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    Scarring

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      They've got an interesting market strategy, focusing particularly on South Yorkshire and seaside locations initially: https://locations.tacobell.co.uk/index.html

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        Good grief, there's one in Harrow. I've never even spotted it...

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          How come Harrow's in London but Colindale isn't?

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            Had no idea there was a Taco Bell so close by: to be honest, I'd assumed that the UK lot had gone the way of all flesh.

            I remember TB being decent-ish in the US when I was there, but pretty ropy over here - hence the chain dying on its ass.

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              Originally posted by Capybara View Post
              How come Harrow's in London but Colindale isn't?
              Colindale, Croydon and Sutton are all in London.

              I'm astonished that Taco Bell managed to get into Chichester - it strikes me as a place that doesn't "do" chain restaurants, and especially not low-rent US ones.

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                TB used to be decent when I was a teen and they sold, you know, tacos. Now it's all stunt food, like something wrapped in something else or something stuffed with Insanely Spicy Doritos or other. It just all looks like toxic orange shit now.

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                  There was a Taco Bell in Uxbridge about 15-20 years ago. Long gone now, replaced by a KFC... and now that I live over here, it's become clear that both brands are part of the same corporation, as they normally appear next door to one another, or even sharing a building and kitchen with both signs on the door.

                  I never paid a visit to when that one was outside The Pavilions shopping centre, but we did stop at a Taco Bell for a bite to eat at the tail end of last year. Sloppy, cheesy, meaty, wrap that tasted, well, meh. Won't be rushing back but now I've scratched the Taco Bell itch, what next? Swiss Chalet?

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                    Have you not had Swiss Chalet yet?

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                      Originally posted by Levin View Post
                      I've noticed a PF Chang and a Benihana in London recently. Both of which are chains I'm only aware of through American TV.

                      (I don't know if they are mediocre or not).
                      Every mall we visited in Arabia had a PF Chang's, including the big one in Dubai by the tower. Signora Rogin was quite taken by their thing of having big monumental horses outside and took pictures of them as we'd never seen one (a PF Chang's, not a horse). I presume the reason they've not taken off in the UK is that we don't really need a chain selling us Chinese food, when hardly anyone in the UK lives more than half an hour from a family run cantonese restaurant.
                      Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 12-02-2020, 13:42.

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                        Maybe even Papa Johns, which isn't actually bad...just too sweet.
                        I got Papa John's once. The tomato sauce tasted like syrup. Actually ended up tossing the pizza (no pun intended).

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                          Originally posted by WOM View Post
                          Now it's all stunt food, like something wrapped in something else or something stuffed with Insanely Spicy Doritos or other. It just all looks like toxic orange shit now.
                          There may be forces at work there. YouTube "influencer" (uuuuurgghh...) taste test forces.

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                            Originally posted by WOM View Post
                            TB used to be decent when I was a teen and they sold, you know, tacos. Now it's all stunt food, like something wrapped in something else or something stuffed with Insanely Spicy Doritos or other. It just all looks like toxic orange shit now.
                            Yeah, a lot of takeaway joints seem to do that now - all that 'the McDonald's SuperTandooriPizzaMac only available until February 29th!'-type of cobblers. Does my head in.

                            Just go back to making decent food instead of trying to combine seven conflicting styles and flavours into one massive takeaway dog poop.

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                              Preach!

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                                What's that? A mash-up of a pretzel and a peach? Sounds revolting...

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                                  Assuming said pretzel was the large, softer variety, it might resemble one of those weird apricot pastry things you get from Nero's or Costa.

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                                    The problem with taco bell is that the core filling of nastily spiced gristly ground beef, nastily spiced chewy chicken or nastily spiced floury beans, that you get in every taco bell product no matter the level of novelty, is fundamentally nasty.

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                                      Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
                                      Assuming said pretzel was the large, softer variety, it might resemble one of those weird apricot pastry things you get from Nero's or Costa.
                                      I've always been amazed that a whole pretzel store can be supported in most US malls. To me they're a ball-game staple, not a 'ooo...I'm at the mall...I'll get a pretzel' thing.

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                                        Originally posted by WOM View Post
                                        Have you not had Swiss Chalet yet?
                                        Driven past the Bridgewater one countless times but never been in... can't get my head around the fact that it's a chicken and ribs restaurant, and doesn't offer gigantic wheels of Swiss cheese or bubbling cauldrons of fondue.

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                                          Originally posted by JVL View Post
                                          Driven past the Bridgewater one countless times but never been in... can't get my head around the fact that it's a chicken and ribs restaurant, and doesn't offer gigantic wheels of Swiss cheese or bubbling cauldrons of fondue.
                                          Well, you must rectify that. Good food and solid value. Normally I get the half-chicken, white meat with fries. Quarter white with fries if I'm not too hungry. The ribs are excellent, but I got them free for years and now I can't bring myself to pay for them.

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                                            Originally posted by WOM View Post

                                            I've always been amazed that a whole pretzel store can be supported in most US malls. To me they're a ball-game staple, not a 'ooo...I'm at the mall...I'll get a pretzel' thing.
                                            A lot of malls are going bust or soon will.

                                            Penn State's ice rink has an Auntie Anne's stall and sells their pretzels at the other concession stands. Much, much better than the standard semi-stale ones they often sell at sporting events.

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                                              Originally posted by WOM View Post

                                              Well, you must rectify that. Good food and solid value. Normally I get the half-chicken, white meat with fries. Quarter white with fries if I'm not too hungry. The ribs are excellent, but I got them free for years and now I can't bring myself to pay for them.
                                              One of the few things I can agree with WOM on. Of course I don't ask for the White meat..........
                                              I tried Taco Bell for the first time when I was in Canada the other week. Only because I was hungry and it was too cold to look for anywhere else.

                                              My intestines were doing somersaults for the next 48 hours.

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                                                Taco Bell isn't mediocre. It's worse than that. It used to be super cheap and I used to care a lot less about what I eat. I can't imagine going there now.

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                                                  We used to have a student discount card in high school that got you 2 for 1 tacos at TB. We'd go there on their cheap Tuesday, double up and get, like 15 tacos each for $5. Just the cheap original ones, but still...

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                                                    Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                                                    Taco Bell isn't mediocre. It's worse than that. It used to be super cheap and I used to care a lot less about what I eat. I can't imagine going there now.
                                                    It was some gooey sauce and melted cheese. bits of chicken and ground beef. Within an hour, I had serious heartburn

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