a la recherche du tacos perdu

An read a whole article about Tacos. It was called "Remembrance of Tacos Past"

1. Way to go with the Proust shout outs, buddy. Everyone loves a good highbrow reference applied to lowbrow culture. Maybe you can do a follow up on McDonald's called Fries and Punishment, or the Sound and the McFlurry.

2. Author Mark Dery explores Taco Bell's past appeal, continued existence, and the reasons for his personal nostalgia for the place. His in depth exploration of Taco Bell as a phenomenon appeals to me. I like that he asks why, in a country where Hispanic culture has grown so much, and better Mexican food has become readily available, billions of people per year still go to shitty old Taco Bell, but. . .

3. . . .I think the answer is simple. Forget complex cultural explanations, Americans have always been great customers for low nutrition, low quality, low cost products that throw large quantities of salt and fat (or sugar) at them. You can ridicule Taco Bell, Slim Jims, and Hostess Cupcakes, but someone out there is probably making a delicious, affordable meal out of all three right now (ok it's me. I've got frosting on my chin, slim jim grease on my lips, and a dollop of sour cream on my shirt right now.)

Combine that low cost, high fat/salt/sugar thing with omnipresent advertising, and you're going to make bucks. I don't think the advertising has to be good, if it's as ubiquitous as Taco Bell's is. I don't think anybody liked that Chihuahua after month one, but he had a memorable catchphrase and he was everywhere, so Taco Bell was in all of our heads.

So, I'm not an expert on fast food, culture, or advertising, but I think the explanations for these things can usually be tied to a couple basic values (like cost and familiarity), and the Proust shit can be left behind.

I do like the article, though. I especially like the term, "partial birth cuisine." Revolting!