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Tavern-like from the outside, Om Tibet’s dark façade punctuated by a neon beer sign gives little indication of the calm that lies within. The first thing diners see upon entering is a photo of the Dalai Lama peering over the back counter. Images of Lhasa’s famous Potala Palace are repeated across the ochre walls, and hushed world beat music is randomly punctuated by jarring bands such as the Scorpions. The food, too, alternates between mellow and wilder flavors. Traditional yak meat—from the shaggy-haired bovine—has been replaced with more accessible stand-ins, beef and lamb. Simple, fortifying thenthuk, hand-pulled noodle soup with daikon, wilted spinach, and sparse slices of beef contrast with the palate-tingling shapta special, spice-coated rectangles of beef stir-fried with wedges of jalapeño, red onions, and tomatoes. Both can be eaten with fluffy tingmos, steamed rolls that are favored over rice. Momos, steamed crescent-shaped dumplings filled with meat or vegetables, are treated as a main course, though non-Tibetans might enjoy sharing a plate to start. Fortunately, the only place yak products show up is in steaming mugs of bocha, a salty, yak-buttered tea that eerily tastes like popcorn. — Krista Garcia

Beef momo, $6.99; shapta special, $10.99