Last night I had the pleasure of dining at Empellon which is Alex Stupak's (ex-pastry chef of WD-50) foray into contemporary Mexican cuisine in the old CHOW space on West 4th Street. Walking through the door, I was primarily impressed with the change in decor -- CHOW was dark with black walls and heavy wooden booths and felt somewhat claustrophobic and small where has Empellon feels light, airy, and alive. Bright white walls with a colorful mural behind the bar welcome the restaurant's guests.
Empellon translates to push and that is what Stupak tries to achieve with the menu -- a nice mix of queso fundidos, mariscos or seafood dishes, salads, tacos, and more.
Of course we had to try their guacamole with chips that was accompanied by two fabulous homemade salsas -- a smoked cashew mild salsa and an arbol chile salsa for those of us that like some spicy kick. The chips were crisp, flavorful and not too oily which is always the downfall of the chips served with guacamole if you ask me.
Then we had a few of their smaller dishes to split:
Octopus with parsnip and salsa papanteca (chipotle, sweet spices, piloncillo) marisco which was smoky, creamy, herbaceous and dynamic. It sure took octopus and transformed it into something sweet, savory, spicy, and flavorful. Great on the remaining crunchy tortilla chips from our guacamole. No chance this would be considered chewy as octopus can sometimes be. I would definitely go back just to have this dish again, it was such a unique take on the sea creature.
Then we split their green beans salad with micro greens, cucumber, quail egg and an almendrado or almond based dressing. Crisp, vegetal, and flavorful! I was expecting a lot though as I had reviews that found this salad to be amazing and yes it was good and different than a normal green salad but it sure didn't wow.
What did wow was their tetilla (a Spanish young cow's milk cheese), roasted poblano pepper, and steamed cactus leaf queso fundido served with warm homemade soft tortillas. It was Stupak's take on a Mexican fondue and boy did it delight. This was sweet, savory, spicy, creamy, earthy, rustic and fabulous. Next time I go to Empellon, I will have to try their other queso fundidos.
Overall a delish meal, a different take on the Mexican classics in a fun lively atmosphere.
Empellon
230 West 4th Street
NYC
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