taco bell was the first exposure to anything approaching mexican or latin american food for a lot of white people in statesia. a lot of statesia was, up until the 80s and 90s, a food desert. most meals were made from largely canned goods. not a lot of spices or heat in the meal. you remember seeing all those cookbooks from the 50s with nasty recipes? that’s because they had to get inventive. so like taco bell and panda express were pretty adventurous for a lot of middle statesia when it comes to food.
tie in the racist “don’t drink the water, it’s mexico” jokes, mash it all up over a few decades and now the joke is taco bell gives you the runs. it’s not even real mexican food it’s become so americanized but *shrugs*
i have gut problems out the wazoo (which is unsurprising. that’s where you’d expect the gut problems) and taco bell is a reliable, safe place to eat when i’m on a road trip. they do not make me sick, which is more than most fast food places can say. Taco Bell, in general, maintains clean kitchens. That is the most important feature of a restaurant, just more important than a clean shitter. So like, ymmv but i like them. Don’t eat there often, but they are safe and that’s the important part.
taco bell was the first exposure to anything approaching mexican or latin american food for a lot of white people in statesia. a lot of statesia was, up until the 80s and 90s, a food desert. most meals were made from largely canned goods. not a lot of spices or heat in the meal. you remember seeing all those cookbooks from the 50s with nasty recipes? that’s because they had to get inventive. so like taco bell and panda express were pretty adventurous for a lot of middle statesia when it comes to food.
tie in the racist “don’t drink the water, it’s mexico” jokes, mash it all up over a few decades and now the joke is taco bell gives you the runs. it’s not even real mexican food it’s become so americanized but *shrugs*
i have gut problems out the wazoo (which is unsurprising. that’s where you’d expect the gut problems) and taco bell is a reliable, safe place to eat when i’m on a road trip. they do not make me sick, which is more than most fast food places can say. Taco Bell, in general, maintains clean kitchens. That is the most important feature of a restaurant, just more important than a clean shitter. So like, ymmv but i like them. Don’t eat there often, but they are safe and that’s the important part.