I so enjoyed Alex Stupak’s Empellón Cucina that my mouth was salivating in anticipation of the good food to come as I sat down to look at the menu at his 
original Mexican place, Empellón’s Tacqueria. Like the sister place, this isn’t a local taco joint. Instead of traditional nachos, enchiladas or chile rellenos, the restaurant serves casual but elegant fare.
We started with a classic margarita made with Pueblo Viejo Blanco, fresh lime and smoked salt ($12) and a basket of chips and guacamole. If you go, do try the guac with all seven unique salsas ($15) as we did. The server placed the salsas on the table in the order of spiciness from siki pak (a pumpkin seed salsa, the least spicy) to the really hot salsa habanero — with sweet smoked cashew, salsa borracha with mezcal (smoky tequila flavor), salsa verde (tomatillo, cilantro, serrano), tomatillo chipotle (chipotle, roasted tomatillos, roasted garlic, honey), and salsa de arbol (pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and spices) in between. Each is unique, delicious and worth sampling.
What salsas we didn’t finish with the guac and chips, we used to drizzle on our flavorful tacos. Do try the flaky fish tempura (2/$14, or 3/$21), topped with chopped cabbage with the fresh tortilla spread with lime mayo. Or the juicy shredded pork shoulder in a chile mole ones (2/$12; 3/$18). I recommend them both
That was enough to satiate us as we ran off to curtain time of Robert Askins’ (author of “Hand to God,”) “Permissions” at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
– bonnie
Empellón Taqueria
West Village
230 W 4th St
New York, NY 10014
(212) 367-0999
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