Food and Drink: May 2005 Archives

  Small New York apartments deserve small condiments. Makes perfect sense.

So I have drinks at the Stanton Social bar last night (I know, I know). I get two $10 drinks and the bill comes, which I pay with my credit card. After signing, I notice the bill is for $22. I ask the bartender why $22? He says "that's for tax." Now, I know tax is 8.625 percent, so I say, "That's not the right about of tax." And he says "That's just how we do it here. We round up." Round UP? The most laughable thing I've ever heard. So I call the manager today, explain my problem. He says that yes, they do indeed round up on tax. I very politely insist that's not right. And he says if I want to come down to collect the difference, he'll give it to me (which is admittedly only 28 cents, but over time and many customers, that could be a lot of money). I say, no, I want it put back on my credit card. And I politely tell him again it doesn't seem right to overcharge everyone. He tells me that's my problem and then HANGS UP on me! Does anyone know if this is a reportable offense (no, not the asshole attitude, the overcharging of tax). I mean, why not just make the drink $11 if that's what you want to charge people?!?

So I finally got around to checking out the weekend Red Hook Latin food fair on what I'm pretty sure was Bay Street, between Clinton and Court streets. The food was great and cheap. Of course, we were pegged as total gringos. My sister, who is fluent, surprised a tamale vendor by ordering in rapid-fire Spanish, thus making it clear that she understood all the gringa jokes they had just been making about her, which caused everyone in line to chuckle. My husband got called "blondie," and I was whisked through another line, in what I think was a move to get me in and out as quickly as possible. Still, it's a good experience to be an outsider, and the food was fabulous. The tamale ($3) was the sweetest and creamiest I've tasted. My personal favorite was a beef "burrito" ($4) that was topped with radishes, guacamole, sour cream, salsa verde, lettuce and a slow-burn salsa. My husband liked the well-seasoned pork burrito, also topped with lettuce, salsa verde and guacamole ($5), but we all agreed that you could eat just about anything off a freshly made tortilla slathered in melted cheese and it'd taste pretty damn good.  We all bought from different vendors to mix it up, but I don't think there's a bad one among the bunch. We also sampled the grilled corn, with salt and lime, and may or may not have been charged inflated prices at $2 an ear. (And we didn't even get to the yummy looking ceviche.) A highly recommended trip; we will be back.

For more great Latin food in Red Hook and a *killer* mole, try El Huipil on Sullivan Street, between Van Brunt and Conover streets. Phone (718) 855-4548. Hours: Mon-Thu 11am-8pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 12pm-8pm. Buen provecho.