Anvil is taking over the city—a situation we’re thrilled with. It’s just that you wouldn’t expect one of the nation’s strongest bar programs to inform the margarita of a humble, longtime Tex-Mex establishment. But then, this branch of Ninfa’s—the original and the only one we recommend (the others are owned by totally different groups)—is no ordinary Tex-Mex restaurant. In fact, it’s supposedly where fajitas were invented.

The run-down neighborhood’s mostly Hispanic, and the shack-like exterior suggests rural Mexico, but the interior looks more polished and put together. A new outdoor bar area is the ideal place to taste Anvil’s spectacular Mex-inspired cocktails, as well as a menu of Ninfa’d-up bar classics like spicy chicken wings and ribs. About those fajitas: high-quality skirt steak is brushed with soy sauce, salt, and pepper while on the grill, so it comes tender and savory. But they’re even better mixed into ground beef and sandwiched into a Slow Dough bun as an outrageous, juicy “Fajita Burger.” When it’s available, soft-shell crab is also showstopping, the gently marine, lightly spicy meat fried to a golden brown atop a tangy bed of jicama-cucumber slaw. Skip subpar chiles rellenos and enchiladas, but do start with sopapillas, a puffy razor-thin tortilla drizzled with some of the best chile-laden queso in town. Now served with the best margarita in town.