Let me begin this with one simple statement. I have never been to Pink Taco.
Pink Taco is a local restaurant that presumably serves Mexican Food. As the proud owner of a vagina I haven’t darkened their doorstep but my husband sometimes lunches there. He says the food is good. I don’t often mistrust my husband, but I’m thinking the food’s gotta suck.
For Cinco de Mayo the brain trust at Pink Taco decided to take a donkey, spray paint it pink and leash it to the front of it’s restaurant. Presumably this would benefit the drunken revelers. Apparently it was an 80 degree day (in the shade) and the patrons of Pink Taco took offense that an ass was tied up in front of a restaurant that was named after the slang for women’s labia and serves meat that doesn’t pretend to be free range, organic, humanely treated or even grass fed.
Apparently the would be patrons of Pink Taco care more about a spray painted ass than anything else.
In keeping with the Pink Taco-ness of Pink Taco they have decided to honor PETA (a vile organization if ever there was one) with a night of vegan fare and donations to PETA.
There has been a lot of media speculation regarding Eeke, the donkey. We encourage you to “Like” our new facebook page:[redacted I’m not in the mood] and follow us on our new Twitter: twitter.com/PinkTacoCC for up-to-date information!
Team Eeke!
In support of the fight against animal cruelty from May 9th – May 15th, Pink Taco Century City will be featuring a special margarita. The “PETA-rita” is available to all guests who would like to come in and support #TeamEeke, as 100% of the proceeds from the PETA-rita will go to PETA in support of the ethical treatment of animals.We are also encouraging ALL of our guests to join us this Friday, May 13th for our happy hour and a “bring your pet to the patio day” from 3-7pm. This is a great opportunity to come in, enjoy some great food and beverages with your pets – and drink for a great cause! We look forward to seeing you there!
The following is our official statement:
“We’d like to clear up some misperceptions regarding the donkey, who made an appearance at the Cinco de Mayo event at Pink Taco in Century City on May 5th. We obtained a permit from the city to have the animal on site and the pink coloring used on the donkey was a safe, water-based and commonly used on animals in the entertainment industry. Additionally, the donkey’s trainer escorted him the entire appearance, he was on a leash, not a chain as reported in the media, and we provided plenty of water and care to him throughout. The employees of Pink Taco love and respect animals and would never do anything to harm or cause discomfort to an animal.”
We have since been in contact with PETA and Pink Taco has agreed to not use animals at our events and promotions and we are looking forward to meeting with them and discussing how we can work together in the future. We are a socially aware brand and we appreciate our customers concerns regarding these matters.”
-Pink Taco Corporate
If there was ever a moment where I thought that Pink Taco cared about people (women specifically) or animals (a few hundred a day on plates) I’d ignore this, as it’s largely a non issue.
I think that motherhood has turned me into a feminist and although I love a dirty double entendre I love it even more when I can walk through the mall without trying to explain to my kids what a Pink Taco is, why men would want to eat one, and why women would have low enough self esteem to work at or patronize the store.
I’d be outraged, but the Yelpers have taken care of that with hundreds of one star reviews.
What’s your take? It’s clearly a business that takes risks. They’ve named the store in such a manner that many women don’t want to be there, most families won’t, they clearly don’t care about animals and then they engage with PETA. Is it just a big mess that’s going for young men or are they hungry for any old kind of publicity?
I’m sitting here shaking my head.
I don’t know whether to be mad about the business name… or the mistreating of the animal… or the support of PETA.
As a vegetarian who loves animals DEARLY, I can also proudly tell you that PETA has a warped, overly-aggressive and altogether unnecessary idea of how to “help” animals. Sadly it’s almost entirely wrong. I used to be a PETA supporter, too, but then I started investigating on my own and realized how horrid they really are.
I feel so bad for that donkey. :(
OK. I’ll go first. Why the fuck are they kissing the asses of PETA? Ironic that a huge risk tasking company like Pink Taco suddenly turns into a bunch of pussies.
Or perhaps they are just exceptionally stupid! That poor ass truly looks like that damn hairless cat that belonged to DrEvil in the Austin Powers series. Perhaps if the PINK TACO was in social media and NOT an actual business establishment, the name could be beneficial but as is it’s just in poor taste. I am Mexican and I have NEVER heard of a Mexican restaurant named the PINK Taco in Spanish or English, in the states or Mexico. Perhaps it’s a nod to Tijauna & it’s donkey shows. It’s the only connection I can see to Mexican food. Pretty disgusting, I WOULD NEVER go into an establishment named the PINK TACO not even in an ironic Hipster sort of way:)
Jessica, @obviouslybenhughes:disqus @twitter-18955282:disqus doesn’t it seem against the grain to be so brazen and then pay attention to the message of PETA? I’m confused by their response.
I agree. It seems like they’ll do anything to have their name in print no
matter how offensive or inane.
Hi Jessica, Love your article. I don’t know why they are giving $ to PETA either and I organized the protest and my friend put up the boycott page. We just felt really sorry for that donkey. I’m with the Companion Animal Protection Society and we are a national investigative org. We normally deal with pet factories but this stunt was just mean, so we spoke out. It’s so wrong on so many levels. I never even heard of them before I was inundated with emails by people asking us to investigate this. The name is disgusting, their marketing strategy is offensive to women and animals period. And now, even as they backpeddle desperately, they are doing it wrong. Their defense moves are funny. How they objectified that donkey was not.
Thank you for writing that piece. I like your point of view.Carole Raphaelle Davis, West Coast Director, Companion Animal Protection Society