A blog by Cameron and Shannon

As you may have previously ascertained, I enjoy a number of things about Taco Bell, the least of which is the actual food.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t by any means suffer through the food. A good CrunchWrap Supreme or Cheesy Gordita Crunch can really hit the spot, and does just that about once a week on average (Dear Anthony Bourdain, I’m sorry. Love, Cameron). But it’s not just the food — it’s the whole package. The imaginary food names. The awful typeface. The weird purple/pink/teal early 90’s semi-New-Mexico faux-adobe construction. The tiny list of ingredients (and the necessarily bizarre combinations thereof). The hammy commercials. It’s all very … endearing.

Just consider the just-launched and ridiculously-named “New 79¢ 89¢ 99¢ Why Pay More Value Menu” (note: if phrases like “Get Your Grub On” and “Why Pay Mo’” cause you physical pain, do not click that link.). For no particularly apparent reason, Taco Bell has chosen to yet again redesign its Value Menu — and this time there are new offerings. And if you should know one thing about me, it’s that I love new Taco Bell menu items.

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Items of interest this week:

Taco Bell’s Big Bell Box & Bacon Club Chalupa

As a followup to my previous post, I feel the need to speak out regarding the Big Bell Box and Bacon Club Chalupa.

The Big Bell Box

Taco Bell’s Big Bell Box is comprised of a taco, a Bacon Club Chalupa, a burrito, a thing of Cinnamon Twists, and a drink. Who cares, because you can buy all of those items separately, making the Big Bell Box nothing more than an extremely arbitrary combo meal served in a box instead of a tiny grocery bag. The KFC Big Box meal presents you chicken in a manner otherwise unachievable; unless the Big Bell Box is modified to also include something unique (e.g. a single tortilla), it will fall short.

The Bacon Club Chalupa

I generally don’t eat chicken at Taco Bell, but if you add Bac-O’s and mayonnaise and put it in deep-fried flatbread, you’ve crossed the line — as well as a number of other lines that have been drawn after that, Yosemite-Sam and Bugs-Bunny-style. I can’t follow you down this road, Taco Bell … but I’ll be here when you get back.

You’re Going To Learn Something Next Week

I’m going to teach you how to use Quicksilver. If you have any idea what that sentence means, the article won’t be for you. It’s going to be called “Quicksilver for Normal People”, and it’s going to be straightforward and simple, and afterwards, your Mac experience will never be the same. I promise.

Flickr Now Has Video

Flickr now has video, and I’ve decided that I like it. I made one video while sitting on the couch one evening, and it garnered a (for me) fantastic amount of comments/attention, so I made a second, more entertaining video, which has been completely ignored, so whatever. Expect more of these occasionally. They’re fun to make.

I Now Have A Film Scanner

Thanks to a bonus, I have now ordered a film negative scanner, and will be starting a photography site at a domain I’ve had reserved for this very purpose. More on this very soon; I’m excited. As soon as it comes in I’ll get a splashpage up, so that you may share in the excitement. (I’ll probably write a post about the incredibly tedious process of deciding what to buy — expect that next week, too.)

Today I’m going to tell you how to make your fast food experience more awesome. I have compiled a list of 5 tips — mine and others — that will inevitably enhance your chances of walking out of a corporate megafranchise more than just marginally satisfied with your culinary experience.

“But Cameron! My fast food experience is already more awesome,” you say, eyes wide with confusion, anticipation, and animalistic grease-lust. Well, my friend, no, it’s not. You’re wrong. It is, at best, a faded spectre — a mere muddled reflection of true awesome.

Don’t fight it. Click Read More and shut your chalupa-hole.

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Last Saturday, Shannon and I visited Hot Diggity Dogs, a local purveyor of non-local hot dog cuisine. I came across it on Yelp! Nashville and couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard about it before. A hot dog place? Serving Chicago dogs? 5 minutes from our apartment? Unbelievable.

Needless to say, I declared a meal there to be top priority, and we forewent our (unfortunately) standard Saturday Taco Bell lunch to head over to Hot Diggity Dogs, because I don’t know if you’re aware, but the Chicago Dog is one of the greatest foods ever invented.

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