Yesterday was Margarita Mondays - Do you know what that means? I didn't.

Yesterday was Margarita Mondays - Do you know what that means? I didn't.

There is a Mexican restaurant near where I live, and they recently put up a sign out front for “Margarita Mondays.” It is one of the many places in NYC that added outside seating during the pandemic and significantly increased their seating capacity, so they left it up after the city lifted restrictions on indoor seating. Every time I pass it, I think how nice it would be to sit there in the sunlight and drink margaritas. I never did of course. I was always too busy and frankly never thought about it until I would walk by the sign again. Truth be told, I didn’t know what Margarita Mondays actually was, but it didn’t stop me from saying to whomever I was walking with that we should go one Monday.

My daughter celebrated her birthday this past weekend and wanted to spend it outside the city. It has been very hot. NYC is great for shopping and shows and theater, but it isn’t always the most comfortable place to be in, in extreme heat. She envisioned a birthday that included swimming and sunbathing by a pool. Sounded great. We made a plan and then, as many parents are familiar with, last minute the plan changed. Friends from out of town surprised her and late Sunday night she realized she could not leave the city and asked me if we can celebrate her birthday in NY.

Now I don’t know how familiar you are with NYC, but it is not always easy to find a place that can accommodate 4 people last minute let alone more than that because often there simply isn’t enough room in restaurants. You must book in advance if you have 6 or 8 people like we did. I started scrambling to find a place that seemed fun and could fit us all, last minute, and that has vegetarian options. Did I mention there would be two vegetarians, one being the birthday girl? It seemed only fair that at her own birthday dinner she could find something more interesting than a side order of mixed veggies that she usually had to order in non-vegetarian restaurants. I quickly looked up restaurants that could accommodate large parties. Just as quickly I began running out of possibilities, that is until I remembered the Mexican restaurant by our apartment. It is big. Later at night it starts to empty out so even if it was booked at dinner time, later would likely be available, anddddddd it would be Margarita Monday, which had zero meaning to me but sounded fun.

I managed to book a table for 9pm. A little late but hey, this is NYC so I presented it to her as our being trendy while thinking to myself, at least we have a table. Even though I was able to book online I excitedly called and asked, finally, for details on what Margarita Monday is, fearful it was only for happy hour which is usually around 4 or 5 so they can draw in the work crowd before people head home. But No! Margarita Mondays is $5 margaritas all day long. There is a catch though. It only applies to this obscure flavored margarita that had a name I did not understand over the phone. That did not deter me however or stop me from telling every guest we have to drink them and only them. Tactful I am not. As it would so happen, after a few sips and definitely by your second one, you don’t even notice the taste. So, no worries there!

I should probably mention I don’t drink. Well, I do, have the occasional glass of wine when with friends who are having a glass of wine but as I work long days, I don’t often see friends either, so you get the point. I have a very poor social life and drink rarely. To go from that to 3 margaritas - 3 strong margaritas, for me at least was really, really fun and only $15!

The only problem. I still have to work a long day today and I REALLY, really feel like I was hit by a bus, turned upside and shaken. The moral of this story is that in a city where one margarita with a name I recognize costs upwards of $15 under normal circumstances I realize I clearly need to build up my tequila tolerance so I can bounce back on a Tuesday from the equivalent fifteen dollars’ worth of drinks on Margarita Monday.

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