One of the most popular dishes is posole, a cilantro broth teeming with vegetables, chicken, and hominy, a simple soup that warms the belly and soul. Other local specials fill the cocktail menu.

“I clean it off and eight more show up.” It was almost 9 a.m. on a Tuesday, and the three worked with classmates to make posole in their first class of the day at STEAD School, a charter ...