Maíz (restaurant)
| Maíz | |
|---|---|
_logo.png){kind=logo} | |
_-_01.jpg) The restaurant's exterior, 2022 | |
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Food type | Mexican |
| City | Seattle |
| State | Washington |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 47°36′36″N 122°20′33″W / 47.6101°N 122.3425°W |
Maíz is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Seattle, Washington. The original nixtamaleria has operated at Pike Place Market since 2021. Maíz Molino opened in Denny Triangle in 2022, and Maíz Taqueria opened in the Ballard area in 2024.
Description
[edit]Maíz is a small chain of Mexican restaurants in Seattle. In addition to the original restaurant at Pike Place Market, outposts operates in the Denny Triangle and Ballard areas.
Maíz at Pike Place Market
[edit]The Pike Place Market location's interior features white tile walls, mosaics of corn and the restaurant's name, and talavera tiles depicting skeletons bathing, riding motorcycles, texting, and doing yoga.[1] Naomi Tomky of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said the shop is "a modern feeling space that celebrates an ancient tradition".[2] The interior also has four stools for indoor dining.[3]
The menu includes nixtamal tortillas[4] and antojitos (Mexican street food) such as chalupas,[3] gorditas, huaraches, quesadillas, sopes, guisado-style tacos, tamales, tlacoyos,[5] and tostadas. The restaurant has also served chilaquiles, pan dulce, champurrado, horchata lattes, and other Mexican-style coffee drinks.[5] In addition to chilaquiles, the breakfast menu was expanded in August 2022 to include egg tacos and fruit with chamoy and Tajín.[6]
Maíz Molino and Maíz Taqueria
[edit]
Maíz Molino's interior features a sign with text which translates to "Without corn, there is no country".[7] The menu has included pork cheeks in mole, short ribs with masa grits, and snake venom–infused sotol.[8]
Maíz Taqueria operates on 15th Avenue Northwest. The menu includes nachos and tacos.[9]
History
[edit]Aldo Góngora, his wife Angelica Martin, and her sister Roxana Martin opened the original brick and mortar restaurant in a former Mexican grocery store on November 2, 2021, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and Day of the Dead celebration featuring a live mariachi band.[4][7] The tortilla shop is the second in Seattle nixtamalizing its own corn, following Milpa Masa.[2][10][11]
"Sibling" restaurant Maíz Molino opened in Denny Triangle in 2022.[12]
In February 2024, Maíz Taqueria in the space previously occupied by Sazon Kitchen.[9]
Reception
[edit]In 2022, Allecia Vermillion included Maíz in Seattle Metropolitan's list of best new restaurants.[3] She also included the business in a 2022 overview of "Seattle's great tacos and Mexican restaurants".[13] Megan Hill, Jade Yamazaki Stewart, and Harry Cheadle included Maíz Molino in Eater Seattle's 2023 list of 16 "marvelous" Mexican restaurants in Seattle metropolitan area.[8]
See also
[edit]
- List of Mexican restaurants
- List of restaurant chains in the United States
- List of restaurants in Pike Place Market
References
[edit]- ^ "Maíz Brings Nixtamal Tortillas to Pike Place Market". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2022-10-06. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b Tomky, Naomi (2021-10-18). "Seattle's second true tortilleria to open at Pike Place Market next month". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b c "The Best New Restaurants in Seattle". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2022-09-30. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b Streefkerk, Mark Van (2021-11-02). "A New Tortilleria Debuts in Pike Place Market". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b Tomky, Naomi (2022-04-12). "How Two New Seattle Shops Are Centering Mexican Coffee Culture". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ Santos, Melissa (2022-08-12). "Maíz tortilleria in Pike Place Market now serves breakfast". Axios. Archived from the original on 2022-08-12. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ a b "At Seattle's Maiz it's all about the corn". king5.com. January 26, 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
- ^ a b Hill, Megan (2016-04-08). "16 Marvelous Mexican Restaurants in the Seattle Area". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
- ^ a b Cheadle, Harry (2018-04-05). "The Hottest New Restaurants in the Seattle Area, April 2024". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
- ^ Tomky, Naomi (2021-12-15). "The best things to happen in Seattle's food scene in 2021". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 2022-10-19. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ "13 Fall Restaurant Openings in Seattle to Get Excited About". Thrillist. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-04-19. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
- ^ Callaghan, Adam H. (2018-04-05). "The Hottest New Restaurants in the Seattle Area, December 2022". Eater Seattle. Archived from the original on 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
- ^ "Best Mexican Food in Seattle, From Tacos to Birria". Seattle Metropolitan. Archived from the original on 2022-08-10. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
External links
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