Over the course of the year, we have taken you, (or, ahem, ourselves, but wrote about it for you) to a plethora of unique, gourmet, elegant restaurants throughout the Charlottesville area. We've opened your eyes to little-known restaurants and exposed you to mouth-watering entrees and divine desserts. However, we realize that a few of our restaurant selections might be tough on college wallets, forcing you to wait to try these restaurants until your parents or that long-distance significant other comes to town.
This week we took all that into consideration and decided to review the crème de la crème of college favorites. It's the restaurant you can find coupons for in any basketball program, the restaurant that makes you run for the border (slash the bathroom), but you still come back for more. You got it -- we reviewed none other than the beloved classic, Taco Bell.
But behold, we didn't just review Taco Bell. We took that establishment by storm. Gathering our closest friends and a few Taco Bell veterans and aficionados, we ordered almost one of everything on the purple plastic display board hanging from the wall.
Before diving into Taco Bell heaven, we would like to inform you of the crucial lessons learned from our Taco Bell outing:
Lesson #1: Taco Bell is essentially the same thing with different options for the exterior and maybe a choice of sauce/salsa. You have your staple ingredients (choice of meat, beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream). The gordita is a thick pita, and the chalupa is a thick pita that is fried. Mmm, healthy. The inventors in elaborate Taco Bell kitchens tried to go crazy when introducing the "double-decker taco," a normal hard taco smothered with a layer of beans and wrapped in a soft taco. Whoever knew that refried beans also served as adhesive? This does serve as a crunchy, surprise combination, but, as stated, it is still a regular taco.
Lesson #2: One of our diners was picked for a reason. He frequents the establishment regularly. If there was a Taco Bell fan club, he'd be a card-carrying member. After sampling a chicken baja chalupa, there were complaints that there wasn't enough variety in each bite. For example, a bite would be all lettuce or all chicken, not the desired combination of the entire chalupa. Our veteran Taco Bell patron filled us in on this common mistake of Taco Bell novices -- taking just one bite. In order to fulfill your chalupa desires, it is better to take a small bite from the top combined with a small bite from the bottom, and then the whole effect of the chalupa is achieved.
Lesson #3: Taco Bell is cheap, real cheap. Therefore, we recommend it for a first date. You can buy a girl dinner for less than ten bucks. Then, if it goes horribly awry, not much lost. But if the date is running smoothly, (i.e. you've both enjoyed your gorditas and been romanced by the neon lights, University color-schemed vinyl booths, plastic floral arrangements and the enticing soundtrack of J.Lo and Cher), we would like you to notice how The Bell is intelligently located right in front of Blockbuster. After a 15-minute dinner (did we mention the efficiency of the employees?), you can hop on over, literally, to rent a movie with your new significant other.
In fact, we did see a couple on a date. They're our new friends Lauren and Matt. They're both seniors at STAB, and Lauren just got accepted to the University. While their taco choices differ (Lauren likes soft tacos, Matt prefers hard tacos and breaking and eating them like nachos), they still enjoy The Bell dining experience.
Finally, for our Bell recommendations, we chose to ignore the standard hard/soft taco and bean burrito choices. We figured everyone has had an experience with these old faithfuls. We chose to explore our options, venture out and test our Taco Bell burrito/ gordita/ chalupa intake.
One of our top favorites was the grilled stuffed burrito with chicken. Unlike Zazus or Qudoba, which both create enormous burritos that make you look rather heinous when trying to eat them, this burrito was large but still manageable. It also seemed to be toasted, which created a slight crunch that was a nice touch.
Another favorite was the fiesta burrito, which was described as "a fiesta in your mouth." After being instructed on how to correctly eat a chalupa, it was also a favorite, specifically the baja chalupa. This seemed to be a combination of all the right spices. We also had to try the new fiesta taco salad, a healthier choice. The taco bowl was a bit thicker than normal, and the salad was accompanied by a side of pico de gallo and strips of crunchy lime tostito chips.
However, the best thing about Taco Bell is clearly the cinnamon twists. This is indeed a unique delicacy. What exactly is it? No one knows. Even after stuffing ourselves with beans and tacos, cinnamon twists were a must. Especially for 79 cents. Seriously, does it get better than that?
Taco Bell. The Bell of the Taco. Open until 2 a.m. for quality, cheap food. It's no Zocalo, and it's not Ivy Inn. But it doesn't try to be. You get what you come for, and they make it easy for you. So grab a date, remember the lessons learned and run for the border, or Emmet Street. If you're feeling lucky, Blockbuster is just next door.
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