Tequila Restaurant, Corpus Christi

Mole sauce is traditionally made with fistfuls of dried poblano peppers and hints of chocolate. Drawing on recipes for time-tested Mexican cuisine such as this, cooks at Tequila Restaurant fill the kitchen with the clatter of pots and pans. Chimichangas and avocados stuffed with strips of beef sizzle in hot oil, and carne asada crackles against a skillet beneath slices of peppers and onions. Ranks of tequila bottles stand on a shelf behind the bar, waiting to fill margarita glasses or help write a cowboy ballad that is due the next day.