Delectable "desayunos" at colorful Ballard cafe

Along the light-industrial strip where Leary rolls into Ballard is Café Moose, a charming and down-to-earth breakfast/lunch stop whose pink-hued walls and bright art evoke all the vibrancy of Mexico.

Happily, so does the food. Seattle has lots of breakfast joints, a burgeoning subset of which do Mexican "desayunos" — Easy Street Café in West Seattle and Baja Bistro on Beacon Hill, to name two notables — but Café Moose, which has been quietly gaining under-the-radar appreciation since October, is already peer to the best of them.

Twenty years in Mexico taught owner Kathleen Andersen a thing or two about the cuisines there. Like the importance of a generous hand with the chile in the red salsa chilaquiles ($6.75). Or the beauty of real lard ("I render it myself!") in the refried flor de mayo beans.

For breakfast, one can sample Mexican faves like sopes and eggs ($7.95), huevos rancheros ($7.95) or huevos ahogados ($7.95), a dish of poached eggs, green-chile strips and cotija cheese with grilled French bread. Or one can stick with good old three-egg scrambles ($6.75-$8.25) with hearty home fries or a plate of French toast.

Andersen does burger, sandwich and salad lunches besides, and expects to serve her devoted clientele with dinner as well, beginning in October. Only time will tell if this will overtax Andersen, who runs around on any given morning like a one-woman show. Water refills might lapse awhile as Andersen chats up a customer or grabs books or more crayons for the children at a table.

Which, in a place as folksy and deeply satisfying as this, actually registers in the plus column.

Check please:

Carne de puerco en chile verde: A dish of true integrity and deep fire, this one stars moist pork simmered in spicy green salsa, served in a shallow dish scattered with fresh cilantro. With it come steamed corn tortillas and the hands-down tastiest refrieds I'd had in ages. "It's the lard," owner Kathleen Andersen quipped. "And plenty of salt." Don't say I didn't warn you.

Chilaquiles: Crispy fried corn tortilla squares bathing in feisty red salsa came lavished in sour cream and cotija cheese, alongside black beans. It's amply portioned, and good thing — this dish is so harmoniously tasty, the tortillas so crisp and flavorful, you'll want to eat right through your plate.

Chorizo sausage: Housemade, this patty featured a mighty blend of spices and chile heat.

Coffee: Andersen's supply comes from a friend's coffee plantation in Mexico, and is then roasted locally — an international fusion to make a Seattle foodie smile.

Itemized bill, meal for two

Carne de puerco en chile verde $9.95

Chilaquiles $6.75

Chorizo sausage $3.25

Coffee $1.75

Tax $1.90

Total $23.60

Kathryn Robinson: kathrynrobinson@speakeasy.net