Best Mexican restaurant
One's a burrito-slinging fast-food franchise, the other's a cozy hideaway that eschews most Tex-Mex trappings for regional subtleties. Anna's Taqueria and Casa Romero occupy opposite ends of Boston's Mexican-food spectrum, and that's just where you voters want them. After all, when you're craving a big, dripping bundle of fun such as those that Anna's (sometimes) endearingly hasty assembly lines slops together, no artful dollop of ceviche is gonna cut it. At times like those, you'll search long and hard for one of Anna's banana-colored storefronts - and wait even longer (or so it feels) in line for your dream burrito, be it the so-called super steak or pork with green chili. And while in virtually every chat room devoted to local dining, debates over steamed tortillas, properly drained beans, and condiment quality rage ad infinitum, they only prove the extent to which Anna's has set the standard by which all taquerias are judged.

By the same token, when it's ceviche - or mole or flan - you want, Casa Romero es su casa. And a lovely casa it is, too, from wood planks to hand-painted tiles, murals to lanterns, pottery, carvings, and more. It's the ideal spot to introduce jalapeņo hounds to the more flowery, delicate flavors of non-hyphenated Mexican cuisine - orange and cilantro, tomatillo and cactus, chipotle and poblano. Before you can say "huitlacoche," they'll be hooked.

Anna's Taqueria, 1412 Beacon Street, Brookline, (617) 739-7300, 446 Harvard Street, Brookline, (617) 277-7111, 236A Elm Street, Somerville, (617) 666-3900, 822 Somerville Avenue, Cambridge, (617) 661-8500; Casa Romero, 30 Gloucester Street, Boston, (617) 536-4341, www.casaromero.com.