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Fiesta Mexicana has been quietly serving Mexico City-style antojitos--"foods that Mexicans eat out of hand at all hours of the day," says the menu--for about a year and a half. For a place that sells street food out of a drab (though festively decorated) Rosedale storefront, this place feels very homey, like you're eating in someone's kitchen. The gregarious chef/owner welcomes all comers with her wide smile and a quick but informative tour of the menu. Whatever you do, get the pambazos ($5.75), a fried roll coated in guajillo sauce, then stuffed with sausage, potato, lettuce, sour cream, and cheese. It's messy, and perhaps something of an acquired taste, but the treatment the roll gets might make you wonder why all sandwiches aren't made this way. If the rest of the menu is more familiar, the details and twists make it worth checking out--as do the spicy green and red salsas that come on the side. Our chicken flautas ($5.50 for an order of three) were chewy and substantial rather than the brittle tubes of yuck served elsewhere. Despite claims of everything being made fresh, some tortillas came straight out of a bag, but who cares when everything is so affordable (a party of two would find it tough to spend more than $25, including a couple hecho en Mexico Coca-Colas), filling, and delightful? () H

E-mail Christopher Skokna