Tamalex Bar & Grill

The mole Poblano, made from a base crafted in San Mateo by the owners’ mother, is one of Tamalex’s essential sauces, finished perfectly with stock and other add-ins so its final profile is less sweet than other local versions, with a present but balanced spice. Even more distinctive is the mixiote, which brings two parchment paper bundles of beef that are steamed inside to sublime tenderness in a complex adobo paste of guajillo and pasilla peppers blended with bay and avocado leaves, cumin, clove, and vinegar made by Manuela herself during a recent visit to Philly. It’s served Mexico City-style, with a side of macaroni salad, which suddenly makes it taste like a picnic. But the party really hits its stride at the bar, tended by Alejandro Vaca, who has mastered the beach resort cocktail canon with quality spirits to fuel solid renditions of margaritas, a Charro Negro, and an agave version of a Black Manhattan called El Valiente.