Ethnic.city: Taqueria La Oaxaquena

Atlanta is blessed with numerous taquerias that do Mexican street food proud. Finding home-style dishes, however, is a far trickier task. Fortunately, Taqueria La Oaxaqueña (605 Mt. Zion Road, Jonesboro, 770-960-3010, www.taquerialaoaxaquena.com), the longstanding temple to Mexican cuisine, serves Atlanta's largest assortment of consistently good home-style classics.

Oaxaqueña's recent move to a self-standing building has made a trip here even more pleasurable. First, there's parking and lots of it. Second, there's plenty of seating, which means there's rarely a wait for a table unless you come during peak weekend hours. Finally, the expansion has allowed the restaurant to flesh out its already large menu of specialties from Oaxaca, the culinary capital of Mexico.

If there is one dish Oaxaquena is known for, it's the tlayuda. Resembling a personal pizza, the base is a corn tortilla that is baked until it resembles a tostada in texture and appearance. It's covered with blistered jalapeño halves, long strands of queso de Oaxaca (a silky and creamy string cheese), ripe avocado wedges, hulking slices of tomato and your choice of meat. The salty and fatty chorizo version is the most decadent and easiest to eat. The Quesillo Oaxaca – an artisan style of cheese similar to burrata – is a meatless version even nonvegetarians will adore.

Thick, handmade corn-based items, such as sopes, have that essential layer of custardy masa beneath the crackly exterior. Tamales come in cornhusks or banana leaves. The mole con pollo tamale is a compact, steamed treasure packed with chocolaty homemade mole and shredded chicken. You can also enjoy the mole as an entrée served over a chicken leg alongside a parcel of homemade tortillas, rice and refried beans. Another item from the specialties menu, enchiladas, is a fabulous representation of how good this ubiquitous dish can be when it's prepared correctly. A neat row of fluffy tortillas is draped in the salsa of your choice, stuffed with chicken and scattered with a small amount of melting white cheese. A thin grilled steak layered over the enchiladas, which contributes a meaty counterpart to the acidic nature of the salsas, takes this dish over the top.

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(Photo by Jennifer Zyman)