"With a vibrant design featuring the color pink and a bar emphasizing mezcal and tequila, Astoria restaurant Ruta Oaxaca is one of the city’s best evocations of the cuisine of the southern Mexican state. Moles come in a rainbow of colors — you can’t go wrong with the chicken buñuelos, served in a pool of dark mole Oaxaca, or the brighter mole coloradito, poured over a steak with melted Chihuahua cheese. There are prix fixe menus for lunch and dinner too. There are additional locations in Brooklyn, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley." - Nadia Chaudhury