The Taco Project Introduces Former Alinea Chef as Culinary Director—Stamford Location Launches Brunch

Andrew Dominick March 02, 2023

The NEW brunch at The Taco Project involves a Mexican pizza with the option to add your choice of protein (grilled chicken, chorizo, ground beef, steak, or BBQ pork). Taco Bell could never!
*FYI: tortillas used in this Mexican pizza are flour*

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.

But with growth comes some additions.

New culinary director, Juan Aguero, is bringing his fine dining pedigree to The Taco Project

One of those is The Taco Project’s new culinary director and Port Chester native, Juan Aguero, who brings with him a wealth of knowledge gained in his stints at two major restaurants, the three Michelin star Alinea in Chicago and Cosme in NYC’s Flatiron District. But years before working at two juggernauts in the fine dining world, Aguero served 10 years in the Army’s infantry division.

“After the military, I ended up in Miami and went to Miami Culinary Institute, part of Miami Dade College,” Aguero says. “I went there for three years. Right from school, I went to open a restaurant in Miami. It was pretty good. But I wanted to do something different and make sure I was at a restaurant I really wanted to be at. I applied to Alinea and thought that this is the place that’s gonna tell me whether I really want to be a chef or not. I got accepted and went to Chicago. Everyone there starts at doing prep, getting used to seasonal products and such, then you go to service, then after a few months you get promoted to chef de partie, a station chef. It was tough and one of the scariest things for me. I saw grown men, chefs for many years, fold under the pressure. Many chefs go in and they can’t be changed or molded. Alinea wants to break you down and build you back up to their standards. The military definitely prepared me for that.”

Aguero’s two years at Alinea saw him work with notable chefs Mike Bagale and Simon Davies, and of course with the revered Grant Achatz, Alinea’s owner and executive chef.

Post Alinea, Aguero decided to move back to New York, and he ended up at Cosme in the late 2010s, first at a butcher, master butcher, then as a sous chef.

When the pandemic shut restaurants down, Aguero’s roster spot at Cosme got cut after two years mainly due to the fact that he wasn’t one of their long time employees.

After some time off, he reconnected with one of the owners of The Taco Project, Nicholas Mesce, with whom he worked alongside as a server in NYC.

“I’ve known Nick for years and we loosely kept in touch, and he followed what I was doing,” Aguero says. “He asked if I wanted to come aboard to add a fine dining touch to a fast casual spot.”

If you intend to keep brunch light, this sourdough avocado toast is one choice. A second is a Mexican goddess salad (mixed greens, watercress, herbs, green goddess dressing, homemade sourdough croutons, cherry tomatoes, smoked corn, cotija, pickled jalapeños, and you can add grilled chicken or shrimp for a protein boost).

Now officially on board, Aguero’s functions as part of The Taco Project include making sure the kitchen staff is trained and knows how to properly use all equipment, but also menu development as the brand grows and getting more creative.

Aguero teased that he’s working on “some stuff for summer,” including more fish dishes, while rolling out test menu items to see what people are into or not into. He also emphasized that they don’t want to “copy and paste from somewhere else.”

One of those new things Aguero has implemented, though, is a weekend brunch service that goes down every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

As of press time, Stamford is the first location to roll out brunch. In the first week or two in February, all of the Westchester locations should follow suit.

If you’re a fan of The Taco Project, and you equally love brunch (I mean, who doesn’t?!), keep scrolling for a brunchy preview and for details on their extremely affordable bottomless cocktails option.