Mexican Food in Monmouth County

Is this in the former Perkins spot?

Never been to that Perkins before but I donā€™t think that spot was a Perkins since it is kind of small.

Does anyone know anything about ā€œEl Burritoā€™sā€ in the old Espositoā€™s spot (southwest corner of Routes 34 and 79 in Matawanā€“used to be Peterā€™s Fishery thirty years ago)? Other than the name is a linguistic and grammatical abomination? :slight_smile:

El Rinconcito in Matawan now automatically charges an ā€œ18% feeā€ for dine-in patrons. They call it a fee, but Iā€™m interpreting as a mandatory tip and would probably not add my own tip unless I wanted to leave a larger-than-18% tip.

Also, they are now closed on Sundays (some of the old menu sites still claim theyā€™re open seven days a week), and while all the prices have gone up, the weekend special with a pound of steamed lamb et al has gone from $20.95 to $26.95.

18% is ok by me , but is it for all dine in or large groups ? which is the norm.
Never experienced automatic ā€œ tipā€ for small group.
My normal tip range is 18- 25% so I probably wouldnā€™t add to their imposed fee unless it was exceptional service.

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Big Edā€™s also adds 18% (IIRC). Both are for any size group.

Big Edā€™s wow although itā€™s understandable there if the majority of diners are doing the all you can eat ribs deal. Is that still a thing?
I used to love going there, alas age & dietary restrictions have done me in. The servers there worked their asses off & I guess management decided that customers werenā€™t tipping appropriately. If the all you can eat deal is still an option itā€™s understandable not so much under normal circumstances in my opinion.

Big Edā€™sā€¦yes I was asked to leave there. LOL Long story you have to buy me a drink to hear, then after about 12 more drinks Iā€™ll probably be asked to leave wherever Iā€™m telling the story.

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Iā€™m on pins & needles lol

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If you havenā€™t already read it you need to find NotJrā€™s story about lobster in Las Vegas. Itā€™s the stuff of myth and legend. I believe itā€™s in the Letā€™s talk lobster thread.

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Sounds like I got some researching to tonight

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He killed Pierre omg , thatā€™s a great story
I did something like that with a bottle of wine in the French Quarter when I was 22 , I said bring me your best bottle of Red , shortened version it was a 1700 dollar bottle and it was pure vinegar made the Sommelier taste it he agreed & I ordered a bottle of Blue Nun & learned not to shoot off my mouth in a restaurant again lol

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And I love THIS story becauseā€¦ my dad used to be the sales mgr for Blue Nun!! I have a commemorative plate and a lucite-encased small bottle of it in my house, in fact! I love using the plate for the Jewish holidaysā€¦ :rofl:

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Used to guzzle Blue Nun when I turned 21 , I thought I was so sophisticated lol

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Blue Nun was the wine of choice on my grandfatherā€™s dinner table, lunch table too lol

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It was the first wine I didnā€™t drink out of a brown paper bag .
Sorry if I hijacked the thread but memories are just bringing a smile to my face . Apologies

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Yes, they still have all-you-can-eat, but the ā€œautomatic tipā€ thing is showing up at a lot of restaurants. Basically, it seems like a way for the restaurants to pay their staff less and make the customers feel guilty enough to make up the difference without actually raising their prices.

Frankly, Iā€™d rather see everyone paid a reasonable wage and get rid of this ā€œwho-do-you-tip-and-how-muchā€ thing. Why do we tip cab drivers, anyway?

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Well if youā€™re talking NYCā€™s cab drivers itā€™s for getting you from point A to point B safely & on time yes.When I was using cabs frequently there were often not many times where I didnā€™t tip & 1 time I didnā€™t pay at all but thatā€™s another story.
In a restaurant particularly a local place The only one I normally tip is the waiter.
In Las Vegas or Atlantic City in any Show Room I tip The Maitre D for a better table I also did this at Pegasus at the Meadowlands.
Do you tip a sommelier?Havenā€™t had the occasion to lately but yes.
The BS feeā€™s being charged lately I have just avoided those places.

I donā€™t go to restaurants with sommeliers. (Or take cabs for that matter. I thought getting you somewhere safely and on time was their basic job. Silly me!)

It isnā€™t clear if these ā€œfeesā€ are optional. At El Rinconcito, the Spanish version says ā€œpropinaā€ which means ā€œtipā€, not ā€œfeeā€.

Change of topic back to the original:

I know the Big Three in Red Bank are North of the Border, Tinoā€™s, and International Mexican Grocery. But for various reasons (lack of parking, over-familiarity, long waits for food), none of these wi!! do. Can anyone comment on SeƱor Pepper or any other Mexican restaurants in Red Bank (for lunch)?