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This venue is closed.

It took guts for Mexico City native Eduardo Nacipucha to open up this casually hip restaurant on the unpolished western border of Park Slope. Though it's less than a block from hopping Fifth Avenue, this modestly-sized storefront had been vacant for three years before Nacipucha came along in 2003. Slope-dwellers should be glad he did: Maria's is far and away the best Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood. A variety of Mexico City street snacks share menu space with coastal specialties like jumbo shrimp in a freshly-made cilantro pesto sauce. Guacamole is made table-side in molcajetes, heated lava rocks, which are also used in specialties like Molcajetes Norteño, a delicious mix of grilled steak, shrimp, Mexican chorizo, poblano chiles, cheese and homemade salsa. Wrap it all up in a corn tortilla, take a swig of your icy avocado margarita, and you’ll be booking the next flight out to Veracruz. — Jon Steinberg

Sat.—Sun., noon—4 p.m.

Happy hour
Daily, 4 p.m.—7 p.m. and 8 p.m.—1 a.m.; $4.50 margaritas and sangrias, $3 beers

Extra
Owner Eduardo Nacipucha has more than 150 different tequilas and makes all his margarita juices (including lime, pomegranate, blood orange and avocado) from scratch.

Bistec tampiqueña, $20; molcajetes norteño, $18