Critics' choice: Reimagined Mexican-American fare

Hellbender

Queens, N.Y.

A life-size faux jaguar sits just above the diners in one corner of Hellbender, and "she's an apt spirit animal for this pro-tean establishment and its chef," said Melissa Clark in The New York Times. In Mayan mythology, jaguars travel freely between our world and the next, and Hellbender is equally nimble. "Is it still a bustling bar with exceptionally good food, or is it an exceptional restaurant with late-night vibes?" It's both, really, because chef Yara Herrera...