Empellon – Midtown NYC
Empellon – a place highly recommend by a dear friend.
Established by chef and founder Alex Stupak.
One crispy cold afternoon in Manhattan, we decided to hit this authentic Mexican restaurant which we had heard so much about. Once we were seated I knew they had me at hello. Hello… what would you like to drink?
You can’t go to Empellon and not order a Margarita with your tacos. Their margaritas are out of this world and I was extremely pleased to see all the interesting varieties available on the menu. While others went for the spicy cucumber margarita with fresh cucumber, jalapeno and chile salt – others, such as myself, went straight for the Mother of Dragons! Yes, I said it, Mother of Dragons. Reading that description on the menu certainly put a smile on my face and tempted me to try it. Again, and again. This margarita was packed with amazing flavours – Casa Dragones Blanco, lime juice and smoked salt.
I reserved our seats a month in advance and decided to go for the lunch prix fixe menu. It was a great choice for an afternoon on a weekday. The set menu entails a starter, a main dish and a dessert for just $38.
As a starter I selected the sticky rice tamal with red chile duck, whilst the others dining with me ordered the freekeh salad and the octopus salad.
The main dish- where do I begin.
The main dish is one of the main reasons I selected Empellon – I had heard such great reviews about the quality of their soft corn tacos and especially, their fish tempura taco with lime mayo. This exquisite dish was gluten-free, may I add!
I could eat another and another and… well, I think you got it. Here are some more pics for you to drool over before we get to dessert…
Hands down, the dessert you have to try is the AVOCADO. A delicious moist mousse made with lime, olive oil and eucalyptus yoghurt. Most probably one of the best desserts out there.
..and since we couldn’t help ourselves, we also ordered an additional dessert made primarily out of GRAPES – served in different forms, texture and flavour.
Bon appetite!
