Tobalá

Tobalá opened on Riverdale Avenue in September 2022, a family restaurant run by chef Moisés López — a former bartender who taught himself to cook — and his wife, Eli, with relatives on the floor. It takes its name from a wild agave used for mezcal, and the bar is built around that spirit, with house cocktails to match. The room is broad and skylit, scented with palo santo, and it fills on weekends with Riverdale families and people who rode the 1 train up for it.

The kitchen cooks from Oaxaca. Blue and yellow corn tortillas are pressed to order and arrive with a sharp salsa verde and a smoky chile de árbol salsa; lamb barbacoa comes heaped on blue corn tortillas; and the enmoladas de pato — duck folded into tortillas and finished in dark mole negro — are the dish people return for. The MICHELIN Guide lists it, and the restaurant hosts guest chefs from Oaxaca for one-night dinners. Sunday brunch has its own menu.