New York; the city that's known for their absurd amount of popups. Some are great, while others... just aren't so great; but I promise this one is. The deal is, that for the first time ever in history, famed Mexico City restaurant Nicos will come to New York City for one weekend only in celebration of Dia de los Muertos in partnership with The Infatuation and Tequila Don Julio... and in typical Liz fashion, I was sold at the tequila part of this entire popup experience.
More about the popup:
The main set of details is that the popup will last for three days, from November 1st to the 3rd, and will be located at 163 Mercer Street. While reservations are now available through SplashThat, guests can expect there to be six seatings throughout the weekend that guests will have the opportunity to book for a three-course meal including food and beverage. In terms of the menu itself, the food portion has been curated by Nicos' owner, chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, and will feature authentic dishes including lamb barbacoa fried taquitos, yucatan poached motuleño eggs, nixtamalized papaya melado, Nicos signature chile en nogada and more. In terms of drinks, there'll be Mexico's original luxury tequila, Tequila Don Julio. Anyone and everyone that's of legal age aka 21 and over can stop by on Friday and Saturday to sample the Tequila Don Julio portfolio, and those with reservations for the restaurant will enjoy craft cocktails perfectly paired with the Nicos menu, curated by Mexico City mixologist Ariana Ruiz. In terms of art, Mexican artist Claudio Limon has taken over the exterior of the building with a custom mural for the weekend. Once inside, additional works by Claudio will be on display.
What else is there to know?
It's totally fine if you don't have a reservation; the popup will then only be open to you on November 1st and on November 2nd from 12pm to 4pm. What you can do is check out the art, learn more about Dia de Los Muertos, sample Tequila Don Julio and Mezcal Unión, pose for photos in the interactive portrait studio, and write postcards to friends. How sweet. Those with reservations can go at any time over the course of the three day popup, which once again is from November 1st to November 3rd, just in case you don't want to scroll back up to the top of this article for that piece of important information.
Owner and executive chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo shared that "We're honored to bring Nicos to New York City and recreate some of our favorite Mexican dishes alongside specialty Tequila Don Julio cocktails; I took over the restaurant from my parents in 1996 and have enjoyed carrying on their legacy, and can't wait to celebrate with our friends at Infatuation in New York during the ancient Dia de los Muertos holiday, a meaningful and authentic part of our culture." Besides, who wouldn't want to go to a popup with food and tequila involved? This isn't an opportunity to pass up since not only will you be near tequila, but because the event's only three days long.