Mexicana Mama (CLOSED)

Julieta Ballesteros has left the nest—and Mama suffers for her departure. While the daily roster of homemade salsas served with a brown paper bag of crisp tortilla chips remain, gone are the subtleties and inventiveness that made this tiny spot a welcome addition to the regional Mexican dining scene. Serrano salsa is overly emulsified, and the Mexican benchmark pastel tres leches is so soaked it’s hard to make out the cake. Fortunately, a crispy-tender corn on the cob bathed in a sharpish queso and a tender red snapper en chile morita still express some of the kitchen’s former deftness. You’ll have less of a wait for a table to try them.