La Morada

La Morada means 'the purple one,' and the small room on Willis Avenue is exactly that — purple walls, about ten tables and a small lending library. The Saavedra family came to New York from the Mixteca region of Oaxaca, and in 2009 they opened this restaurant with Natalia Méndez at the stove. Her children work alongside her, and the family has long made the dining room a meeting place for immigrant-rights organizing.

Méndez makes several moles from scratch, and you should taste more than one: the mole negro, the poblano, the Oaxaqueño and her mole blanco, built on chiles and four kinds of nuts. Tacos al pastor, gorditas, a molcajete for sharing and vegan enchiladas with hibiscus slaw fill out the menu. There is no alcohol; order an agua fresca or Mexican hot chocolate instead. It is a few blocks from the 6 train and a world away from a cantina.