Lolita desires to be the hot place

Being with the in-crowd ends up feeling just overcrowded

March 09, 2011|Devra First, Globe Staff

I hope you like to do it standing up. Eat, that is. A place like Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar — dark as a movie theater, with red velvet wallpaper, flickering candles, and the musky scent of incense low in the background — does seem calculated to awaken more libidinous appetites. On a Saturday night, it’s cheek by jowl at the Back Bay spot, sister restaurant to another Lolita located in Greenwich, Conn. You want a table? That will be a two-hour wait, the hostess informs you, logging your cell number in her iPad. She’ll call you. It’s not a brush-off or a scare tactic. It really is going to be two hours. Minimum.

So you and a few friends wedge yourselves into the humanity and juggle margaritas, nachos, ceviche, and pulled pork tacos. Thank goodness for finger food. There’s nowhere to set down a fork. At the bar, guys wearing baseball hats, speaking Spanish, and drinking Dos Equis pretend not to notice nymphets with kohl-lined eyes, updos, and shirts made of velvet and lace. A lounge in the back showcases black wrought-iron trellises, crystal chandeliers with black shades, and plush couches where packs of friends perch, snarling if a potential seat poacher gets too close. The turnout is impressive. Who wants to hang out somewhere this crowded? A lot of people, it seems. And, on a night when the kitchen must be running for its life, the food is quite tasty.

The nachos are “vertical,’’ according to the menu. Inverted is more like it, beans, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and pieces of sweetly spiced short rib on the bottom, with chips sticking out of them. It solves the most annoying part of eating nachos — getting stuck with a pile of untopped chips halfway down. Lolita’s chips are addictive, thick, crisp, and intensely salty. The ceviche is refreshing. It’s served as a trio, with a traditional lime-and-onion mahi mahi version, tuna in coconut milk, and lobster and scallops with tomato, orange, chili, and avocado. On the plate are kernels of spiced popcorn. The pulled pork tacos feature savory meat, salsa verde, and pickled onions; they’re delicious, though the lackluster tortillas disintegrate in your hand. Who needs a chair? By the time your phone rings, you’re full.