Nopalito

NoPa, San Francisco Bay Area · Mexican · $$

Gonzalo Guzmán learned to cook from his mother in El Aguila, Veracruz, worked his way up through Nopa’s kitchen, and opened Nopalito a few blocks away in 2009 with organic sourcing and from-scratch masa as the non-negotiables. The torta pambazo, its roll dipped in guajillo chile before it meets the griddle, makes the case fastest. His cookbook took a James Beard award in 2018 and the dining room still refuses reservations.