Deep in the heart of kosher country, this bright restaurant whisks winter chills to a sunnier place, where plaster geckos smile from above. Such appetizers as baked cheese and pepper queso fundido are for smearing on steaming homemade corn tortillas. Soups—as in homemade corn with refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese—marry basics into sloppy delights. House specials eschew heat for savoury flavours. A rich sauce of peanuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and spices bathes chunks of chicken breast in pollo pipian. Tender baked lamb, wrapped in corn husks with mild spices, has dark, earthy aromas. Holding up the sweet end of the bargain is crushed cornflake–coated deep-fried ice cream in dulce de leche sauce.