With knowledge of and interest in Mexican and other Latin foods skyrocketing, moles are becoming more common on restaurant menus — fast-food, family dining and upscale, independent and chain alike.

"I think the whole perception of Mexican food is changing. People are definitely trying more different things. They're more adventurous and are willing to try things like moles," Pepe Lopez, executive chef at El Torito, reports.

Qdoba Mexican Grill, with 100 fast casual stores nationwide, sells a Chicken Mole Burrito. The menu says Qdoba stays true to mole's history and flavor with a sauce that's "a heady fusion of dark, semisweet chocolate, chile pepper and garlic."

El Torito, which has 70 locations, recently offered a Oaxacan Chef's Special menu featuring the Tamal Oaxaqueño, a chicken mole tamal steamed in a banana leaf with Mole Coloradito (a brick red sauce made with guajillo and ancho chiles, chicken broth, cinna- mon, raisins, plantains, roasted almonds, garlic, allspice, fresh epazote and Mexican chocolate). The Mole Coloradito also flavored the Enchiladas Oaxaca. And Chef Pepe — who will be testing moles on a new, everyday menu that will feature authentic dishes from Mexico — reports he has experimented with Mole Poblano and Mole Verde.

"The Poblano seems like one of our best-selling moles because people know that one the best," he says, describ-ing the Tacos Poblano El Torito has menued. "We put a tortilla on the grill with the mole, then fill it with chicken mole. It's very popular."

The Mole Verde — a green sauce made with pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds), pasilla chiles, cilantro, tomatillos, parsley, epazote and hierba santa — wasn't as successful. "Some people didn't like the look of it, the color," Chef Pepe explains. "But it's a wonderful mole! We served it with a breast of chicken and in enchiladas. It seems like we always do better when we serve mole that way."

And at El Agave Tequileria in Old Town, San Diego, six homemade moles grace a menu that details the history of mole for customers. "Moles represent Mexican cuisine to its fullest extent. Mole is for the Mexican cuisine what Baroque Art is for architecture," the menu explains. "Today the women of even the poorest villages would not dream of making their festive moles without at least a few of the spices required by custom, which in combination with a wide variety of chiles and other ingredients such as chocolate, seeds and even coffee, have come to conform one of Mexico's first national dishes."

El Agave offerings include Mole Coloradito; Poblano Don Julio; Mole Rojo (pasilla, ancho and guajillo peppers and clove); Mole Rosa de Taxco (a creamy, pink mole of walnuts, pinenuts and chipotles); Mole Verde (a Oaxacan specialty made with tomatillos, chile Serrano, epazote, hierba santa, and chochoyotes/corn masa); and Mole Negro (a Oaxacan mole of pasilla, mulato, ancho and chipotle chiles, pl‡tano frito, sesame seed, peanuts, almonds, pasitas, tomate, tomatillo, celery, cinnamon, oregano, pepper and clove).

Creating homemade moles is a time-consuming process because some of the sauces contain as many as 30 ingredients or more.

"We have a central kitchen where everything is made from scratch," Chef Pepe reveals. "Because of the complexity of the moles, I go and work on the recipes and create a base, a paste. Then all our restaurants prepare mole fresh every day by making the paste into the sauce."

The secret to great moles, he adds, is in the stock. "I'm not sure if there are any shortcuts to making mole, but you have to pay attention to the ingredients. You have to toast the chiles, for example, and always use a good chicken stock," Chef Pepe stresses.

While many moles can't be made from pre-ground pastes, a few, such as mole poblano and the negro and colorado versions of Oaxaca, are available in this form. To prepare mole from a commercial paste, dissolve the paste in a well-oiled cazuela or heavy-bottomed pot, add broth a little at a time, stirring constantly to prevent sticking, until a smooth consistency is obtained. A good, tasty homemade stock is essential: Turkey or chicken are the most common, though some moles are delicious with pork.

Myriad moles exist throughout Mexico. They include:

Mole Amarillo (Oaxacan Yellow Mole). Called simply "amarillo", this is a specialty of the Central Valleys region of Oaxaca. Usually made with chicken, it is also excellent with beef. It can be served in a bowl with cooked vegetables, such as chayote, potatoes and green beans, or in empanadas. In the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, it is frequently served in empanadas with shredded chicken and a leaf of the anise-tasting herb, hoja santa.

Mole de Castillo. Different from most other moles, this is made with an abundance of oregano, ground black pepper and chile guajillo, ground together to make a paste. Slow-toasted chunks of regional bread are added to a chicken broth with the spice paste for body (instead of being thickened with masa as many moles are).

Mole Chichillo. The unusual mole is earthy and complex. To make it, the seeds of Oaxacan chiles chilhuacles negros and guajillos are lit, dried tortilla is charred, and these burnt ingredients are ground into the mixture to produce a dark, smoky sauce.

Manchamanteles. Literally meaning "tablecloth stainer" because of its deep red sauce flavored with ancho chiles, manchamanteles can be made with chicken, pork, or a combination of the two. In Puebla, where it originated, the fruit that is used varies from season to season and family to family, but plantains and pineapples are always included in the dish that typically includes almonds, cinnamon and cloves.

Mole Negro Oaxaqueño (Oaxacan Black Mole). The most famous of Oaxaca's many moles, this sauce can be served with turkey, chicken, or pork; however, turkey is the meat of choice for festive occasions. In Mexico, the ingredients for large batches of mole are usually taken to a molino (mill) to eliminate the laborious process of grinding on the metate.

Mole Verde con Hierbas (Herbed Green Mole). Green mole is most commonly found in the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala and Oaxaca, where it is one of the seven famous moles. Unlike the other moles, which nearly always contain nuts and seeds, mole verde gets its characteristic flavor and bright green color from fresh herbs.