Have you ever been at a foreign restaurant and gotten the sneaking suspicion that prices for native speakers and you are different? Well, it turns out that in one Chinatown restaurant, that's true! A discrimination complaint by the city's Human Rights Commission was filed against the Canal Seafood Restaurant for allegedly giving Chinese customers a menu with lower prices. Can't we all just get along...and order the same $3.99 lunch specials? The initial complaint with the city was filed by a Wisconsin man who noticed that his party was being charged extra for rice, while the Chinese customers were getting rice with their dishes. Price comparisons of the English and Chinese menus found that dishes averaged $1 difference. As New Yorkers, is anybody really surprised? Maybe they were just given a tourist menu. Lawyers for the restaurant deny that there are different menus for non-Chinese people, only that there is a take-out and eat-in menu.
Gothamist has never noticed any price differences when we go to any Chinese restaurants, but perhaps that's because we look the part. We do know that there are sometimes a lot of really good items that aren't on the menu and are only available if you can read Chinese or ask for them in Chinese.
And since restaurant cleanliness is on everyone's mind, the restaurant scored a 12 (28 and under is passing) in its last inspection in November. Of course, we all know that means squat.
Have you noticed anything similar at other restaurants, Chinese or otherwise, across the city?
Photo of last year's Taste of Chinatown (at an unrelated restaurant) by Tien Mao
