Trampa Turística

This past week, Mark and I had a taste for tapas, and since I had a coupon for a tapas restaurant in Hollywood, Florida, off we went. I should have suspected this place when we first walked in. It was empty, and there wasn’t another diner in the place besides us. As soon as we were seated we ordered drinks, and at the same time I asked for ice water. Instead of ice water, our waitress brought us a large green bottle of pricey imported water, which Mark immediately rejected. "I want ice water, not bottled water." he told her. Suddenly she couldn't speak English, and pantomimed that our only option was the green bottle. "You have ice behind the bar, right?", I asked. "Si", she replied. "And you have a water faucet somewhere in this building, right?", again she replied, "Si". "Well put them together in a glass and bring it to me.". "No".

I hate it when I get suckered into one of these tourist trap restaurants, but that is what happened. Over priced food, bad service, and you get nickel and dimed to death over every little extra. One crappy little dish on the menu that consisted of just a few slices of cheese and eight micro-thin sliced pieces of ham, cost twenty dollars. I knew we were in a tourist restaurant, when as the place filled up, and the flamenco dancers prepared to start their show, we were asked for a forty five dollar cover charge if we wanted to stay. As tempting as it was to stay and get ripped off for more money, Mark and I paid our bill and got the hell out of there. I’m sure the flamenco dancers were quite entertaining, and after a few high priced drinks the tourists were happy. I suspect though, that the real purpose of the stomping dancers, was to shake whatever money the customers still had, out of their pockets.