Taco Bell Review

Yes, it's true, my first ever visit to Taco Bell took place this past Friday, June 22nd, at approximately 10:30 PM.  Actually, I lied.  In 2006, I did drive a couple friends from college to the Massena franchise (25 miles north of Potsdam, where I attended school at the time), but I chose the Wendys in the mall food court for my dinner, as (a) there was (inexplicably) no Wendys in Potsdam and (b) I'm not a huge fan of Mexican cuisine.  To add to the epicness of that trip, I missed a turn on the way back and wound up at what I thought was a cornfield.  It turned out to be the St. Lawrence river.  Whoops!  Given that we were in an old car (1992 Honda Accord) sans GPS or smartphone (this was early 2006), we had to have some friends MapQuest us back to campus via cell phone.  I could write an entire post about that excursion, but you're here to read about Taco Bell . . .

As previously stated, I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food, but I am a huge fan of other greasy, beefy, flatulence-inducing grub.  After some convincing from Sean (my colleague) and Jess (his wife), I decided to try it out with them after my students graduated last Friday.  I ended up liking it quite a bit.  Would I choose it over Wendy's? Probably not.  Over Burger King?  Quite possibly, depending on my mood.  Over McDonalds?  Without a doubt!  (Don't be surprised to see a fast food comparison test posted sometime this summer.)

We arrived at a fairly busy time.  One of the first things that stuck out was the ambience; it reminded me of a late-night college dining court, and brought back fond memories of Potsdam's Nite Owl.  The lady at the counter (the only one working the counter that night) was extremely pleasant, despite the crowd.  It was clean.  Lastly, the prices appeared to be extremely reasonable, on par with Wendy's (IMHO, the current champ for fast food value if you order the right items).  

After much deliberation and consultation with Sean and Jess, I decided on the Three Cheese Roll-Up, the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, the Steak Quesadilla, and a tall glass of much-needed ice water (the graduation ceremony I came from had taken place in an absurdly hot and stuffy gymnasium).  I was warned that it would be a deceptively large amount of food, but being myself, I ordered it anyway.  I left very, very full, but not disgustingly so.  

I started with the Roll-Up . . . and it was awesome!!!  The cheese was a nice mixture of gooey, stretchy, and sloppy, and it was a very satisfying start to the meal.  I then dove into the quesadilla, which was one of the better ones I've had.  The burrito came last, and holy crap it was filling!  I quickly ditched the sour cream (not a fan) and dove into the beefy goodness, only to be (pleasantly) surprised by an explosion of melted cheese!  

All in all, a very good meal!  I'm glad I went!  

What's your favorite restaurant you took forever to go to and then ended up really enjoying?