so, the red hook ballfields did finally open this weekend, and i think i discovered a simple fact about my own body that i didn't really realize before. it is definitely possible, to quote some modern country, to have too much fun, or i guess to accurately quote, the guy (trace adkins) who sang "i ain't never had too much fun" has a much stronger constitution than I. specifically, i had stated goals of eating 4 solid, strong meals this weekend at the red hook ballfields (lunch & dinner sat. & sun), but i couldn't hack it (i only ate there 3 times). also, even after doing all my homework thanks to the fine fella who writes the porkchop express blog, i still went back to the old standbys at the ballfields.
the delicious vegetable huarache. the undeniable bean and cheese pupusa. the roasted ear of corn with lime & mayonesa. 2 huge fruit drinks per day (2 lime, one cantaloupe, one watermelon). i was a happy, happy man, with a bellyache that literally lasted 2.5 days afterwards. Also, I had a shocking random observation out there: Saturday afternoon around 1:30 or so, the Red Hook soccer fields looked suspiciously like McCarren Park. Never have I seen so many young white people out there, many nervously eyeing the booths & trying to navigate their way around a bunch of booths with no menus & very few vendors who habla ingles (i've been there too). However, by Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon, the demographic shifted back to what is normality for the food stands, which is predominantly Latino with a hodge podge of other folks of various age, ethnicity and sex.
This observation led me to cement what i have always really suspected: New Yorkers, fundamentally, don't really like Mexican (or, what they view as Mexican) food. They're burrito tolerators, occasional taco nibblers, and non-discriminatory salsa dippers (not scoopers). I thought the popularity of the Chipotle near the UN was odd, it's long lines out the door. I've always questioned the combo Mexican/Chinese places, but Jack in the Box sells tacos too, so the concept is not foreign. The popularity of Rosa's Mexicana really helped hone this point to an edge, albeit not a fine one, because really, isn't Rosa's Mexicana to New York what Chelino's and Don Pablo's are to Oklahoma, what El Chico and the comically named La Hacienda Ranch (literal translation: The Ranch Ranch) are to Texas, what On The Border is to most of the Southeast, i.e., the baby step above Del Taco/Taco Bell/Taco Mayo/Taco Bueno? However, Rosa's Mexicana isn't ubiquitous like the other quasi-upscale chains listed above, there are only 3 in New York, and though it has it's devotees, Rosa's Mexicana is great Mexican food for people who don't really like Mexican food. so, Mr. Suspicious Local, questioningly eyeing the carne at Hernandez Huaraches...i've got my suspicious eye on you.
