El Mirador has been lauded in the New York Times, lionized in the local press and is loved by a legion of loyals; the “Azteca,” “Tarasca,” and “Xochitl” Saturday soup specials are a ritual sacred to many. Architects, artists, attorneys, the ladies in tennies of the city’s conservation movement—these are the faithful that gather as much for conspiratorial conversation as for food in this institution of more than 40 years. For many, this is enough.

“Some dishes rise to very high levels and some are only so-so, including most of the Tex-Mex offerings. It is in their creative specialties that the place excels,” countered one collaborator. This is especially true in the case of huitlacoche empanadas and the tortilla-crusted red snapper. Chamade’s enchiladas de papa, though, defy categorization. The “Ensalada Chapultepec” that crowns them consists of mixed greens with not-so-fresh orange segments, corn, black beans, tortilla strips…all topped with queso fresco and drizzled with a fruity raspberry vinaigrette said to contain jalapeño. The potato filling lacks the expected roasted garlic and chipotle flavors. We missed an advertised achiote citrus sauce and yearned for a hint of classic chile flavor—or maybe just a simple breakfast plate of huevos rancheros.