Del Taco Inc.

5 Reasons You Missed Navel Gazing, Starring Chris Dorner, Mike Carona and Meth Lovers

As Gustavo revealed, it was impossible for us Navel Gazers to gaze at our navels since Thursday afternoon . . .Gremlins Attack OC Weekly Website!But that did not stop the more hopeful among us from writing blog posts all day Friday in case we were suddenly online again. History shows we were not, s ... More >>

Diatribe with Dave: A Soliloquy on Salsa Roja, and Where to Find the Best in OC!

Every second and fourth Wednesday night of the month, legendary bartender/chef/restaurant insider Dave Mau hosts Dinner with Dave at Memphis at the Santora, where he treats drinkers to a free meal and live music as the evening progresses. To remind ustedes of this great night, Dave treats us ev ... More >>

OC Del Taco Worker Leaves Kitchen to Beat Up Customer!

Taco shop brawls are nothing new. Hell, the Weekly even listed the five best taquería throwdowns last year on this blog, including a transgender grapple! But there was something different about the Del Taco tussle I witnessed earlier this week in OC. A Mexi worker behind the counter threw the fing ... More >>

On the Line: Chris Grodach of The Corner, Part One

Chris warned me from the get go that he'd been reading up on our interviews. The man knew what everybody else was already saying, and he informed us that he put some thought into his answers. No pressure, man. We just want you to speak your mind. Tell us how you really feel. . . . and he did.Your ea ... More >>

Let Us Now Praise Del Taco's Bean-and-Cheese Burritos

The Weekly World Headquarters are at a culinarily fortuitous place--near the LAB and CAMP holdings, not that far away from Rick's Atomic Cafe, basically across the street from Wafu of Japan, and so on. But when I need a quick bite--when I'm not going to meet a source or have a pep talk with a staffe ... More >>

Del Taco Messes With Perfection By Adding New Flavors To Its Chicken Soft Tacos

I have soft spot in my heart for Del Taco's chicken soft tacos. Combo Meal No. 4 (two chicken soft tacos, fries and a drink) was my go-to quickie dinner during college, and I still find myself indulging (and later regretting it) on spontaneous occasions. The tacos aren't pretty and will never make a ... More >>

A "Pink Slime"-Using Beef Producer Files For Bankruptcy

The Wall Street Journal reports that AFA Foods, which contributes to about 2% of total U.S. beef production has filed for bankruptcy protection.  The company's products are sold by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Burger King Holdings Inc., Jack in the Box Inc., Carl Karcher Enterprises Inc., Wendy' ... More >>

On the Line: Bob Brown of Spudrunners, Part One

Bob ran late for our interview, so I did the next best thing: Grill his team. Ben, Daniel and Justin were more than happy to share stories between orders. Like this one time, when their Spudrunners luxe lonchera's engine fell out while Daniel drove up the 57. Bob pushed it with his Kia rental, and t ... More >>

Taco Bell Celebrates Its 50th Aniversary This Week; 5 Ways the Bell Helped Mexican Food Become Better in the U.S.

​Taco Bell, the Mexican fast-food giant everyone loves to hate, celebrates its 50th anniversary this week and...yeah. Heaven knows it's an easy whipping boy for everything wrong with Mexican food in this country: the bastardized meals, the incessant appropriation (this week: I finally reveal the n ... More >>

Battle of the Fast-Food Shrimp Burrito: Del Taco VS. Baja Fresh

​This was supposed to be a Dueling Dishes post on shrimp burritos between Del Taco and Taco Bell. But it turns out Taco Bell's Pacific Shrimp Burrito already sleeps with the fishes. It was their Lenten special last year. This year, the company is a little more than preoccupied with that whole Dori ... More >>

Machine Wash Warm: A Collaborative e-Book Featuring Writers Including Thrice's Riley Breckenridge

​Maybe you'd like to see what Riley Breckenridge, drummer of Thrice and 3hree Things columnist, does when he's not hitting things with sticks and being snarky online. Well, he publishes his work on FlipCollective.com, a collaborative site where weekly, each FlipCollective writer's work gets edited ... More >>

On the Line: Luis Flores of The Viking Truck, Part One

​A year ago this month, El Jefe requested I write On the Line on a regular basis. Not too long after, they began appearing in our print dead-tree edition. With the series taking up real estate, Gustavo Arellano thought it'd make sense to start conducting in-person interviews (in addition to the qu ... More >>

On the Line: Giovanni Roman of Roman Cucina, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​Sitting across from Giovanni Roman outside a coffeehouse along Harbor Boulevard, you wouldn't suspect he cooked for a living--until we brought up the topic of pasta. Our humbled chef talked off the cuff about his brother (and business partner) David, his favorite places to ... More >>

Del Taco Launches Online Store To Sell Hot Sauce Packets

​If it's true that everything you ever wanted or never knew you needed is on the Internet, it's also true that the Internet allows you to pay for stuff you usually get for free. Del Taco, the OC-based taco corp that isn't Taco Bell, just announced that it has launched an online store w ... More >>

On the Line: Lindsay Smith-Rosales of Nirvana Grille, Part One

Photo by Meranda Carter​With a multitasking nature and the cutest 3-year-old vegetarian for a son, chef Lindsay Smith-Rosales has a great deal to juggle as chef and owner of Nirvana Grille. Fortunately, she found the time to discuss some of her favorite things, like dairy and spike. FYI: She admit ... More >>

This Week in Food: New Beer From The Bruery, Del Taco is Shady and Pee Water

Flickr user riebart​Ok, so this week in food was a relatively disturbing one. We got a taste of fried bologna with man boobies, pee water and Islamaphobia. Del Taco crossed into Taco Bell territory and had it's own crime of the week in Costa Mesa.But for however unappetizing some of our news stori ... More >>

A Lesson in Why to Avoid Del Taco at 1:30 A.M.

​Does anything good ever happen at Del Taco at 1:30 in the morning?A 20-year-old Newport Beach man obviously knows the answer to that after being threatened with death at gunpoint while eating on the Del Taco patio at 1720 Superior Ave., Costa Mesa, around that time Aug. 2, having his car followed ... More >>

Del Taco's New Logo Looks A Lot Like Its Old Logo

​Here's the Del Taco logo we know and love. After the jump, see the spiffy new logo!   

29-Cent Tacos This Wednesday At Del Taco

​Dave found the burger deal of the month, but I stumbled upon the taco deal.At the Mexican chain that is drama-free compared to Taco Bell, the magic coin total is 29-cents for a regular taco this Wednesday, August 10, only. Take your starving (metaphoric or literal) self down to the nearest Del Ta ... More >>

On The Line: Peter Stavros Of Peter's Gourmade Grill, Part One

Photo by Kevin Lara​This week's edition of OTL poses the question: what can one do with 100 square feet of space? Peter Stavros not only created a restaurant kitchen, he did it inside a Valero Gas Station! Gustavo scooped this hidden gem back in November, and now we're back to check in on Peter's ... More >>

Orange County No Longer the Promised Land for Fast Food?

​Taco Bell, Del Taco, In-N-Out, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.--the list of fast-food chains with headquarters in Irvine is among the largest in the country. They came to our land of plenty not just because of a friendlier business environment, but also because Southern California has always offered delive ... More >>

A Trip to Where Taco Bell All Began

​It's easy to make fun of Taco Bell--very easy--but in more genteel circles than this infernal rag, I defend the company quite often. Sure, their food is slightly edible, but it's their take on Mexican that allowed the cuisine to further spread around the country, spawn a boatload of imitators, an ... More >>

Eat Here, Not There: Regular Flour Quesadilla

Flickr user jamesg2​One meal I never buy, and get angry when those around me buy it, is a regular quesadilla. I'm not talking about a regional version (more on that in a bit), but the basic: flour tortilla melted with an American cheese--sometimes cheddar, sometimes Monterey Jack. There is no reas ... More >>

Orange County Interwebs Horror Show Bash on Santa Ana Edition

​For this week's look at things said from and about Orange County on the Interwebs, we turn to a familiar topic all over cyberspace:  Santa Ana, a pit?As you'll see after the jump, our county seat does have its defenders. It's just that they are so outnumbered.

This Week in Food

Christopher Victorio​  Edwin goes on a tasting tour at the Fountain Valley Cupcake Showdown and more tasty tidbits you miss this week in Stick a Fork In It after the jump!

Battle Cheap-Ass Tacos

Dave Lieberman​Sometimes these battles aren't fair. Sometimes they're political in nature, meant to further an ax we as food snobs have to grind. This is one of those battles.

Taco Bell Del Taco Crime of the Week: Drive-Thru Pants-less!

​There were a lot of great crimes committed in Taco Bells this week, like the employee who fought off a would-be robber with a mop--but NOTHING beats what happened at a Mission Viejo Del Taco this week.

Vampire Weekend at the Fox Theater, Pomona 4/14

Andrew YoussefVampire Weekend prefers Del Taco over Baja Fresh.​Click here for the slideshow, also by Andrew Youssef!The Hype: Can you feel it? It's Coachella fever. It strikes Southern California a few days prior with warm up shows dotting various venues, as bands tune up for their moment under t ... More >>

On the Line: Mark McDonald of Old Vine Cafe

​The McDonald brothers, Mark and Brandon, run Old Vine Cafe in Costa Mesa in a Manichean fashion: be nice, they treat you like gods. Be mean, they'll let the mick in them take over. I like them--otherwise, we wouldn't have named them the best restaurant in OC for 2009. And I'm glad to say they're ... More >>

Del Taco Crime of the Decade! (Angels Beat Red Sox Edition)

Hero!​We rarely cover Del Taco on SaFII because, well, what is there to cover now that Dan the Del Taco guy no longer nerds his way through commercials? But we now have eternal respect for the Lake Forest-based fast-food chain, because they might've played a crucial role in helping your Anaheim An ... More >>

On the Line: Aron Habiger of The Crosby

John Gilhooley​Aron Habiger is the wunderkind chef behind the scenes at the so-hip-it-hurts hangout The Crosby in Santa Ana. Here are his answers to our survey. 1. Dish that you cook that most represents you. Jerk torta. 2. What was the last meal you had at home? Peanut butter and jelly ... More >>

Disneyland Visitors: Don't Visit Tacos y Pupusas, No Matter How Broke You Are

I try to visit any restaurant in Orange County that sells pupusas, not because I'm obsessed with the Salvadoran staple (although they're muy bueno) but because I've reviewed basically every Salvi restaurant in la naranja. A new, disturbing trend is spreading among Mexican restaurants: the selling of ... More >>

DEL TACO Crime of the Week?!?!?!

The chain's biggest crime? Firing Dan...A reader once asked me why I pick on Taco Bell so much by highlighting the crimes that take place at the various outposts of the Irvine-based megachain. I was polite and explained that the Bell is perhaps the most widely-distributed culinary export we have, an ... More >>

Panera Is Out Of The Danger Zone--But Other Chains Aren't

It's hard to keep on top of the glut of depressing news about the economy, especially when it comes to restaurants--that is, which ones are struggling and which ones appear to be financially robust. Although fast-food chains are so far weathering the storm better than many high-end eateries, several ... More >>

It's a Quick Read 11

Orange County Register: Former Rams kicker Tony Zendejas was found not guilty of raping and sodomizing a woman in a hotel room after allegedly drugging her at his San Dimas restaurant. . . . OC Watchdog has the scoop on Orange County's 14 lawmakers in the State Legislature receiving nearly ... More >>

Question: What Does a Crosby Owner Have Against Downtown Santa Ana Mexican Restaurants?

Answer: It gives him the runs.At least that's what can be surmised from the latest issue of Giant Robot, the excellent magazine of all things Asian and Asian-American co-created by OC native Martin Wong. In it, he interviews Chris Alfaro, one of the three guys behind The Crosby, the downtown SanTana ... More >>

Famima!! opens in Fountain Valley

If 7-Eleven and Mitsuwa sired an offspring, that child would be Famima!! And contrary to what may seem like an overenthusiastic beginning to this post, the exclamation points -- both of them -- are part of the brand name concocted by FamilyMart, the Japanese company with over fourteen thousand such ... More >>

Del Taco: Chicken-Checkers

So I'm cruising over the 241 toll road Monday listening to the Angels-Yankees game on 710, when a Del Taco commercial drifts over the airwaves. There's some blah-blah-blah, and then the ad does exactly what the Lake Forest-based fauxMex chain's marketing department hopes it'll do: It gets my attenti ... More >>

This Hole-in-the-Wall Life

Carbon Cabrones: Tacos al carbon at Taco Factory

Thowing Rocks at Cars

A sample of recent crime reports in Orange County

Sun, Fun and Felonies

A summer sampling of one week in Orange County crime*

Power to the Peephole, Right On!

I Know Where You Lived Last Summer

Woodbridge is still a scary place

Diary of a Mad County

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Florida tomato boycott targets Taco Bell. But what about Del Taco?

Kick Some Emo Ass!

The People Behind the Food...

Food is Sleep

24-Hour Dining Adventures

Orange Crushed

Harvest This!