One of my favorite restaurants to open up last year was Empellon Cocina, chef Alex Stupak's East Village Mexican joint, serving Mexican fare like you've never had before. I have been an abundant amount of times, each experience different than the last. They serve a killer brunch too. Well, I went last night once again, and I wanted to pick one dish as the dish of the week, for that is what this section of my site is for, but since every dish I had was so sensational, I need to write about it all. Each dish I consumed, was unique, flavorful, textured, and pure ingenious. I got my mind blown, and that's the way I like it!
Chef Stupak must be a mind-reader like me, and know I love sea urchin. He serves a sea urchin guacamole with sea urchin salsa and it's downright awesome. Served with homemade masa chips, it's the perfect starter. Pair it with one of their signature tequila or mezcal cocktails and your set for the night.
Razor Clam Ceviche comes with Guava, Horseradish, and Pickled Red Onion, and is fabulous. Light and refreshing, and perfect. I loved the kick the horseradish gave to the dish, mixed with the pickling of that red onion and sweetness of the guava. Beautiful.
The dish I was initially going to write about that totally blew my mind was Empellon Concina's Sliced Mango. It is served with lime foam, chili powder, and peeky toe crab salad. And it is unlike any dish and flavors I have ever encountered. It's stunning to look at, and once you taste it, the flavors are so powerful and wonderful, your taste buds will dance for joy. The sweetness of that sliced mango and the crab salad, mixed with that spicy kick from the chili, they even throw in some dehydrated mango for crunch. This dish is a force to be reckoned with, and it blew my mind.
Toasted Vermicelli comes with green chorizo, zucchini, and Cotija cheese, and is also delicious. The vermicelli noodles are made of masa, and the dish is pure ingenuity. Fabulosity.
Whatever yo do, do not skip dessert at Empellon Cocina. The dessert I had also blew my mind and was unbefuckingleivable. Period. Overripe Banana Sorbet, Banana, Chocolate Tuile filled with chocolate ice cream, and a soy milk cajeta. This dish was so fucking amazing, I couldn't believe it. And then something more magical happened. Empellon's cocktail guru Matthew decided to pair the dessert with two different types of mezcals for me, which took the entire dessert to a whole other level. A level of pure greatness, genius, and magic.
Empellon Cocina
105 First Avenue (bet. 6th and 7th)
New York, NY 10003