Taco Bell poll!

[Forest Cat]

Gidget the Taco Bell chihuahua How adorable is that dog.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

I have avoided it since I love Mexican cucina. The taco restaurant that I thought was great was El Charco de las Ranas. Tacos to die for. Then, I discovered all the fillings made en casuela to have with fresh tortillas in Oaxaca. Then there is Elote, the best street corn that one can get.

But I recognize the draw of Taco Bell, just as I enjoy a McDonald's burger at times.

 

[Mary Terry]

I have avoided it since I love Mexican cucina. The taco restaurant that I thought was great was El Charco de las Ranas. Tacos to die for. Then, I discovered all the fillings made en casuela to have with fresh tortillas in Oaxaca. Then there is Elote, the best street corn that one can get.

But I recognize the draw of Taco Bell, just as I enjoy a McDonald's burger at times.

I feel the same way. I love Mexican food, frequently make it at home, have traveled a lot in Mexico and eaten the real thing so I don't care for Taco Bell food. I appreciate your comment about McDonalds because I sometimes get a child's Happy Meal with the little burger, the small serving of French fries, and the toy. I have the impression that every Happy Meal is cooked fresh when the order is placed because they don't sell that many of them, unlike the regular burgers that sit under a heat lamp until someone orders them.

Wendy's used to have a taco salad on the menu which I liked. There's no such thing as a taco salad in Mexico. Wendy's used shredded iceberg lettuce, topped with corn tortilla chips, a cup of hot beef and pinto bean chili, and some sour cream and cheddar cheese on top. I wish they'd bring it back.

 

[Judge]

I feel the same way. I love Mexican food, frequently make it at home, have traveled a lot in Mexico and eaten the real thing so I don't care for Taco Bell food. I appreciate your comment about McDonalds because I sometimes get a child's Happy Meal with the little burger, the small serving of French fries, and the toy. I have the impression that every Happy Meal is cooked fresh when the order is placed because they don't sell that many of them, unlike the regular burgers that sit under a heat lamp until someone orders them.

Wendy's used to have a taco salad on the menu which I liked. There's no such thing as a taco salad in Mexico. Wendy's used shredded iceberg lettuce, topped with corn tortilla chips, a cup of hot beef and pinto bean chili, and some sour cream and cheddar cheese on top. I wish they'd bring it back.

LOL...quite correct. All the stuff one finds in a fast food joint is essentially just "Gringo Cuisine". Edible delights made in the border states, but not Mexico. When I used to work in "the city" years ago, if we wanted authentic Mexican food we had to go a particular restaurant.

Seems to me it was the History Channel that had an amusing show about this sort of food. In particular I recall how the Chimichanga came about. A woman was making a burrito in her Arizona restaurant, and she accidentally dropped it into a deep-fat fryer. In the process she began yelling a Mexican epithet... and being in front of her grandchildren she effectively blurted out something else a bit nicer- "chimichanga". Fumble recovered !

"Nachos" came about in Texas. Just something some guy in his restaurant came up with as an appetizer. He didn't even have a name for it at the time, but his customers chose to call it by the man's name- Nacho.

One thing I can never forget is just how bad anything called "Mexican Food" was in Virginia before the 70s. Something most of us bi-coastal Navy brats knew all too well. Though I also recall an incident where I was downwind of a taco vendor in Ensenada, Mexico. Oh my.

I guess there are any number of "chop suey" stories when it comes to cuisine that may sound foreign, but really isn't. Whatever anyone calls it, I've always loved it. Except perhaps when they play "shell games" with certain menu items. Where something is here today and gone tomorrow. Having little or nothing to do with supply chain concerns.

 

[clg114]

I like Taco Time better. In fact one of our Chahuahuas is named "Taco Time".

 

[Aspychata]

I like Taco Bell because it inspired people to try more upscale Mexican or Cuban or other types of cuisine. Burritos places in the Mission district of San Francisco were all the rage when l was a young adult.

 

[Aspychata]

I like Taco Time better. In fact one of our Chahuahuas is named "Taco Time".

Did try Taco Time in LA. They don't have it in this part of Florida. A famous drive-in here is Checkers, however the main one transformed into a healthy smoothie place.

 

[Crabcore]

I know I'm nuts but I hate fast food these days. Homemade tacos with real meat are where it's at

 

[Mary Terry]

@Judge - I love the chimichanga story! We have some decent Mexican restaurants where I live, maybe because there are a lot of Mexicans and Hispanics employed in the poultry and construction businesses here. We even have a good Mexican food store where I'm always the only white person shopping. My favorite local restaurant is a small Mexican place called "Green Ghost Tacos", a play on "gringo". Everything is made fresh every day, including tortillas and salsas. Yum.

 

[LadyS]

We also have Taco Casa and Taco Bueno here. All good stuff too.

 

[Shaddock]

I checked it and we have nothing here, when there were mexican restaurants in the near, they were always very poor. when I would ever go to the USA, the first thing I would do would be to go into taco bell or similar restaurant and buy myself a taco and everything else on the menu.

 

[auslan434]

I had my first lunch at Taco Bell in Tamworth, NSW Australia.

I had a double taco which was wrapped in a tortilla wrap.

It was very tasty so I'll be having a meal there again sometime.