Chiles At Chula's -- The Best Taste Of The Southwest, Up North

Despite the large number of Spanish-surnamed restaurants in our area, there's a dearth of those reliable hole-in-the-wall cafes and taquerias that you find on the side streets of Los Angeles or San Antonio, where five bucks buys you a comida to light your fire ("Hot plate! Hot plate!") and fill you up for the rest of the day.

True, you can find relatively inexpensive Mexican food in Seattle. But most of it isn't very good. Among the dozen or so restaurants I sampled, some highly recommended by friends, only one had the combination of careful preparation, quality ingredients and attention to authenticity that made it really stand out from the rest. Strangely enough, I found it on the Olympic Peninsula, one of the few places in the continental U.S. that's even farther from Mexico than Seattle.

A reliable test for any good Mexican restaurant is chiles rellenos (stuffed chiles). And if you're in the mood for a great chile relleno, take my advice. Get into your car, get out your world atlas, locate Mexico and make a U-turn - to Chula's, an unpretentious restaurant tucked into Port Townsend's commercial marine district. Despite its Washington Street address, Chula's is a long walk from the tourist promenade amid the Victorian trappings downtown.

Its chile relleno isn't perfect, but it's the best I've found by a long shot. They use the more common Anaheim chiles instead of the rich, thick-fleshed poblanos, which are less dependably

available. They are stuffed with mild Monterrey Jack cheese instead of the classic pork-and-fruit picadillo.

"We tried other fillings," says co-owner Dawn Dobson, "but this worked the best and you can still taste the pepper." Lightly breaded, fried to a perfect crisp, the chiles are served atop a simple ranchero sauce. No flaccid canned chiles, no extraneous vegetables (one chile relleno we came across in Seattle was soaked in a sort of a bell-pepper-and-celery stew), no Longhorn cheese, no olives. Chula's version costs $8.95 and comes with good refried beans, cumin-flavored rice and decent guacamole.

Also worth trying: Chula's enchiladas, served with an excellent rustic ancho sauce, and various seafood specialties. The recipes were developed by Dobson, who with her husband, Eric, opened the restaurant 18 months ago after they tired of crewing professionally on charter sailboats. They are former residents of Austin and Houston, where Dawn worked for several years as an apprentice to one of the hottest chefs in the Southwest, Robert del Grande at Houston's Cafe Annie.

But if you don't have time to drive to Port Townsend, or you get seasick on the ferry, go to Azteca. We know, we know, they're a big corporation and they're everywhere, in 18 locations in the Seattle area. But volume seems to have its advantages. They really do a pretty good job with the basics. The rice and beans are straightforward and simple but freshly prepared and nicely seasoned.

The chile relleno? It's based on a canned, mild green chile dipped in a thin egg batter and fried just enough to cook the coating. But unlike most other places, there's a choice of filling, cheese, chicken, ground beef or, for 50 cents more, picadillo, a spicy shredded beef that's very tasty.

The chile relleno is available in combination with other dishes, such as a chicken or beef enchilada (both for $7.95). The chicken is shredded, wrapped in a corn tortilla and covered with a good, light adobo sauce. Not every part of the meal is as well done. The only flavor evident in the guacamole beside the avocado is garlic. Not nearly enough lime, cilantro or serrano chile to liven it up.

The tortillas are just average, supermarket quality, as are the chips and salsa that start off the meal. And in what is obviously a passing gesture to those weaned from Taco Bell there's a tiny mound of sour cream with one lonely black olive on top. But portions are large and the service is friendly and accommodating. Furthering the cause of cheap eats, there's theSiesta Time special, a 25-percent discount on the entire check between 3 and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Somewhere out there near you may be that little place serving well-prepared Mexican food that's inexpensive but with the real flavors of Mexico. If you've been settling for just the pink stucco walls and the black velvet paintings, take a trip to Port Townsend to see how well it can be done.

Chula's Bar and Grill, 2330 Washington St., Port Townsend; 385-7474. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. American Express, VISA, MasterCard, Discovery. Smoking and nonsmoking. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

Azteca, 2501 Fairview Ave. E., 324-4941 (and 17 other area locations); 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. American Express, VISA, MasterCard. Smoking and nonsmoking. Full bar. Reservations accepted.

STANLEY FARRAR IS THE SEATTLE TIMES' ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR/GRAPHICS AND A NATIVE TEXAN.