Anita Moore prepares a quesadilla for customer Don Talmadge at Mi Sueño Tacos y Mas in Kingston recently. Moore got into catering and operated a food stand at farmers markets after being laid off from her job as a Spanish teacher at North Kitsap High School. She opened Mi Sueño, near the Kingston ferry terminal, in January.

SHARE Anita Moore prepares a quesadilla at Mi Sueño Tacos y Mas in Kingston recently. Kylie Weisgerber talks with a customer Don Talmadge at Mi Sueno Tacos y Mas. Anita Moore (right) talks with customer Don Talmadge at Mi Sueño Tacos y Mas in Kingston on Tuesday.

By Terri Gleich, Special to the Kitsap Sun

KINGSTON — At Mi Sueño Tacos y Más, Anita Moore serves simple Mexican street food that reflects her culture and heritage in every flavorful bite.

"If you go to Mexico, pretty much everyone has a little stand and everyone has their own specialty," she said. "People gravitate to that kind of food."

The daughter of an American mother and Mexican father, Moore spent her childhood going back and forth between Southern California and Mexico. She comes by her love of food naturally — all 12 of her fathers' siblings from Guadalajara were cooks. The men had ice cream stands and the women ran seafood restaurants.

When Moore moved from California to Kingston in 2007, she couldn't find the fresh-tasting Mexican food she craved. So when she was laid off from her job as a Spanish teacher at North Kitsap High School a few years later, she began catering and opened a stand at the Kingston Farmers Market and later at the Bremerton and Port Ludlow markets.

In January, she took the next step, opening a 580-square-foot take out restaurant across the street from the Kingston ferry.

Moore calls her food "healthy Mexican." The meat is grilled or braised and she cooks with healthy fats, such as olive oil, instead of lard. Many of her spices and flavorings come from Mexico or Los Angeles, but she buys her produce from local farmers.

"It's as natural as I can possibly get it and that's our concept," she said.

"Her food is not heavy and greasy like something at a Mexican restaurant," said frequent customer Matthew Rankin. "It's much lighter and you can really taste the flavors."

Jerry Tellinghuisen, a fan of Moore's carne asada burritos, agreed: "Her food's a little more authentic."

Moore showcases tender, well-seasoned meats in her tacos and burritos and doesn't overpower them with toppings or sauces. Patrons choose from grilled flank steak, grilled chicken, or two types of pork, braised or marinated. The tacos are three for $7.50 or $1.50 apiece on Tuesdays and are dressed simply with chopped onion, cilantro, cotija cheese and lime wedges.

Burritos, which sell for $8, are filled with Mexican red rice, refried pinto beans, cilantro and chopped onion. Both tacos and burritos can also be stuffed with seasonal roasted veggies.

Mi Sueño serves three homemade salsas: mild tomatillo, medium tomato jalapeño and spicy with two kinds of dried chiles.

Alina Moore, the eldest of Anita's four children, works at the restaurant and said her mother's passion for food shines through in specialties like the carne asada.

"Whatever she marinates the carne asada in, and she won't give me the recipe, it's so savory that it doesn't need anything else," said Alina. "When I give people samples, they don't even want to taste anything else."

Mi Sueño's signature burrito is El Sasquatcho, a surf and turn nod to the Northwest's legendary Sasquatch that features smoked salmon and habanero mango pico along with flank steak, rice and pinto beans for $9.50.

"We are transplants from Southern California, but we love the Pacific Northwest and we wanted to show that by adding the salmon," said Alina Moore.

The tiny takeout shop is painted a cheery green inside and the counters are covered with colorful Mexican bingo cards. The whimsical animal posters on the walls are by Anita Moore's graphic designer husband, Don. One features El Sasquatcho in a Mexican wrestling mask. Don Moore also designed the store's logo in the style of the Mexican art form papel picado or perforated paper.

The shop stocks Mexican soft drinks and serves refreshing coolers made from fresh fruits. Desserts include pig-shaped molasses cookies known as cochinito.

Anita Moore has made fresh tamales and chile rellenos for specials and hopes to share other dishes from south of the border, including hand pies known as empanadas from Colombia and Salvadoran papusas, thick corn tortillas stuffed with beans, cheese and meat.

"My hope is to bring a little bit of culture through the food in our specials," she said.

Catering is still 90 percent of Moore's business, but she dreams of growing her restaurant enough that she can move to a location with indoor seating.

Appropriately, Mi Sueño means "my dream."

"We all come to America with a dream," said Moore. "That's what my dad did. He had a dream and he made it happen."

Mi Sueño Tacos y Más

Where: 25923 Washington Blvd. NE, Suite 101, Kingston

Hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays

Info: (360) 297-0713, www.misuenotaqueria.com or misuenotacos@yahoo.com