Mexican food is always a great standby when I’m hungry and just not in the mood for any other cuisine. It’s cheap, and so filling that it sits in your stomach long enough to skip out the next meal. With Mexican food, you pretty much know what you are getting. All dishes is some kind or combination of rice, beans, cheese, veggies, and meat wrapped in various sizes of tortillas. While there are so many Mex-joints to choose from, Tacos Nuevo Mexico is the real deal, serving octopus salads, Oaxaqueño tamales, and lengua (tongue) tacos alongside the usual quesadillas, enchiladas, and burritos. In its modest space in Park Slope, Mexican families rub elbows with the usual Park Slope set, chowing down massive portions while glancing up to watch a bit of Telemundo. Do however, resist the urge to dance when a rump shaking tune is blasted off the jukebox. For a complete Mexican experience, hit the bar next door for a michelada.

[Tacos Nuevo Mexico, 489-491 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, btwn 11th & 12th]

I’ve walked by Winnie’s so many times dating back to my single digit years, but never once did I ever think that I wanted to go in. I still remember the drunken, worn out, old men hanging around the place. It wasn’t until NYE 2006 that I, along with Karen, Mike, and Solim, set foot into this dive. With the mostly Chinese crowd, with a requisite white guy who hangs out with the group, turning bright red from a couple of sips of beer, and the large karaoke screen complete and 80s and cantopop-heavy karaoke collection, there is no doubt you are in Chinatown. Remember, the bar is called Winnie’s afterall! The place even has the old vinyl booth seats that brings you back to the days of chop suey shops. There’s no pool table, arcade game, or a jukebox. The bar doesn’t even have a tap! It’s all bottles of Heineken, Coors, Bud, and Corona. You might even challenge yourself to down the house specialty “Hawaiian Punch.”

[Winnie's, 104 Bayard St, New York, 10013]

Our pal Megan, aka Penny Larceny, invited us to the GGRD Derbytaunt Ball this past Sunday. Admittedly, I am not hip enough to really enjoy the roller derby. It’s cute and fun, and it is a very unique form of entertainment. I mean what’s not to like about a bunch of chicks in saucy outfits, rollerskating around, and knocking each other down… girl on girl action, what hetero-male wouldn’t like that?

Besides the “fresh meat” that was paraded, I especially remembered the men’s toilet at The Delancey. Nailed against the wall was a stainless steel communal urinal that was filled with marbles. Marbles! Brilliant! Much better than the rank mothballs or that blue disk they use in other bars.