Best of KC 2023: Yoli Tortilleria brings home first-ever James Beard Award for “Outstanding Bakery”

November 6, 2023

THE PITCH STAFF,

Yoli is giving nixtamal and rainbows. // Photo by Zach Bauman

This month, we published The Pitch’s annual Best of Kansas City issue. You can browse the results of the readers’ poll here. The issue also included a list, compiled and written by our editorial staff, of some of our current favorite things about Kansas City in 2023. We’ll be publishing these items online throughout November.

Kansas City’s special spot for tortillas in Westside isn’t a secret anymore. The national spotlight is shining on Yoli Tortilleria after it took the first-ever “Outstanding Bakery” award from the James Beard Foundation, a category introduced earlier this year.

Co-owner Marissa Gencarelli credits a lot of the quality of Yoli’s tortillas to sourcing good, local ingredients and combining that with traditional Mexican methods. She says that many people think the only way to make an authentic tortilla is to use Mexican corn, but in Marissa’s view, that’s a mistake. By shipping it in from so far away, the corn can lose its flavor.

Marissa estimates they get through 15,000 pounds of corn every week. They’ve been partnering with the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture to find new varieties that can work for Yoli’s products.

If all this has your mouth watering for tortillas, you can pick some up at Yoli’s retail location at 1668 Jefferson St. #100, Kansas City, MO 64108. You can also visit them at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market or sample some at local restaurants such as Chicken N Pickle and Tiki Taco.

Photos by Zach Bauman