The People’s Tortilleria: Q&A With Vista Hermosa’s Jason Debriere
When we first brought Vista Hermosa tortillas to our shelves just a few years ago, keeping them on the shelves was nigh on impossible. Their perfectly taco-sized corn tortillas and flauta-friendly vegan flour tortillas appealed to folks almost too much! Thankfully, these days we’ve got supply and demand for them figured out, and we’ll even deliver them straight to your door, along with everything you need to fill them up. Since we love these tortillas so much, coming to us fresh from neighborhood favorite Tacombi where Vista Hermosa provides every tortilla, we thought we’d ask all about what makes them some of the best tortillas in all of New York!
What inspired the founding of Vista Hermosa?
The idea for Vista Hermosa had always been there, since the inception of Tacombi back in 2005 on the beaches of the Yucatan. And when we opened our location on 23rd street in Flatiron we really got some momentum. We started making our own tortillas initially for Tacombi restaurants in 2014, both corn and flour. We then moved our corn production to 100% Nixtamal.
And the inspiration for this was to make the best tortillas available, in the same way it has been done for centuries in Mexico, while exposing the tri-state area to a tortilla that just wasn’t available at the time. Also being able to offer fresh tortillas the way tortillerias throughout Mexico do on a daily basis. There’s nothing like a fresh corn or flour tortilla, with no preservatives or additives.
What's the best part of being a fresh, local tortilleria?
I get to take home fresh tortillas everyday! Haha! But I think being able to expose customers and guests to what a real tortilla should taste like. We have been able to curate an experience that speaks to the traditions and authenticity of Mexico.
What's your favorite kind of taco, Tacombi or otherwise?
My favorite is carnitas on a fresh corn tortilla. But, it's really hard to make this decision. There are so many that I enjoy from all over Mexico.
