
"Opening tomorrow in the former Superba Snack Bar space on Rose Avenue, I’m describing a modern Mexican restaurant from owner Shireen Imani that leans into Mexico City–style botanas y mezcales with a sunny, Tulum-esque ambience. Alex Silva and Vanessa Salas—who previously did Feastly dinners serving mushroom chorizo tostadas and barbacoa chilaquiles—are running the menu. The floorplan and much of the seating recall an updated Superba dining room but with higher ceilings, added greenery, and more color; the backless bar seats and lower-level stumps, however, could be a tad uncomfortable. Highlights on the menu include a quesadilla de calabaza (squash blossom and quesillo with pumpkin seed dukkah and winter squash), a new-school pescado zarandeado that uses black cod with guajillo chiles, nixtamalized celeriac, and rainbow chard, plus a grilled skirt steak with refried sunshoke and black garlic salsa and a complement of tacos on blue corn tortillas. Meredith Hayman, who worked at Michael’s and Bestia, compiled a mostly tequila- and mezcal-oriented cocktail menu, and Chulita will initially serve evenings only until it expands to daytime hours." - Matthew Kang