thinking outside the bun

Well, I hope that everyone was able to get to sleep last night, and able to concentrate on work today, even with all the excitement and mystery surrounding the beginning of The Great Food Court Project.

Well, the time has come to announce that today I ate lunch at…Taco Bell.

I know, it’s kind of a dud and a boring way to start off The Great Food Court Project. I probably chose it in part as a way of getting that one over with. But here’s the other reason I chose it: you know that urban legend about the girl who ate at Taco Bell, and then she got a sore throat, and it ended up being cockroach eggs that hatched? Well, whenever I’ve eaten at Taco Bell since I heard that story, I feel like I get a sore throat out of hypochondriac sympathy. But I already have a sore throat! I’m sick with a really bad cold! So I’m untouchable to the normal Taco Bell effects.

It’s probably been three years since I ate at Taco Bell, despite living across the street from one in Seattle for awhile, although that particular Taco Bell seemed more like a place where people did drugs than ate. I did love it when I was a child, and I fondly remember dipping cinnamon twists into nacho cheese with my brothers back in the day. So as I stood at the counter to order, I must say that I was struck by the loss of knowledge I’ve suffered where Taco Bell is concerned. What’s bigger—a burrito supreme or a stuft burrito? Just what are the seven layers in a seven-layer burrito? What do all these types of nachos come with? These are things I used to know.

Other things I noticed as I ordered: the line for Taco Bell was all male, although in the time in which I was eating, I did notice two females get some food there as well. Also, I really do think that Taco Bell might be the last truly affordable fast food restaurant. It’s also been awhile since I ate at McDonald’s, but aren’t combos there now like six bucks? I guess the flip side to the cheapness might point to poor quality, like maybe there’s some truth rumor that they just kill cats and use that for beef. But I don’t know if that’s true. I’m not saying it is. Please don’t sue me, Taco Bell.

Well, today I had nachos supreme and a baja chicken chalupa, and both were fine. The shell of the chalupa wasn’t quite as magical as I remembered it being…I remembered it being the finest in fried bread, and when I was little, I thought chalupa shells should be used in everything, despite having an inkling even at that age that they were awfully unhealthy. But anyways, both items were just fine, even though I’ll be a-okay if I don’t eat at Taco Bell for another three years.

As I left the food court, I had a few extra minutes, so I made a loop through Urban Outfitters. I got like a nail or a tack or something stuck in my shoe, but luckily I got it out before it penetrated the food and would have required a tetanus shot. No one said The Great Food Court Project wouldn’t be dangerous.