I IMAGINE Josef Centeno wearing a gardener’s expression of patient concentration while dreaming up vegetable dishes in his downtown kitchen. He flashes on saffron honey drizzled over squash-blossom fritters as a color-coordinated garnish. He bakes cotija before crumbling it over sliced peaches to amplify the cheese’s saltiness and match the fruit’s ripe density. I lead with these types of very Californian pleasures because they can be easily overlooked on a menu otherwise full of Tex-Mex standards. A son of San Antonio, Centeno does his hometown proud with tart-sweet margaritas; guacamole with warm chips and nachos during happy hour; and tangy, cheesy green chicken enchiladas based on his mother’s recipe. Puffy tacos, cradling chicken picadillo or carne guisada, collapse in a cloud of masa and should be eaten in seconds. Along with his alchemist’s queso, in which traditional Velveeta fuses with three other cheeses into molten gold, these dishes make clear why Tex-Mex as a regional cuisine should be a source of national pride. If the presence of local produce prepared with global-mind imagination tangles the equation? I’m more than happy to roll with Centeno’s Tex-Cal-Mex revolution.

• 118 4th St., Los Angeles, (213) 687-8002, bar-ama.com

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