The small Westchester community of Baldwin Place, central to the towns of Somers, Yorktown, and Mahopac, is gaining notable eateries — case in point, The Tortilla Project.
“A couple of years ago, there wasn’t much going on around here, but we’re trying to change that,” Mitch Lanyi, co-owner of The Tortilla Project, says as he sits down with a cup of coffee before opening his chic 45-plus-seat restaurant and bar for lunch. Lanyi has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 10 years, including as general manager at Fortina in Rye Brook and Stamford.
Opened January 23, The Tortilla Project has a simple, yet versatile, concept: “Anything on a tortilla can be a taco, and it’s always a work in progress,” Lanyi says. “We use authentic Spanish techniques and ingredients to make dishes that are not authentic at all — just good.”
While the menu changes often, expect small plates such as patatas bravas and lamb chops, sides such as street corn salad and plantains with green sauce, and eight taco options, from birria and duck to pork belly and portobello. Flour tortillas are the standard, but corn can be requested. The top seller is the steak taco: It’s like a steak sandwich inside a taco with peppery arugula, garlic aioli, pickled Fresno chilis, and deep-fried crispy onions. Another favorite dish is the shrimp-chorizo arepa, like a deconstructed Colombian grilled cheese inside two maize-flour patties, then spread apart and covered in toppings inspired by a creamy pasta dish. “It’s a big cheesy mess of deliciousness,” Lanyi says.
The full bar includes a happy hour, occasional live music, and a menu of Campo Bravo tequila-based margaritas (coconut, smoked strawberry, spicy pickle). For dessert, try the coconut mango truffle, a baseball-sized orb of coconut gelato with a mango sorbet center, drizzled in chocolate sauce and topped with shredded coconut.
“We use authentic Spanish techniques and ingredients to make dishes that are not authentic at all — just good.”
—Mitch Lanyi
The Tortilla Project
80 US-6, Baldwin Place; 914.205.3152
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Related: Where to Find Authentic Persian Cuisine in Westchester County
