Step outside your Mexican-food comfort zone and try the Yucatan-and-Middle-Eastern-inspired menu at chef Gabe Erales’s beautifully designed dining room in a skyscraper near downtown Austin. For a novel starter, get the polkanes, four coarse-textured masa-and-lentil fritters served with herbed aioli—they’re near creamy inside, crispy outside. We preferred them to a duo of guacamole and pumpkin-seed dip that sounded so promising but was in serious need of more oomph. The cochinita pibil—grilled pork—had plenty of flavor, especially once we mixed in bites of the tart red onions that came alongside. The dish’s two accompanying sauces—a chile-and-tomato combo and a grilled habanero—really perked it up. (By the way, the house-made blue-corn tortillas are excellent.) One of the best examples of the two-continent approach came at the end of the evening with the marquesita árabe dessert. This variation on a Yucatecan specialty consists of Edam cheese (traditional but rather strong) covered in a crispy fried tendrils of Greek-style kataifi (think shredded wheat). The accompanying mango sorbet finished the meal on a bright, sweet note. Another plus: eager and well-informed servers made dining here a real pleasure.