Josef Centeno named his 12-year-old downtown Tex-Mex bastion in honor of his great-grandmother Gabina Cervantes Martinez. She made her family Tejano dishes alive with fresh vegetables from the farmers market or her garden — an ethos that resonates through the decades in Centeno’s adaptive, borderless Los Angeles kitchen. Peaches are sauteed with hazelnuts and goat cheese in the summer; coconut butter and pomegranate molasses gloss sweet potatoes come wintertime. His mom’s weekday staple recipe, green chicken enchiladas blasted with tomatillo salsa and bubbling with cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, has become one of the city’s enduring comfort foods. They soothe even more alongside guacamole, queso (including a gold-standard vegan version) and a limey margarita. The genius of Bar Amá, and Centeno, is the sureness behind his culinary unpredictability. An inspired lobster ravioli in green mole with the unorthodox nip of tarragon might appear on the menu, as will bäcos, his longtime signature flatbreads, perhaps folded around fried shrimp or twangy chicken escabeche with Thai-chile aioli. His whimsies, backed by commanding skills, keep us guessing and returning. — B.A.

118 4TH ST., LOS ANGELES, (213) 687-8002 l BAR-AMA.COM

The green chicken enchilada is based on a recipe from chef Josef Centeno’s mother that was a weekday staple growing up.