The Great Del Taco Disappointment

First of all, I'd like to say that I actually have cooked recently. And when I have the energy, I will tell you about the citrus honey glazed "ficken" that I made for The Momster when she was in town. But there are more pressing matters.

Yesterday, I had a lovely lunch over at Jackson's in Hillsboro Village (no website, Jackson's? Seriously?) with my wonderful new co-workers. I had the Capri Torrado, which is a chopped grilled portabello mushroom with tomato and avocado in a spinach tortilla wrap. And a whole lot of fries, which are lightly battered and very tasty. So by the time of dinner, I wasn't really hungry, so the SO requested I drop him by the nearby Del Taco/Captain D's combo restaurant.

First, the good news. They have macaroni and cheese.

And now the bad news. There is no Veggie Works burrito. And, if you remember, I love that Veggie Works burrito. There's a "1/2 pound bean and cheese burrito" (with your choice of red or green sauce) for $1.19, but no Veggie Works. Beans and cheese on a tortilla with some sauce is, quite frankly, nothing to get excited about (or a good reason to leave the house). So I got a snack of a side order of macaroni and cheese from the Captain D's section of the menu. I don't know if they had the crinkle fries, but this post (also by someone slapped in the face with the Tennessee version of Del Taco) indicates they do have them.

The SO ordered the bean burrito and, as a result of a "discussion" between us, a fish taco. I assumed because of the co-branding, that the fish taco would be a mini version of Captain D's fish on a taco, but he said that the breading and the fish were different (though, for the record, it looked the same to me but I sure as hell didn't taste it). So he was a little disappointed as well because I'd talked him out of getting a fish dinner. I don't think that Baja Burrito/Blue Coast Burrito has much to worry about with regard to Del Taco knocking them from their perch at the top of the local fish taco heap. Speaking of Blue Coast, I was happy to discover a location over on Sam Ridley Parkway not too far from my office. Good news for my stomach, bad news for my pants. But at least I don't have the 600-calorie Veggie Works burrito calling for me from around the corner. So I can save some room for a little Maximum R&B.

First night in Las Vegas

Taking a hint from Claudia, I'm going to go day-by-day in recounting my culinary adventures in Las Vegas. Though exciting as that may sound, my first experience was with Del Taco. I'd just spent four hours on a plane, it was late, and I was hungry. I rarely have fast food, but I thought, "what the heck?" And now I have a new favorite fast food joint.

My eyes immediately went to the "Veggie Works Burrito." I figured it would be loaded with stuff I don't like but no--beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, and red sauce. Not really "veggies" but all stuff I like (it tasted much better than it looks in my photo). Second, I spied crinkle cut fries. Yes, please. And when they say "macho" size, they mean it. My fries came in a cup larger than one I'd normally order a drink in. But I ate them. According to the website, I consumed about 1200 calories in fifteen minutes. But it was worth it. I love Del Taco. And I just discovered that a local company bought Del Taco in 2006, which is why they're slowly popping up around Nashville (including a location near my home). This is not good news for my waistline.

I only hope that the local employees are as nice and gracious as the ones I encountered out west. Like I said, I don't get fast food often, but when I do, I generally expect lackluster service and a surly attitude at best. I visited the Del Taco on Sahara in Las Vegas and one on the western edge of Twenty Nine Palms, California (not knowing there would be another one just up the road and closer to the entrance of Joshua Tree National Park) and got stellar service at each. And the employees all seemed to actually enjoy being at work. The kitchen area is really open to the front so you can see what's going on. And it's not scary at all. In California, the lady making our burritoes talked to us while she was preparing them--even offering up the advice of taking a fork with us. For the sake of research (of course), I'll visit my local Del Taco soon. I love that there's an item on a menu at a fast food restaurant that I can just quickly order and go without having to qualify with a hundred requests. Veggie Works, despite your copious calories and sodium, I dearly love you. I hate that my physique can only afford to have one of you at a time. Though I guess I could hold the sour cream...

Next up: Whole Foods (the big salad) and Kung Fu.