I’ve  said it before, I’ll say it again and one thousand times over, I love Mexican food. Love. One of my most favorite places to go for some amazing drinks and delicious Mexican food is Empellón Taqueria in the West Village.

You walk into a dimly lit room with high ceilings, but still gives off a warm environment. There’s also another room in the back, I’ve dined in both before, and honestly, it doesn’t matter which room you’re in, the food will all taste just as good. There are contemporary twists to the decor with some classical Mexican influence.

The drinks here are really great, and I’m a margarita aficionado. I got the Spicy Cucumber (Pueblo Viejo Blanco, St Germain, cucumber puree, jalapeño tincture, fresh lime, chile salt). It’s a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy and a lot of amazing.

To start off, I got some of their Guacamole. The chips are thick, salty and crunchy. The Guac is fresh and simple, just using basic, delicious ingredients. It’s creamy, but has a great texture with the pieces of avocado, chopped raw onion and fresh jalapeño slices.

Then, I got one of my favorite things, their Octopus (parsnip, pumpkin seeds, salsa papanteca). The octopus is sliced into little medallions, tender and flavorful with a bit of a sweet and spiciness from the salsa papanteca. Then, you have a great contrast in texture to compliment the octopus from the parsnip and pumpkin seeds for crunch. Tying it all together, there are a few dollops of cream to balance all the textures out.

The Shorts:
Name: Empellón Taqueria
Location: 230 West 4th Street, NYC
The Long and Short: Would I go back? Not my first visit here, and definitely won’t be my last.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I also heavily recommend their Fish Tempura tacos, they’ll make you so happy.