Tortilla Press Cantina Reaps 'Late Harvest' this Weekend

As a special thank-you to the growers who keep his menu fresh in any season, Chef Mark Smith held a late-fall harvest dinner at his Pennsauken location, Tortilla Press Cantina, on Tuesday, where the bounty of autumn was on full display.

"Towards the end of the season, things were rolling along nicely," Smith said. "We pulled swiss chard from the garden out front, and our cilantro is still growing."

Smith, who has long been an adherent of the farm-to-fork movement, is continuing some of the dishes from that menu throughout the weekend to showcase the flavors of the season, including squash, wild mushrooms, and other greens.

"It's probably been seven or eight years now we've been dealing with local farmers on a weekly basis through the growing season," Smith said. 

"Springdale Farms hand-packs tomatoes for us," he said. "Flaim Farms has increased their tomatillo crop and their poblano crop just from dealing with us."

For appetizers: a Mexican huarache (masa-based tortilla) with cranberries and beets, and a homemade wild mushroom soup. The main course was a roasted chicken with mole and a quinoa-stuffed squash with pumpkin and pomegranate. Desserts included a Mexican chocolate crème brulee or caramel apple empanada with cinnamon ice cream.

Each dish was complemented by a wine from Sharrott Winery of Hammonton, NJ—a peach sangria, a vidal blanc, and a summer sangria—which is now available at the Pennsauken Tortilla Press location.

"We're very excited about the Cantina," said Sharrott Winery owner Harris Freidberg. "It's a great location for us."

Smith said that the menu is very friendly for those with restrictive diets (he had to 86 the mole sauce as a gluten-free request for one guest).

"What the farmers provide me leads me into a relatively vegetarian menu without even trying," the chef said.

Take a look at the photos of the entrees from the farmer appreciation dinner, courtesy of Lilac Blossom Photography.

The Tortilla Press Cantina is located at 7716 Maple Avenue in Pennsauken, NJ; 856-356-2050.