. Casino Road, Everett; 425-265-1186
Specialty: Mexican
Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
Take out: Yes
Reservations: No
Alcohol: No
Price range: Inexpensive
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