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Empellón Cocina

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One  of my favorite places for unique Mexican cuisine is Empellón Taqueria in the West Village. Well, I hadn’t been to their sister restaurant, Empellón Cocina in the East Village until now. And, no surprise, it hit every expectation that I had of their counterpart. 

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The space of this location is a bit smaller than the Taqueria, but, the flavor is just as big. You’ll also find a unifying theme in the artwork on the walls. To start, I had their Classic Margarita with Mezcal (organic agave nectar, fresh lime, smoked salt). Loved it. It was a little smokey, slightly sweet with a nice citrusy finish.

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Then, I ordered Pistachio Guacamole (verde, arbol). This was incredible. The quac is fresh, flavorful, and the pistachios are folded in, adding a unique flavor and great texture to the dip. The salsas on the side are wonderful too, I especially liked the arbol, it has a really great kick to it. The chips are equally as amazing as the guac, they’re thick and rustically broken into large pieces, salty and crunchy.

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I then had the Squid (Chilmole, Nugget Potatoes, sour orange mayonnaise). This was visually fascinating and super interesting, and I hadn’t had squid served like this before. The squid was fashioned in thin coils, wrapped around one side of the plate with the chilmole and mayonnaise acting as the painting on the plate canvas. The squid has a bit of a briny taste, but when mixed with the chilmole, it softens the taste. The potatoes are really great when mixed with the sour orange mayonnaise, almost like eating pomme frites with aioli.

The Shorts:
Name: Empellón Cocina
Location: 105 First Avenue, NYC
The Long and Short: Would I go back? For sure, the food and drinks here are consistently amazing. 
Would I recommend it? Obviously, and, if you haven’t been to the Taqueria location yet, you’ll have two places to add to your list.

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Empellón Taqueria

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.