Taco Bell
7535 Harlem, Niles, IL, USA

The Taco Bell at the intersection of Harlem and Milwaukee in Niles is one of the most serviceable Taco Bells around. The dining area is spacious and always clean, the drive-through is relatively screw-up free, and the staff rarely seems like it's comprised of total morons. Add to this recipe a beverage machine with eight popular sodas and you're in business.

I had a bean burrito with no cheese and a 7-Layer with no cheese or sour cream (making it a 5-Layer, come to think of it). The cashier let me slide on two cents when I realized I was two cents short (should have been more careful about putting my two cents in earlier). Apparently the 7-Layer was prepared with cheese, but in a shocking turn of events, the line supervisor actually noticed this before I received it and quickly prepared a new one to my specifications. Surprisingly above-average service for a Taco Bell.

As for the food, well, it's Taco Bell. It goes directly to your stomach and harasses you for an hour, screaming "How'd you like that?!" It's not exactly healthy. But Taco Bell and Subway are among the only fast-food restaurants where you can get fairly hearty Vegan food on the go, so until I go macrobiotic (trust me, that won't ever happen) I'll continue to support the place.

It's also convenient as it's a place I can visit with my flesh-eating acquaintances without being subjected too much to their slaughtering ways. Stop the war!

Review by La Fée, September 1998