¿Yo quiero Taco Bell? ¡Ay caramba!

Fast food is special to me. It holds special place not only in my heart, but the rest of my body too. In fact, I physically consist of 75% fast food and 25% beer. Ah, and the memories. The first place I stopped after crossing the Texas border on my move here from Minnesota was Jack in the Box for their stuffed jalapenos. Jack in the Box has some unique items that I can’t live without, and I'd been forced to live without it for seven long years. Those first jalapenos filled a hole in my soul that’s existed since I’d left Hawaii. Now that I think about it, maybe JITB is the reason I had to leave Minnesota. Hmm! What else… I love how the lady at the McDonald’s drive-thru always knows to include the hot salsa with my breakfast burrito. That personal touch lets me know how much she really cares. And how can I forget the countless days when my only conversation with anyone at all has been with a fast food cashier. I would come up with such witticisms as "for here" and "could I get some ketchup with that." Man, where would I be without the fast food industry. They’re almost like family.

What surprised me when I first moved to Texas was a place called Taco Cabana. It’s a fast food chain that’s similar to Taco Bell, but their tacos seem more authentic, whatever that means. You add your own toppings, and they have a selection of salsas, and it doesn’t come out of little packets, you scoop it out of big bowls. They also have beer and margaritas, yet they operate as a fast food restaurant. It became a rule of mine that if I wanted tacos, I would go to Taco Cabana. So, I haven't been to Taco Bell once since I've lived in Texas. That's close to two years.

Well, something happened. I stopped going to Taco Cabana several months ago. I'm not really sure why, but their tacos don’t appeal to me anymore. However, I hadn’t been back to Taco Bell either, until last night. I was nervous at the drive-thru. Their menu had changed! Do they still have the chalupas I love? The three different types? And what were the names of their hot sauce levels again?!?! Well, I managed to talk my way through the transaction like an old pro, and the chalupas tasted just as good as I remembered.

So I’m no longer a Texas Taco Bell virgin, and have no immediate plans to go back to Taco Cabana. I don’t know if this is a serious enough indiscretion to count against my Texas citizenship, but I’ll deal with the consequences.