A meal at chef Celia Florian’s rustic-elegant spot, which opened in 1992 near the floridly Baroque church of Santo Domingo de Guzman, is both a sensual pleasure and an essential primer of Oaxacan flavors. Florian is a driving force behind Cocineras Tradicionales de Oaxaca, an association of women who gather to exchange recipes in far-flung communities. Part Zapotec, she is an inspired chef with a preservationist bent; her moles alone are reason enough to fly to Oaxaca.

Take her famed mole negro, composed of more than 30 ingredients. The flavors are both stupendously complex and harmonious: the bitter charred undertones of burnt tortillas and chile seeds are balanced by the lush sweetness of plantains and raisins, then heightened with dusky-rich notes of toasted cacao, and skillfully layered with spices and the fruity slow burn of the prized chiles chilhuacles.

Another must-try is her plush estofado de almendras, a prime example of a Spanish-colonial mole that’s nutty with almonds and sweet-sour-salty with raisins, capers, and olives—all ingredients introduced from Iberia. As for her mole coloradito it first tastes tomatoey-tart, then hot with chiles, then blossoms in the  mouth into something as rounded and complex as a profoundly aged wine.

Florian is also a maestra of chiles rellenos, filling a delicate pale green chile de agua with pulled pork and serving it with a puckery escabeche of onion. Or tempering the smoldering heat of pasilla Mixe chiles from Sierra Norte with a rich three-meat filling and finishing the fried, battered parcels in a sweet fruity sauce. Make sure to end with the chocolate tamales that taste like a magical cross between a corn cake and brownie.