We've spent four solid days in Los Angeles working at the WinHEC conference and, with the exception of an In-n-Out order delivered by my boss on day 1, haven't yet had any significant Californian fast food while we were here.
So, my buddy Rob and I decided to do a marathon of four fast food establishments here in Los Angeles before we climb on our flight back to Seattle.
Stop 1: Wahoo's I'm not sure why they dropped the "Fish" from the name, but from the picture, it's clear they did sometime after they built the sign.
I had: Two fish tacos
Rob had: Four fish tacos
The verdict: 4 stars. Fish tacos are tasty!
Stop 2: In-n-Out Burger (Glendale, CA)
In-n-Out was the big hurdle in the marathon—if we could make it through In-n-Out, we could make it through anything. Thankfully, we made it through...and in record time. The timestamps on the photos indicate that we finished our meals in less than 3 minutes. Yow.
I had: A double-double, animal style
Rob had: A 4x4, animal style
The verdict: 5 stars. Socal isn't Socal without In-n-Out.
Stop 3: Del Taco (Inglewood, CA)
Why the hell did we go to Del Taco, again? I can't remember exactly, and it's not even particularly must-have Los Angeles fast food. Whatever the reason, we had a recommendation to get nacho-cheese fries with jalapenos—which sucked. And they forgot the jalapenos.
I had: Two soft tacos, and some nacho cheese fries
Rob had: Nacho cheese fries with jalapenos
The verdict: 2 stars, but only because we made it to the car without vomiting.
Stop 4: Carl's Jr. (Los Angeles, CA)
It's difficult to end a trip like this at a Carl's Jr., because by the time we got there, we didn't have nearly enough stomach space left to cram down one of the tastiest treats California has to offer: the Western Bacon Cheeseburger. After those damned Del Taco cheese fries, I didn't think I could really handle the bacon, BBQ sauce, and onion rings that Carl's Jr. puts on their specialty burger.
I had: Western Bacon Cheeseburger and Criss-Cut fries
Rob had: Western Bacon Cheeseburger and Criss-Cut fries
The verdict: 4 stars. This would have been 5 if we had gone here before In-n-Out.
Epilogue
I wrote this post on the plane flight back from LA, and didn't eat anything until about noon the next day. Both Friday and Saturday were spent eating very, very little.
I estimate that I ate around 4,000 calories that afternoon, which would account for around a pound of added fat. As of Sunday morning, I've gained about a pound over my entire trip.
Man that is so on crack, 2 stars for Del Taco and 4 for Carl's Jr? Del Taco is totally awesome and Carl's Jr is grease on a bun. C'mon!
Like hell! We got totally burned on the Del Taco recommendation. And as I recall, the soft tacos were less taco and more taco wrapper. Weak!
I love fish tacos!
Taco Fish La Paz in Guadalajara, Mexico has a stand on Avenida La Paz in Guadalajara sounds like ‘Taco Nirvana’.
My experience in Mexico is that some of the best places to eat are those that are off the beaten path that the locals frequent.
I’ve been looking for good places to eat in Guadalajara and Taco Fish La Paz in Guadalajara sounds like just the place.
Fortunately, I live in Ajijic, Jalisco so the trip is a short one.
My mouth is watering,
Gracias!
Joe Chapala
Casa Preciosa Ajijic, Mexico
come to california and eat fast food? that's just weird, you should try out splashes in laguna, melting pot, or fleming's in newport next time :P
cheesecake factory, maybe, but they're not as good.