 Taco Bell #1137
I didn't think that I'd be visiting any Taco Bells while out in California, yet so far I've been to three, mainly because it's turned out to be the most palatable place that Veg. and non-Veg. people can agree on in terms of fast food. I visited this location with my brother, after a fairly frustrating period of trying to locate a non-disgusting fast food place we both could enjoy. It's not in the best part of town, and as it turned out, there was a much nicer Taco Bell about a mile away, but what the steamin' fuck hole, as Granddad used to say. This one was small but reasonably clean, suffering from the lack of a bathroom, which must be illegal, and certainly making it no easier for my petulant brother to relieve the old bladder. This was the only Taco Bell I've ever seen that specified its Veg. options on the menu with special "meatless item" stickers, which was a nice touch, even though it did illustrate how limited the Veg. choices are at Taco Bell (actually, vegetarians will find a fair amount to eat, but Vegans are limited to a couple of choices without cheese or sour cream). I had my usual 7-layer burrito (no cheese, no sour cream) and bean burrito (no cheese) and went "X-treme" with the choice of an Orange Slice to drink. Brother had four regular tacos and a chili cheese burrito. Between us we had barely enough money to cover this fiesta (mine was $3.43, his was $2.76; what do you expect from a couple poor bruthas?) but we managed. The service was exceedingly slow, and the atmosphere was made a bit irritating by a couple of old ladies complaining about how hot it was in the dining area (it was moderately hot, but not awful). Their best line was "hot sauce and cold air!" which I thought would have made a nice little rallying cry, had the ladies decided to organize their protest, and if anyone ever bothered to listen to old ladies.
Parking was fine, and there was a gas station called "The Gas Hole" not too far away. Overall not the best nor worst Taco Bell I've ever visited. Only 5,379 to go and I will have reviewed them all, each given the same trenchant, piercing journalistic approach.
Review by La Fée, September 1999 |