SOUTHWESTERN CUISINE has gotten a bad rap of late. That is, of course, if you consider "of late" an inclusion of the last 15 years or more. Since its rise to popularity in the '80s, this mad mix of Mexican, cowboy and American plains cooking blossomed, then faded as fast as the pink blush in a prickly pear margarita.

In 2007, blue corn and tequila-cured salmon seem a wee bit passé. We've all moved on to either guajillo chile foams or back to classic French cooking.

Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Nava's Southwestern fare includes the delicious lamb loin wrapped in bacon. It sits atop a pile of grits jazzed up with roasted serrano.
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
Nava in Buckhead opened its doors in 1994 in a space that was once a fine show piece. The best place to dine now is in the outdoor area, which boasts that darling reflective pool overlooking Peachtree Road. It's a perfect setting to dig into the sweet corn tequila flan (below).
Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
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At its best, Southwestern cuisine is a fusion of flavors and ingredients from the Southwestern United States and Mexico — indigenous peppers and chiles, pecans, oranges, blue corn, masa, queso and beans or rice. It's often peppered with a bit of smoke from the grill, and uses larger and finer cuts of meat than Mexican cookery. At its worst, it's a veiled excuse to drink margaritas.

Nava, the Southwestern spot in Buckhead operated by the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, opened in 1994 during perhaps the last heyday of the great realm of Southwestern glam dining started by restaurants like Mark Miller's Coyote Café in Sante Fe. Nava reached its pinnacle in the late '90s when Kevin Rathbun served as its chef and introduced Atlanta to banana quesadillas and hibiscus tortillas.

Since, it has undergone few changes, other than a slowly revolving door in the kitchen where chefs have come and gone unnoticed by the Atlanta food cognoscenti's radar. Nava has survived on the conviviality of the outdoor dining area, with its reflective pool overlooking Peachtree Road, and its reputation within the Buckhead Life restaurant group.

But if Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that laurels only last so long. New chef Jesse Perez recently replaced Tom Harvey, who moved across town to One Midtown Kitchen. Perez was a protégé of Mark Miller of Coyote Café and was purportedly hand-picked by Buckhead Life founder Pano Karatassos to breathe new life into the restaurant's waning menu.

Perez's success is mixed. To his credit and detriment, it's hard to tell the difference between his cooking and what's been going on at Nava for years. And what's been going on at Nava for years is often mediocre, sometimes very good, but never stellar.

Let's start with the mediocre: gazpacho, as an appetizer special with blue crab, tastes little better than a can of cold tomato soup — no seasoning, no pith, no soul. White corn asiago nachos are souped up with queso cotijo, but the hickory-fired chicken tastes as if its smoke came from the shelf, not the smoke house. Corn-crusted red snapper lacks the bold flavor this fish should conjure up, though the soft whipped potatoes in masa broth are a treat (though how masa ends up on a Southwestern menu is a bit mysterious). An "exotic" mushroom tamale (am I supposed to take this seriously?) is bland and dry.

The blue corn sticks brought to the table (apparently to keep you from totally dousing yourself in tequila while waiting on other goodies) are every bit as good as they ever were — always hot and best when smeared with gobs of butter. Lamb loin wrapped in bacon is red-centered and meaty, with a not-too-salty demi-glace and grits pepped up with roasted serrano. And while the cascabel cream is a little much on a soft lobster taco, the whole of the dish — with bright flavor from green chiles and fresh lobster — is a winner.

When the restaurant opened, the tiered, carved-out space was showy and splashy. Now, it looks worn and weird, like an adobe village on acid. Outside is best. Even the margaritas lack the sprightliness they once had — on one evening mine tasted like a liquid salt lick.

Truth be told, I have never hated a meal at Nava. I've never loved a meal here, either. New restaurants, younger and prettier, pop up daily in this city, like starlets in L.A. Nava lacks that special little something that sets it apart from the rest.