Archive for January 14th, 2012

There is something about me that my close friends know.  Some days they are understanding–other days they openly judge me.  This revelation might surprise a casual reader of this blog.  (To my great surprise I’ve learned that it’s not just my mom who reads this thing.)  But I think it’s time for me to stand and announce my self to world.

My name is Arthur, and I like Taco Bell.

There it is.  I’ve said it out loud… in print or electrons.  It feels  good to admit openly.  And you know what?  I’m not ashamed.  My name is Arthur, and I like Taco Bell.  Though maybe I need to explain my self.

First, I don’t think that it’s great food; it’s the culinary equivalent to Katy Perry.   But, confession number two, I like Katy Perry.

Taco Bell is just a mix of carbs, salt, fat, with some onions and, whenever in my hands, a generous coating of hot sauce.  All the things humans are biologically programmed to crave.  I just can’t understand those who refuse to eat there with me.

Some whine about the health of fast food.  But if you don’t order the mega-lunch box and keep the number of items ordered under control it’s actually not that bad for you.  Take my standard lunch order of one five layer burrito.  It clocks in with 540 calories.  Less than most half a sandwich and soup combos at Hale and Hearty or approximately the same as Pret a Manger‘s ham and cheese sandwich.  The sodium in this fake Mexican treat is on the high end at 1280 mg, just over 50 percent of what you should have in a day.  So I skip the afternoon can of V8 that packs 25 percent of you daily sodium.  Sure, maybe I shouldn’t eat at the Bell every day, and I don’t, not any more, but even if I did I could do it right. (Confession number three: in my younger years I would regularly order and eat over $10 worth of Taco Bell for lunch.)

And have I mentioned that Taco Bell is cheap?  That five layer burrito is only $1.89 in New York, a steal compared to any other lunch around.  Great for the poor law student.

So you can call Taco Bell cheap, uneatable, fake food.  I’ll proudly call it lunch.