The New Dallas

Place: Taco Bell
Lunch: Doritos Locos Taco Supreme (no tomato), nachos supreme (no tomato), pintos and cheese, Pepsi

 It's so weird to have a real modern Taco Bell in town.  Weird, I tell you.

"Dallas" returned to television last night.  The iconic series best known for the whole "who shot JR" deal has been remade for TNT.  I watched "Dallas" and its spinoff "Knots Landing" starting a few seasons in pretty much to the end of both runs, though I was actually a bigger fan of "Knots" than "Dallas".

Most of the original core cast are in attendance with the exception of those played by actors who've since died, and Victoria Principal's Pam Ewing (Bobby's wife in the new series is "Ann", played by the always outstanding Brenda Strong).  But they're just here to pass the baton.  The new show is really focused around the youth of Dallas, specifically Christopher and John Ross, JR and Bobby's sons from the original series, and the women in their lives.  One of the women is played by Jordana Brewster of the Fast and the Furious movies.  

I thought the boys looked WAY too young to be where Christopher and John Ross would be age-wise today, but I checked the ages of the actors, and they were born at right about the time their characters would have been.  They look young, in shape, and they look really good shirtless.  That's something guys didn't have to be in the days of the original series.  Women today are much more into the eye candy than they used to be.

I thought the show was great, if not SERIOUSLY heavy on the plot twists.  As for Larry Hagman?  He stepped right back into JR's shoes.  He may be old and frail, but he's still the devil.

The ratings were good.  The show gets a ten-episode run this year.  I hope it does well and continues, but as they transition stories more towards the kids, I'm not sure how capable this bunch will be of maintaining the legacy.  We have so many brilliantly written dramas today, and like the original, this isn't remotely in the same league as, say, "Mad Men".

The new Gen 3 QuikTrip opened today, just across the street from here.

Think I'll check it out on the way back to work.

Green Burrito (was) Neato

Place: Carl's Jr/Green Burrito

Lunch: 2 beef tacos, side of beans, Famous Star (no tomato), Coke

Green Burrito used to be a small California Mexican chain that was known for its signature "Green Burrito"...a massive burrito with green sauce and pretty much every conceivable Mexican ingredient on hand.  It weighed well north of a pound.

Green Burrito's growth largely came through co-branding with Carl's Jr outlets, who eventually came to own the brand.  In the early days of co-branding, they had one of the best commercial campaigns ever, featuring a simple green dot pouty face on a black screen singing acoustic emo jingles that included...

Green Burrito is neato

Green Burrito, packed with meat-o

Green Burrito, good to eat-o

Green Burrito, smell my feet-o

(I can't find the actual commercials on YouTube, but I did find the audio for them.)

They've done a lot of modifying to the menu over the years.  You can't even get the Green Burrito anymore.  Rice is gone too.  No more platters...just combos with chips or fries.

So it was with some confusion that I walked into Carl's Jr/Green Burrito on Sunday.  I noticed no more "deluxe taco", which was nothing more than their standard taco with sour cream added.  Tried to order it anyway.

"Do you still make deluxe tacos?"

Mediocre Counter Girl shouted something in Spanish to the back.

The back responded in Spanish.

Mediocre Counter Girl then turned to me and said "Ya, okay."

"Okay, I'll have two in a platter."

"A what?"

"Platter?"

"Oh, we no have platters no more.  We just have chips."

I look over the menu to see if beans are still present.  They are, as a "side of beans".

"Okay, two deluxe tacos and a side of beans."

"What kind of tacos?"

At which point my level of frustration went past the boiling point.  I turned around and walked out the door.

So today, I went to a different Carl's Jr/Green Burrito.  Because I apparently have a fetish for punishment.

Smiling Counter Guy:  "To stay or to go?"

(NOTE - "To stay" is what they say instead of "For here" in the Intermountain West.  This is a universal rule.  If somebody in the Intermountain West says "For here" to you, you know they're one of them furreigners from the Midwest or worse.)

So I give him my order, which includes the language "Two crispy beef tacos".  I notice that as he enters the tacos, the price for two is WAY cheaper than the price of one on the menu board.

Me: "Did you ring one taco or two?"

Smiling Counter Guy: "Two.  You want the crispy tacos, not the beef tacos, right?"

Me: "What?"

Smiling Counter Guy: "Well, there's the cripsy tacos, which are two for a dollar, or the beef taco, which has beef, lettuce, cheese, and salsa."

Me: "What's in the crispy taco?"

Smiling Counter Guy: "Beef, lettuce, cheese, and salsa."

It's times like these that I'm really impressed at how well I've gotten at controlling my temper.

So I tell him to go with the "beef taco".  He does.  Order complete.

So the food comes.  I had also ordered a side of beans, which were delivered, but no spoon was included to eat them with.  So I go to the counter.

Me: "I need a spoon for my beans."

Smiling Counter Girl: "We don't have spoons."

Yes.  Seriously.  They fully intend for you to lick them out of the bowl.

Smiling Counter Girl, after noticing I'm coldly staring at her: "Sorry...would you like a fork?"

The sad part about this is the Green Burrito refried beans are my favorite thing on the entire Carl's Jr/Green Burrito menu.  They're soupy and wonderful.  I could go there and just order like a half dozen bowls and be happy.

I went online to see if the Carl's Jr website would have a better description of the "Crispy Taco".   They did...even including a picture (which the Carl's Jr menu board does not).  They are apparently clones of Jack in the Box tacos.  With the American cheese slice and everything.  

Apparently there's no soft shell beef taco anymore, so in Green Burrito speak, there's no point in specifying whether or not you want a crispy or soft taco.  I firmly believe the marketing genius at CKE who thought of this arrogantly believes anybody who doesn't catch onto this immediately is an idiot.  That's certainly how the counter help acts.

What makes me even angrier is that I now want to try the Jack in the Box clone tacos too.

*sigh*

Spent the morning taking pictures of the spring flowers at Temple Square and checking out the new City Creek Center, the new outdoor mall/lifestyle center that replaced two shopping malls...the ZCMI Center and Crossroads Plaza.  The highlight?  The new Harmon's, which is a grocery store.  But I'm really into grocery stores.  Also chatted with a friend who manages one of the City Creek stores.

Weather has just been beautiful the past couple of days.  Perfect for being outside.