All Hail Taco King!

I write this sitting at my desk in a state that I suspect approaches that experienced by an anaconda after swallowing an entire deer. Seriously, all I want to do right now is to find a nice rock somewhere and lay there in the sun for a month or two, contentedly digesting the deer-sized lump in my belly.

We call this, in the environs of my cabin at least, the "anaconda effect." Usually this is a Sunday-afternoon-on-the-deck post grilling sensation, but today at lunch I paid a short visit to the drive-thru of my new favorite Fairbanks restaurant: Taco King.

Dining out in Fairbanks is already pretty well covered in the various weeklies that sprang up like mushrooms around here. But I have seen no mention of Taco King.

You scoff, n'est-ce pas?

I'll admit that I might not have given it a try if my significant other had not made me gently suggested we go to the one in Anchorage. But I left there happy and full -- and it was much delight that I greeted the arrival of one here on the Old Steese next to Play it Again Sports.

Yes, the decor, the outward appearance of the building and its location are, shall we say, as aesthetically challenged as most of Squarebanks.

But the food! It scores highly on the Broke Ass Cabin Dweller Score Card in two critical areas: cheap and good. I would rank the food there on par and largely above any of the larger Mexican restaurants in town. You know, the ones that don't serve the food on styrofoam with plastic utensils. But styrofoam, plastic and decor issues aside, so far I've sampled the enchiladas, the special taco and the chili verde. All have been tasty and did I mention cheap? I paid $6.00 for lunch today and am a very contented anaconda.

I might also take this time to mention that the other restaurants in town have proven disappointing. At one, the chili verde, a dish that any self-respecting Mexican restaurant ought to be to make at least adequately, was truly awful. It is rare that I won't eat something that I've purchased, but it was vile. And at another one, the buffet that was once a thing of legend is just poor.