The mercury may have risen a touch in recent days, but after the cold, the ice and the general chaos of the holiday season so far, I for one am dreaming of shorter nights, longer drinks and tropical beaches. All of which brings Mexico to mind, as I call around for a dining partner and point the wagon towards Tipsy Taco Bar in Mount Kisco, of which I have been hearing good accounts. I need a shot of tequila and Mexican sunshine in the arm.
There are good early signs. Someone called Daddy Yankee ”” so Shazam informs me ”” is belting out “Baila Baila Baila” from a speaker outside the restaurant and inside, through the large glass windows, the joint seems to be jumping, so we”™re getting in the mood before we”™re even through the door.
Inside, Tipsy Taco looks like a cross between an Adirondacks log cabin and a Finnish sauna. Along the wall and facing you as you enter is a long bar, where I could indeed imagine getting very tipsy of an evening, as the music amps up and the shots keep coming. Other walls sport bold murals, the man in the sombrero, for instance, moody in monochrome, a guitar at his side. Or Frida Kahlo ”” I”™m assuming that is Frida Kahlo ”” looking, well, quite scary frankly, with staring eyes, blood red lips, roses in her hair. Almost febrile.
We are shown to a booth, and what a booth. It”™s remarkably comfortable, since the table moves to accommodate guests of different sizes on either side, which tables in booths usually don”™t. But if you don”™t snag a booth, never fear, because both the round and square tables in the main dining area are so large and generous you can embark on a Mexican feast without fear of overcrowding the tabletop.
So, time to eat, although one thing that”™s off the menu is an actual menu itself: it”™s all swiping of tablets and QR codes at The Tipsy Taco Bar. Along with the makeshift Perspex screens (remember those?) between the booths, these codes feel slightly passé, slightly “height of Covid” now, but we can live with that. And we can live with the rather forbidding, post-industrial, not-so-chic tiled ceiling too, because we”™re not going to be looking up. From now on we”™re looking down, enjoying the long and thoughtful menu (“locally sourced produce where possible, all dishes made from scratch,” as the Tipsy Taco blurb goes,) swiping away like crazy at the tablet since we want to order everything we see.
Tipsy corn chowder comes in a cast-iron pot, milky-white and deep flavored, filled with diced radish, carrot, celery and potato, the pot sitting on a prim little doily, with a silver spoon and lemon wedge by the side. It looks and tastes beautiful – we could be at the Ritz. Freshly made tacos come with generous slivers of ribeye steak, cooked pink and with just a touch of smoke.
Shrimp ceviche is a winner, too, the very freshest, sweetest shrimps sitting on a kind of Israeli salad, if that is not to mix a metaphor, a little heat from the jalapeno, with half an avocado, delicately sliced into a fan-shape on top. Tostadas also win plaudits, either with mushrooms or pulled chicken, and the burrito and burrito bowls pack a well-structured punch. We especially liked the organic quinoa black bean bowl with sweet potato, topped with an organic fried egg.
In the main courses ”” only trenchermen and women will still be going at this point ”” a seafood paella, given extra oomph with chorizo, as well as a spicy lemon chicken, layered and complex, would be the way to go.
There are, of course, some potent sounding cocktails, a lot of them beginning with the prefix “tipsy,” and you”™ll find half a dozen serviceable wines too, none of them expensive. As you would expect, the list of tequilas and mezcals is longer than your arm, possibly both your arms together, a treasure trove of marks and styles.
Service is sweet and smiling and Lilly L, our server, can”™t do enough for us. As she stops by the table for the 100th time to ask if we are good, I tell her we still are, nodding like a doll, my mouth weak from smiling to signal enjoyment. And when I eventually ask Lilly for the check, which she drops a moment later, I”™m not remotely surprised to find it has a QR code, which I can scan with my phone to pay. I try it, it works and I”™m officially dubbed a member of the 21st-century.
A last sip of tequila and we march out to D”™Antoni”™s “On the Floor,” a veritable anthem even though we are not on the floor. Not yet ”” although another Dos Equis or tequila shot and we well might be. But, for now we”™re still standing, happy and well-fed.
Go to tipsytacobar.com
A second branch of Tipsy Taco Bar on Garth Road in Scarsdale is currently in soft opening.
