Splash No. 6
To Taco Bell
If you nothing else about me, you should know that I love Taco Bell. Since I was 3 or 4 years old, I’ve been ravenously consuming bean burritos and nachos on a regular basis. In fact, Taco Bell probably has accounted for approximately 20% of all the meals I’ve ever eaten in my life. Whenever my parents wanted to go to a restaurant that wasn’t pizza, I would always eat Taco Bell on the way there to keep things simpler. I was (and continue to be) a picky eater and I knew what I liked.
As a vegetarian in America, fast food restaurants aren’t exactly the best places to go. Many children have strong memories tied to McDonald’s or Chick-fil-a or wherever else, but I could never experience that. Most of these places have no vegetarian options at all. McDonald’s doesn’t even have fries that are vegetarian. In contrast, nearly every single item on the Taco Bell menu can be customized to be served without meat.
Even better, my Indian palate craves a variety of spice and flavor and Taco Bell fits the mold perfectly, after I douse everything in 10 Hot Sauces (or mild, but never fire). In college, my love has continued to grow and works incredible well with my budget, since I can feed myself for less than $5 and still be extremely full. I could go on and on about the great things about Taco Bell, but it’s not just a restaurant to me.
I remember eating Mexican Pizzas after I would come back from swimming lessons (which I hated). The food at the end was always worth the torture of having to flail around in a chlorinated pool. I remember the super clean and well-managed location in Macon during a road trip to Jacksonville to visit my grandparents.
Taco Bell is a symbol of my childhood. As I grow up and move on, it stays present, reminding me of who I am and where I came from. In over 15 years of eating there, I still order the same things. It feels like one of the few places where I can get whatever I want and be satisfied. It may be easier to get vegetarian options at other fast food places now than it was when I was younger, but Taco Bell has been there since the beginning, always there.
Drops of the Week
recommendations of cool things I encountered this week
An Important Essay
“Why Design” by Julie Zhuo - Julie is an incredible design leader who has been blogging weekly for years. This piece is an older one I rediscovered that captures some of my feelings about why design is so important!
Short Film
“Melville” - this is one of my favorite short films. It’s well shot, well-acted and includes hip hop and other interesting themes.
Photo Essay
Ocean Pools - beautiful visual essay about pools in Sydney. It made me add a new place to my travel bucket list.
Thanks so much for reading! And sorry that this is a short one (recovering from wisdom teeth extraction).
If you have any comments/concerns or fan/hate mail for me, you know can just reply to this email!
Love,
Nikhil