In summary, dinner at Lopez fell short of expectations. The dining area was a little on the garish side, but my main course was pretty good. In the end, I think when you toss around Rick Bayless's name on your website--even if it was for something some 30 years ago--the bar gets raised a little bit,. When you don't meet those expectations, you're going to fall a little harder than others.
For an appetizer we started with a simple order of traditional guacamole. The chips were okay--not too salty or too oily--but even along with the guacamole and salsa (which were at least both fresh), the combination proved to be nothing special. I expected something more from the restaurant than the blandness of the standard issue salsa. The guacamole did come with some pickled vegetables which were a welcome and unexpected addition. The Lobster Enchiladas were actually very good. The lobster and cheese cream mixed well with the lobster and shrimp in the enchilada to make a very tasty and texturally pleasing (the shrimp tacos at Deagan's came to mind) dish. On the other hand, my cucumber margarita was really lacking in taste and kick, leaving me wanting for the same drink I've had a while ago at Momocho.
Service was decent and problem-free. I thought the restaurant decor was a little overdone around our table near the entrance, and I feel it set the wrong vibe and detracted a little bit from the food.