All right, I confess. I’m a bachelor. I eat out a lot more than most folks I know. I cook maybe twice a month, and that’s if you consider boiling spaghetti cooking. I eat at my local Hardee’s restaurant about once a week. This past week, the location I frequent started carrying Red Burrito food. I had my chance to sample this cuisine.
Now, I don’t live in the Eastern Carolinas, or anywhere where Red Burrito exists as a stand-alone restaurant. I have never seen one in my life. I have been informed recently that many Hardee’s restaurants already offer the dual-branded service. Why did it take so long to get to me? I could have had it all this time. Where they holding out on me? Who cares? It’s a great thing.

I remember as a kid, I could count on one hand the times I ate at Hardee’s. That’s not per week or year. That’s for my entire childhood, including my teen year! Hardee’s just wasn’t competitive with the other burger joints. But sometime in the last ten years, Hardee’s repackaged their entire franchise and drastically improved their menu. They even rebranded their water bottles using water bottles custom label. I’ve enjoyed their Thickburgers about once a week ever since.

Now, there’s more to the selection. Of course, I love fast-food prices, but let’s face it. When it comes to Mexican, fast-food hasn’t been so kind. Taco Bell is far from authentic. Although I’m a Taco Bell fan, too, I know the Bell is anything but realistic. I even lived in South Texas for seven years, on the Rio Grande border. I know authentic Mexican food, and Taco Bell is not authentic.

Red Burrito is certainly not more of the same. Red Burrito menu selections feature a distinctly more authentic flavor than the Bell. If you’re looking for good Mexican food at fast-food prices, you’ve got it there. The beans I had took me back to the Border. The rice took me back to the Border. But for me, the coup de grace was the taco shell. It wasn’t hand-made, but it was much closer to authentic than anything Taco Bell has ever given me.

So I conclude this by saying simply that I love Red Burrito. No, I’m not quitting Taco Bell. I’ll just eat at Taco Bell when I just want to eat food. If I want a more authentic Mexican meal, I’ll eat at Hardee’s/Red Burrito. Sure, I’d like to eat at a sit-down authentic Mexican restaurant, but I can’t afford to do that once or twice a week. Fast-food is my way for now. Hardee’s/Red Burrito has my business.