5 Best Restaurants in Napa and Sonoma, California

Chef Efrain Balmes attracted such throngs for his "real Mexican food" truck specializing in his native Oaxacan cuisine that he finally went full brick-and-mortar, creating a colorfully casual order-at-the-counter space with wooden-top tables and pastel blue metal chairs (there’s also a covered outdoor patio). The tacos—fish, shrimp, potato, mushroom, pork, and an outstanding lamb one—and the signature mole Oaxaqueño sauce are the must-tries here, the latter with either an enchilada or a burrito.

The goodness at Karen Waikiki's roadside restaurant, which has more tables outside than in, starts with high-quality ingredients and authentic techniques. The stars include tamales (chicken mole, Niman Ranch pork, and seasonal vegetables), tacos filled with beer-battered fish or crispy beef, ahi tostadas poke style, and enchiladas and burritos.

Colorful paintings and metal wall hangings decorate the indoor dining spaces of this Mexican restaurant whose signature, nuanced mole recipe comes from the family's Oaxaca-born grandmother. Much of the menu—tacos, burritos, enchiladas, carne asada, and chicken in cream sauce—may sound familiar, but the chefs craft them with care, and the chips, tortillas, and sauces are all made fresh daily.

The burritos, tacos, and quesadillas here will fill you up before wine tasting or help absorb what you've imbibed. The Super Burrito laden with cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and your choice of meat provides a day's fuel in itself (wine workers also swear by the crispy carnitas); for breakfast (before 11), there's a burrito with eggs, your choice of meat, and potatoes, beans, and salsa.

The vivid colors of the drinks, food, furnishings, and a mural by the Mexican urban artist Senkoe provide visual entertainment at this riverfront restaurant that evolved from a popular food truck. Oaxacan influences and spices like chileajo (vegetables, herbs, and chiles cooked and pureed) appear in the enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and other items, many inspired by southern Mexican street-food staples or recipes of the chef's extended family back home.