Wendy Logan photo

Appetizers

Lolita Corina and Tequila Bar
230 Mill St., Greenwich, (203) 813-3555, www.lolitamexican.com

If you're like me, you've been lamenting the lack of decent Mexican food in Fairfield County for years. Cry no more, my taco-loving friends. The brand-new Lolita in the surprisingly funky and cool Byram section of Greenwich is a veritable tribute to the cuisine, combining classic with innovative for an exceptional dining experience and a damn fun night out. I wish I could keep it a secret.

Tequila, anyone? Lolita has 146 varieties, and if you're so inclined, margaritas in a variety of flavors are made fresh for you, tableside, from a rolling cart stocked with fresh-squeezed juices and all the fixings. While you sip and ponder the amazingly reasonably-priced menu, you'll want to order the guacamole especial with your fresh chips and trio of salsas. This slightly chunky version of the classic avocado dip, one of three offered, is topped with jumbo lump crab and lobster meat and accompanied by an unexpected side of garlic-wine butter that you pour at will over the top. The result is a luscious and rich mouthful that needed a healthy squeeze of the fresh lime-wedge garnish and just a touch more salt to reach perfection.

As for other appetizers, good luck, and be forewarned: Every one of the six that our group sampled was moan-worthy — and filling. I implore you to save room for entrees. Still, there are a few simply not to be missed, like the queso fundido, a casserole dish filled with a green and white concoction of gooey, bubbling asadero cheese dotted with salty chorizo, roasted poblano chiles, and mushrooms, with cilantro pesto swirled in. The flavor combination tickles every single taste bud in your mouth and is impossible not to finish. Two additional requisites are the costillas de café and the lobster enchilada. The former are ribs, possibly the best I have ever tried, glazed with a blend of spicy Mexican coffee, chocolate, sesame and orange. They are sticky and very rich, with all noted ingredients equally represented and fall-off-the-bone-tender meat. The enchiladas are generously filled with chunks of ancho-orange-glazed lobster meat that offers needed citrus (without being too sweet), and Monterey Jack cheese, and adorned with fire-roasted fresh corn and smoky chipotle chiles.

We sampled all four flavors of the soft, double-white corn tortilla tacos, which come three to an order. While each was delightful, our favorites were the blackened grouper and the slow-cooked brisket. The fish version was ideal as a follow-up for the overindulging we did on appetizers. The mild grouper married beautifully with a crunchy fresh jicama slaw, a light chipotle crema and crispy pepitas (a Mexican version of pumpkin seeds). But for the insatiable meat lover, the brisket tacos are simply a blue-ribbon dish. The savory brisket is pulled into soft shreds and piled high atop the soft tortillas. Alongside comes a ramekin of gravy to pour over the top.

For more serious entrees, go for the grilled ahi: perfect, half-inch-thick slices of beautiful, sweet-soft tuna, cooked to your specifications (please, order it rare) and served with a roasted garlic, creamy, sweet corn tamale and a tomatillo relish that offers hints of citrus and a welcome, spicy kick. The carnitas, a slow-cooked pork dish, offer a crisp and chewy exterior and a deep, heady flavor which is contrasted for balance by a beautiful salsa verde and a red onion-radish escabeche. The portion is generous. Take the leftovers home. Also flavor-filled, impossible to finish, and a Latin-American classic is the carne asada, a grilled marinated skirt steak. This one is accompanied by flour tortillas, guacamole, salsa roja, grilled onions and jalapenos, which are sliced lengthwise and seeded to provide their full pepper flavor while tempering their inherent heat. The juicy steak is bursting with flavor, if a little chewy.

You'll be remiss not to add at least one of Lolita's sides. The iron pan cornbread is nothing short of blissful, arriving in small cubes bathed lightly in a creamy roasted garlic sauce. My favorite by far, though, is the zocalo corn, a grilled whole cob that is brushed with chipotle crema then rolled in sharp, cojita cheese. The contrast of sweet, charred corn and tangy, heady cheese will have you reeling.

If you don't already have a sweet tooth, you'll find it here. Just when you think you can't take another bite, the desserts at Lolita are a crowning glory and not to be missed. Try the white chocolate tostada, a dainty, laced cookie cup filled generously with fluffy, cloud-like white chocolate mousse and garnished with berries and mango salsa. The dulce de leche flan, a slow-cooked caramel and Mexican vanilla custard, is surprisingly dense and creamy, a nice change from the wobbly, gelatinous version that's more typical of flan. It, too, comes with fresh fruit. For pure heaven, go with the quatros leches cake, a fluffy white buttermilk cake soaked in coconut milk and served with a whipped cream and candied almond frosting and a creamy caramel sauce.

Without even mentioning little gimmicks like the mint and grapefruit granita (an icy sorbet) that arrives in a cloud of dry ice smoke to cleanse your palette, or the fresh-spun cotton candy, Lolita goes down as my favorite dining discovery in a very long time. Now that you know about it, I probably won't even be able to get in, a sacrifice only my waistline will appreciate.