New downtown restaurant, Meso Maya, worth checking out

Walk into Meso Maya, the former outpost of Luna’s Tortilla Factory on the edge of downtown Dallas, and you might swear you’ve stumbled into a TexMex throwback from the 1970s, a loud, dark, space with low ceilings, chips-and-salsa on the wood-topped tables, arches and exposed brick on the walls. The black granite bar and a couple of HDTVs tucked next to the semi-open kitchen bring you back to the ’00s, and then you turn to the single-page menu and want to eat everything on it, from the pillowy-soft tamales to the excellent, chunky ceviche to the pan-roasted duck with a spicy, earthy salsa rojo. If the weather’s nice, sit out on the patio and gaze at the stars. If it’s not, trade the stars for the bar, where they sling a pretty mean top shelf ‘rita.

Meso Maya, 1611 McKinney Ave, Dallas.