Food and family

I could write up some thoughts about things I observed or pondered today, but this photo pretty much summarizes it all.  This was a travel day--I'm now in between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas where my brother and sister-in-law live--and it's been marked by the food I've eaten and the company I've kept, namely my nephew.

The last time I saw my nephew was at Christmas, about a month after he was born.  We got along famously, and I showed him off to my parents via Skype.

I've been doing a good job of eating sensibly...but not today.  In addition to some airport barbecue in Memphis, I had my first visit to the fabled In-N-Out Burger.  I enjoyed a double double animal style (but without cheese), fries, and a Neapolitan shake.

It was quite a busy day but a good one.  And just think, I still have a World Series game to attend while I'm down here.

Taste test

Some years ago I got on a list, I don't know how, to participate in opinion surveys and tests and get paid for my time. More often than not I haven't qualified for one reason or another, but sometimes I don't return the calls. In all this time I've taken part in one radio survey, which was quite clearly for a classic rock station in town. My best guess is that was probably six or seven years ago, so I'm not getting rich from these opportunities.

I've now completed my second of these sessions, this time in the form of a taste test. I reported to the Wendy's Research and Development Innovation Center and waited until my small group was ushered into a long, narrow, white room. The individual stations were set up so that you couldn't see the person next to you. A monitor was mounted to the wall, and a keyboard was below the counter. Napkins were placed in a holder on the counter.

After answering a few questions on the screen, in each station a small door to the test kitchen opened. A tray with a cup of water and a sandwich was slid in front of each of us. It felt very futuristic, even if it was in kind of a dystopian way. We'd been instructed to eat at least half of the sample before answering the questions. The way I looked at it is that I was getting paid to eat supper.

As expected, I was testing a spicy chicken sandwich. I like this fast food chain's version of one--I believe I've called it the single best fast food sandwich--but I've been gravitating more toward Chick-fil-A's spicy chicken over the last year. Out of all of the taste tests I could be selected for, this is one that I feel extremely qualified to participate in. This is especially true having gone through it. The sample sandwich is clearly trying to duplicate the one from the chain I've been favoring lately.

I finished answering the questions (and eating the remainder of the sandwich), and that was that. As it is when visiting a fast food restaurant, this experience was quick and easy. The difference is that I left with a nice sum of cash rather than spending any.

Bueno

Three or five years ago I first saw the logo for fast food franchise Taco Bueno. I became kind of obsessed with it. The word bubble with "bueno" in it looks like something that anyone could have (and might have) whipped up in a pinch on MS Paint. It fascinated me because it looks so unpolished. Surely something like that would never pass muster with test market groups.

Yet that logo is what had me wanting to go to the restaurant and determined to get to one this time while down here in the Dallas-Fort Worth. Readers, today was that day.

Basically Taco Bueno appears to be similar too but a step up from Taco Bell. (Granted, I don't know how many years it's been since I last set foot in a Taco Bell.) I went with a simple and straightforward order--three beef tacos and a drink--and was able to sample one of my brothers' orders of monkey bread. Yes, monkey bread!

The food was fine for the kind of place that it is. The meat wasn't greasy, especially when compared to what I recall Taco Bell's offerings being. (This is a big plus.) Some extra fixings--jalapenos and a few different kinds of salsa--are a nice touch. I didn't peruse the menu too closely, but it seems like they have a wider variety than their Mexican fast food competitors.

The closest Taco Buenos to my home are in Columbia and Blue Springs, Missouri and Conway, Arkansas. So not very. Dumb as it sounds, I was legitimately excited to be able to get to one of these restaurants today. (I figured my mom would not be too keen on the idea.) I'm surely more fixated on this franchise because it's inaccessible to me on a daily basis but that's okay. I can order a t-shirt from their online store, and if I'm ever in the vicinity of one, I can know that it's worth a visit.

And it's all because of that crazy logo.