A bit off the beaten path, but well worth the search, this upscale taqueria is spacious, stylish and downright delicious. Handmade tacos come filled with chipotle-rubbed pork, beer-battered rockfish or grilled shrimp, char-grilled skirt steak fills a bodacious burrito, and flavors at the salsa bar run from smoky to smokin’.

Unlike your dry, overcooked meats and limp cabbage waiting to be dolloped into flour tortillas, Ooba’s knows the definition of “fresh off the grill.” I can smell Ooba’s grill from 2 blocks away, and it smells gooood. Their thick, smoky skirt steak and chicken burritos are oozing with white beans, minted rice, pico de gallo, jack cheese and guacamole, with a side of chips. After several years I still can’t convince myself to try anything else on their menu (chicken scratches on a chalkboard), despite the fact that the portabello mushroom quesadillas, fish tacos, enchiladas, etc, all look, smell, and sound just as appealing. Knowing that you can make unlimited visits to the fresh, homemade salsa bar itself is reason enough to pay a visit. Taco Del Mar doesn’t even give you chips for free.

Part of the ever-expanding Mexican casual class, Ooba’s has a following for good reason. While many ingredients are classic Mexican – tortillas, queso fresco, salsa fresca – Ooba’s also uses plenty of non-traditional fare, including portabella mushrooms, asparagus and beer battered shrimp, to good effect.