One of the reasons I was prompted to do a juice cleanse was due to all the eating out I had been doing in a very small amount of time. This was one of those restaurants I headed to during that week or so of absolute gluttony. Now, that’s not to say this is a spot with a ton of gluttony. It’s more my avocado addiction and utter lack of self-control around guacamole that made this dinner especially gluttonous. But it was delicious nevertheless.

Empellon Taqueria is an adorable little taco joint in the West Village that takes so many liberties with tacos, it will make your head spin. In a good way. This is not your standard chicken, pork, steak, or bean taco. They had all sorts of inventive dishes – and even two vegetarian ones that were able to be made vegan. I was quite partial to the brussels sprouts, hazelnut and hummus taco. It was rich, full of flavor, and simply delicious.

We started with guacamole, and it was so good that we ended up ordering a total of four orders for a table of 7 girls. It had the perfect amount of spice, and you really just can’t go wrong with garlic and avocado.

There was also this really fun sampler of salsas we went for. There were 7 salsas in total to try, and they came in cute little cups with spoons for easy chip placement. The habanero salsa was so hot I had to chug the last of my margarita to cool my mouth off. (not such an issue on a night like this).

We were out celebrating one of my girlfriend’s birthdays and Empellon was just so cute, it was the perfect setting. (though after a few margaritas we may have been a bit too loud for the date crowd that had settled in around us). But I guess you could expect as much from a place that has tequila on the table with shot glasses, limes, and salt. If you’re so inclined.

All in all, this was a great new find. The inventiveness of the tacos, the great service, and out of this world guacamole are all reasons this will quite quickly become one of my go-to spots downtown. I’ve already made reservations to go back.