Empellon: Brunch it up

 Om Nomz Her Note to Self: Stuff meant to be shared by the table, is still sharing if you are the only one on the table

Tucked away in a corner in the West Village, is a new restaurant opened by Alex Stupak. Making his name at WD~50 as the executive pastry chef, news of him leaving and starting opening his own restaurant made all the foodies go crazy in wondering what it would be. Given his reputation at WD~50, most speculated that would be a dessert focused restaurant doing crazy things and innovated (I refuse to call it molecular) food. To much surprise, he decided to open Empellon a Mexican restaurant. The reaction from the foodie sphere can be best described as: “WTF”. However, when asked why he decided to do a Mexican restaurant, he just said, “it is what I like”. It was a honest answer and made me want to go here. I have not been able to find anytime to go and hit up Empellon for dinner and try the tacos but he started to do a brunch service and on a quiet Saturday morning, I decided to make an impromptu trip and went to Empellon for brunch.

I was eating by myself and I go there a little after 11 and I was the only on there. Empellon thankfully forgoes any clichéd Mexican restaurant décor and goes for a whole modern look. Sombreros and ponchos were no where to be seen. The brunch menu does not have tacos, which is the main thing and the bulk of the dinner menu. Instead the bulk of the entrees here are egg based and savory. Many of the dishes have beans in them and the combination of meat, beans and eggs it is most likely you will not be walking away hungry from this meal. 

Churros and Hot Chocolate is my newest, tasty vice

Since my recent trip to Peru, I have been wanting (obsessing) over good churros and trying to find some. To my delight, under the share for the table section, had just want I have been hankering for, hot chocolate and churros. Although I am assuming this is supposed to be a shared dish, it was listed for the table, it did not say how many had to be at the table!

The hot chocolate and churros came piping hot and were clearly freshly made. The hot chocolate was thickened with masa and had a hit of mescal. The hot chocolate was thick, creamy and smooth and it was a subtle sweetness it was like awesome chocolate gravy. The hot chocolate was prefect consistency and taste for dipping churros in which were just as delectable. The outside was crisp and covered in cinnamon sugar adding even more to the crunch factor of the churro. The churro was denser than the ones I had in Peru however the inside was soft and custard like contrasting well against the crunchy exterior. Dipped in the hot chocolate, it was a delectable treat and because the hot chocolate was smartly sweetened, the combination of churro and chocolate did not send one into a sugary comatose and a great way to start a meal or the day. If it did not make me look like Paddy O’Fatty and I did not order an entrée I would be fine just chilling and munching on another plate of churros. 

Huevos Motuleos

For my main I got the Huevos Motuleos. The dish comprised of two sunny side eggs, sitting on top of a tostada with black beans, smoked plantains, and sprinkled with peas and ham. The tostada was a good contrast to soft and nicely cooked black beans and the runny egg. The star of this dish is the smoked plantains which took me about a quarter ways through this dish to find them hidden under the tostada. The smoked plantains were meaty, hearty and full on smoky. Adding to the smoky flavors of the dish was the cubes of country ham and although the dish was borderline just being a smoky dish, the salsa/sauce was sweetened, equalizing the dish.

Maybe I am an asshole, but I kind of wanted a taco or hell even a torta option on the brunch menu. I mean the dinner menu is full of them, and tacos are eaten in the morning in Mexico so something? However I do respect it at the same time he is not going for the expected. My knowledge of Latin American food and pretty much anywhere else eggs and beans are a staple morning ingredients which the brunch menu clearly represents and Empellon does a good job executing. Although I have not dined there yet for dinner, from what I have experienced from brunch, I am optimistic and looking forward to trying out the dinner menu. Also, there is something about chicharons on the dinner menu so I am down like a pork eating Charlie Brown. 

Empellon
230 West 4th Street
New York, NY 10014
http://www.empellon.com/

Peru: taking it to the streets, food that is! Part I

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: If it taste good and I do not get sick from it, street meat of dubious origins are okay by me

The good thing about traveling on my own is that I can create my own itinerary and by my own itinerary I mean, I get to eat wherever I want. Sure I like pizza and burgers but I am not that interested in eating the Cusco or Lima version of pizza. As much as I like sitting down and having a good meal, I like snacking which not only optimizes stomach space and allows me to try lots and lots of things. I think street food and snacking is a good way to learn, which I am always trying to do. For example, I learned is that we are busy people. We all got stuff to do and we get hungry and do not have the time to sit down and order something. Sometimes you just need a quick and tasty snack to get you through to the next meal or something late at night to soak up all that booze and get a good night sleep. It is food like this that you meet interesting people and have great experiences and also, 99% you are eating while standing or walking which I always felt makes food taste even better.  

Chips with Mayo and Inca Kola

 I of course start off with a bag or chips and soda. At home, I rarely eat chips unless I am downing a sandwich, and I prefer kettle cooked because I like the tooth-cracking crunch from the chips. When I travel abroad, I am fascinated by the awesome choices of junk food abroad and how they are so much cooler and better than what we got in the US. Okay, not that much better but if you grew up with honey bbq being the exotic flavors; having seaweed flavored Pringles in Japan will blow your mind. The chips cost about…5 cents US and were a step above Lays chips. They were less greasy and not overly salty. The chips may not be a big mind blower, but the chips came with a condiment, specifically a side of mayonnaise. Squirting mayonnaise on the potato chip was…interesting. I am not sure if I really like it nor do I hate it, but I can see why people may like it and it worked well with the drink of choice in Peru, Inka Kola. First time I saw Inka Kola it reminded me of the now defunct soda Surge due to its electric nuclear yellow color and was almost expecting it to be like Surge except for the XTREME part. Inka Kola taste like a grassy version if cream soda and I can see this pairing perfectly with pastrami on rye. Inka Kola is the most popular drink in Peru and bigger that Coca Cola. 

Prickly Pears

 One thing I kind of regret is not eating a variety of fruit while I was here but I did however eat a lot of prickly pears. Mainly indigenous to Latin America although actually has origins from Europe apparently, the prickly pears have a melon-like texture similar to papaya and taste similar to a honeydew but the sweetness is a lot more mellow. There are a lot of seeds in a prickly pear and the Gringo move would be to spit them out, but this is a waste of time. Just eat it seeds and all and hopefully you won’t have a prickly pear patch grow in your stomach. The prickly pears were everywhere and a nice touch that they were carting them around in a wheelbarrow.

Food Porn after the Jump

Lima: Pork and more Politically Incorrect food!

Om Nomz Hero Note to Self: I can stop after eating one Pringle. I cannot however, stop eating after one pork sandwich

The adventure continues as I finally arrived in Lima, well, returned to Lima, I mean I did spend a lovely evening in the Lima Airport Food Court. I was originally planning to visit a ceviche place but due to Peruvian Air being delayed, I got in later than I wanted. I was hungry and I did not want to waste time and wanted something eat. So when I hired car driver came to pick me up, I asked him to take me to a place that had chicharrons. This is how the conversation went down (translated in English to hide my embarrassing and pitiful High School Spanish:

Me: Excuse me, I have a question, do you like eating chicharrons?

Taxi Driver: Yes I do.

Me: Do you have a favorite place?

Taxi Driver: Yes. Wait…do you want to go eat chicharrons?

Me: Yes.

Taxi Driver: let me get this straight, you want to go to the hotel first then get chicharrons, or chicharrons then hotel?

Me; Chicharrons. Now. 

Sandwich Porn after Jump!