“What? What? I can’t hear a word you’re saying. Let’s just smile and pretend we’re talking.”

The once-rambunctious décor is being toned down a tad in a makeover; we have no hope that the noise level will drop with it. Oh well, many folks seem to like it that way; even at 2pm on a weekday there may be a short wait for a table. Or maybe they just tolerate the jarring acoustics on account of dishes such as “Angela’s Ceviche Fino.” The tangle of orange-tinted chips that bracket the briefly marinated white fish is a little jarring at first, too, but, with the exception of too much stemmy cilantro, the dish is a paragon of lime-“cooked” pescado.

Slightly tweaked Tex-Mex such as the enchiladas verdes de pollo y elote is typical of Lisa Wong’s kitchen. Here, the chicken is full of flavor, the tomatillo sauce bright, the corn an accent—no more—the crema atop the melted cheese just enough. We’re not fond of the loose refrieds, but the rice is right on. The corn tortillas are still fresh, but used to be much more fragrant and tender. The roasted salsa, however, remains superior.

“Inferior? Come again?”