Less than a year ago, we introduced readers to Stamford branch of The Taco Project, a fast casual Mexican restaurant whose roots began in Tarrytown in 2014.
Since April of 2022, The Taco Project and its brand grew even more outside of its existing Westchester locations (Tarrytown, Yonkers, Pleasantville, Bronxville) and its High Ridge Road spot in Stamford, as they’ve set their sights on the Florida market and opened up shop in Coral Springs.
Tarrytown, Yonkers, Bronxville, Pleasantville, and now Stamford.
Since opening in 2014 in Tarrytown, The Taco Project’s popularity kept growing in Westchester, and now they’ve brought their brand of Mexican-inspired fast casualness across the state border to the busy High Ridge Shopping Center.
Co-owner Carmelo Milio—who’s one of The Taco Project’s head honchos with partners Sebastian Aliberti and Nicholas Mesce—mentioned that opening their fifth location in Stamford was a natural progression for their brand.
“Being that we’re all Westchester residents (Sebastian is in Pleasantville, I’m in Armonk, and Nick’s in Dobbs Ferry), we come to Stamford to hang out often,” he says. “We’ve always thought about opening here, but we didn’t necessarily want it to be Downtown, so we can cater to our fans in Pound Ridge and Bedford as well. We like to be in these type of neighborhoods where it’s a little more laid back, more families, but still keep a fun ambiance while getting your food to you quickly, like within 15 minutes or so.”
NyHaven, a one-time pop-up new Nordic dinner in New Haven on March 3, blew away a couple dozen diners lucky enough to purchase seats to the 15-course dining experience showcasing some of the most daring and inventive food in Connecticut. Conceived by Chef Simon Marcell Davidsen with fellow Community Table chef Tommy Juliano, they teamed up with John Ginnetti of 116 Crown, who not only generously offered the kitchen and dining space for NyHaven, but also paired each snack and course with an appropriate "cocktail."
An indelible evening marked by a provocative menu, curious cocktails, and a house filled with appreciate gourmands, we attempted to capture the meal in not just words, but an interview with Chef Simon Marcel Davidsen, photos of each course, and 116 Crown's video of the NyHaven experience:
Surrounded by candles on a wet Tuesday evening in April, Master Chocolatier, Fritz Knipschildt, of Chocopologie, and his talented Danish born and trained chefs; Christian Wilki and chef/manager, Christel Marie Moerck introduced 35 CTbites guests to the Nordic cuisine of their homeland, Denmark.
Inspired by the New Nordic Cuisine of Scandinavia, and Rene Redzepi's "World's Best Restaurant," NOMA in Copenhagen, this special 12 course meal turned into an amazing four hour event curated as part of the CTbites Invites program.
The evening itself was so well received, and so much fun for the chefs and the guests, that this Chocopologie creative team was inspired to offer as part of their new Fall menu some of the traditional Nordic dishes and techniques they had been trained in and missed preparing here in the United States.
