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Westchester Dining | Mahopac

A Journey Through Nuevo Latino Flavors

ART INCLUDED The food at Ramiro's 954 draws a sophisticated crowd.Credit...Susan Stava for The New York Times

EXPRESS interest in the tropical-hued painting that dominates the dining room at Ramiro’s 954, in Mahopac, and you may be invited upstairs to a small art gallery, part of the restaurant’s formal second-floor dining area. But the primary draw here is the food, and I preferred staying in the more casual ground-floor space with the full bar and lounge, a rustic fountain and, not least, a view into this restaurant’s well-orchestrated open kitchen.

It is here that the executive chef, Ramiro Jimenez, creates his exciting cuisine — inspired Nuevo Latino spins on traditional dishes and ingredients from all over Mexico (his homeland) and South America.

Only four months old, this restaurant is already lively with sophisticated diners who tend to pass on Tex-Mex salsa, chips and refried beans. Mr. Jimenez balances textures and flavors subtly and brilliantly; his seasonings lead diners through a sequence of tastes that surprise and delight — fiery, fruity, smoky, rich, sweet, sour — in their mutually enhancing combinations. Fresh and dried chili peppers, like pasilla, panca and mirasol, as well as familiar jalapeño, chipotle and poblano, are employed with a chemist’s care.

Many of the dishes we sampled were outstanding. Soup, based on rich stocks, should not be missed. The sopa de tortilla had just enough spicy heat to announce itself on the tongue before revealing sweet tomato, smoky pasilla, sour crumbly queso fresco and buttery avocado. Corn soup (elote) with mild poblano and a shot of cream was even more voluptuous; a sprinkling of crisped earthy mushroom slices complemented the sweet kernels.

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Pernil con mojo, or braised pork shank.Credit...Susan Stava for The New York Times

It would be hard to choose the best of the starters, perhaps two aromatic corn cakes (arepa) supporting pulled duck and a sunny-side-up quail egg, or maybe empanadas in a flaky pastry enfolding a light, sweet-sour mixture involving ground beef, raisins, olives and onion. Then again there was the knockout platano relleno combination of sweet plantain, smoky chicken and fruity panca, with colorful accompaniments of black bean purée, queso fresco and avocado sauce.

Chilled ceviche of tuna, marinated in lime juice and bright with tomato and cilantro, was decent if standard. The tacos dorados — dull, seemingly unseasoned filling of pork, onion and cheese in an overly tight, crisp tortilla — were the only disappointment among the appetizers. But they were quickly forgotten with the arrival of a fine lineup of entrees.

It would be hard to find a better pernil than the huge, meaty pork shank here, pickley from the acidic marinade that emphasized the sweet, tender meat braised to succulent tenderness. This wonderful dish upstaged perfectly fine beef short ribs with tangy chimichurri sauce and a tasty celery root puree, accompanied by yucca fries that were somewhat tough and fibrous.

Quite a few fresh-tasting seafood dishes were on the menu. Eight big, juicy shrimp (camaron) with a fiery tomato sauce arrived with salad topped by a vibrant confetti of zucchini and carrots julienne. A piquant salsa verde set off the salmon, and dorado (mahi mahi) came with a delightfully smoky tomato sauce sprinkled with a tiny dice of chorizo and served with roasted potatoes, caramelized onions and peas. Chewy bacalao could have used longer soaking, but everything was right about the luxurious paella with saffron rice, shrimp, clams, chicken, those chorizo bits and a kicky red pepper escabeche.

Traditional desserts included moderately sweet dulce de leche cheesecake; fried bananas; flourless chocolate cake; vanilla flan; and sponge cake soaked in tres leches, a citric glaze adding punch. But I’d take churros every time at Ramiro’s, where the striated log of a doughnut is paired with melted chocolate, for dipping.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section WE, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Journey Through Nuevo Latino Flavors. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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