Tacos de Carnitas at Temazcal Tequila Cantina

^{Photo: JOEL VEAK}

The shifting currents and eddies of fashion aren't limited to clothing, hair, and accessories. Restaurants also have their own fads, as well as classic styles that endure beyond a season or two. Comfort-food joints seem to have a timeless appeal; cupcake shops may not have such staying power. Where the latest dining trend falls on that spectrum is open to debate, but the indubitably hot-hot-hottest restaurant motif this year is the upscale, gringo-friendly Mexican restaurant with 100-plus tequilas, as evidenced by newcomers like Lolita, Mija, Papagayo, Jalapeños, Zócalo, and Tico.

Temazcal Tequila Cantina (250 Northern Avenue, Boston, 617.439.3502) is the incarnation of this inescapable trend on Liberty Wharf, the new Seaport complex that also includes outposts of Jerry Remy's, Legal Sea Foods, and Del Frisco's. Temazcal features an attractive, busily decorated interior with a long bar and smallish dining room. The iPad-based menus are certainly novel, and I love their gorgeous food photographs: these must have the effect of holding the kitchen to a high plating standard. (Of course, there are downsides: paging through a cocktail list one drink at a time gets old fast.) But I expect the big draw for the conventioneers, tourists, and suburbanites who will flock here will be Temazcal's sizeable patio overlooking Boston Harbor. To further lure them in, chef Todd Hall is serving a less-than-perfectly-traditional rendition of Mexican fare, making his plates oversized, eye-catching, and pretty reasonably priced for a room with a waterfront view.

Guacamole de la mixteca ($10) is generous and tasty, if lacking the hand-mortared texture its molcajete serving vessel might suggest. Sopa de tortilla mexicana ($8) is served with the right accompaniments (avocado, fried tortilla strips, queso panela); you might want to punch up the mild broth a bit with the included "pasillas" (actually sliced fresh chilies). Tamales verdes de pollo ($11) have good masa flavor in the tamal and a generous filling of chicken, splashed with a lighter-than-expected, pipián-laced salsa verde. Tacos de carnitas ($10) are a delicious and elegantly presented rendition of long-simmered pork shoulder topped with napa cabbage, avocado, radishes, and crema fresca: only their gargantuan proportions seem non-traditional. In short, especially after a few oversized house Margaritas ($11), it might be ungenerous to complain that Temazcal does an Anglicized version of Mexican cuisine. After all, it's got the right look, in the right place, at the right price - so à la mode, so very 2011.