Dolores

"Chef Maria Meza arrived in the U.S. in 1992 with a dream to open her own restaurant. Today, locals wait patiently for tables to get a taste of her family’s dishes from the Mixteca region of Mexico. Members of the Meza family cook meals inspired by their heritage in Oaxaca and Puebla: complex, long-simmered moles; hand-ground heirloom corn tortillas folded into pockets and filled with cheese to make tetelas; and an array of tamales that are also available frozen to take home. Maria’s son Joaquin runs the bar, which is stocked with artisanal mezcal and other enticing regional spirits." - Erika Adams, Jenna Pelletier

"With a big menu of dishes from Puebla and Oaxaca and a bright blue interior, this restaurant on Hope Street brings the sunshine year-round. Come with a group and start the night with a pitcher of sangria with pomegranate seeds swirling around. Dolores also has an extensive cocktail list replete with Mexican spirits that go beyond tequila and mezcal (like sotol and Oaxacan rum). Foodwise, there’s a lot to choose from, but the mole pistachio and chile relleno are two rich dishes worth saving stomach room for. Even if you don’t want a full-blown meal, though, you can still come here to snack and drink. Get the tetela filled with goat cheese and serrano peppers and topped with spicy salsa roja or a round of tostadas with salsa, paired with a Sotol sour." - grace kelly

"Chef Maria Meza arrived in the U.S. in 1992 with a dream to open a restaurant. Almost 30 years later, she runs two successful eateries in Providence with her son Joaquin. While their first restaurant, El Rancho Grande, is small and casual, Dolores is like a sophisticated younger sister. Here, the Mezas cook meals inspired by Maria’s childhood in Oaxaca and Puebla: complex, long-simmered moles; hand-ground heirloom corn tortillas folded into pockets and filled with cheese to make tetelas; and an array of tamales that are also available frozen to take home. Joaquin runs the bar, which is stocked with Oaxacan mezcal and other regional spirits." - Jenna Pelletier

"Delores originally closed on March 16, choosing to wait out the outbreak instead of staying open with delivery and takeout. But since then, things have changed. “[We] shut [Delores] down originally to avoid putting people at risk, and now that we have the information we need to to keep our customers and employees safe, we can get people the food they want and get people back to work,” Smith says." - Alex Frane