Not in DC Part 5: The Taco Spectacular!!

I will start off by saying... YES WE HAVE TACO BELL IN OKLAHOMA!!

Having said that, here are a few taco places that we have in Oklahoma but not in the Washington Metro Area. They are all pretty much just taco joints so I'm not going to bore you with lots of details. I will just share my experience on this trip.

Taco Mayo- Dad and I stopped here to get some lunch after my doctors apointment while we were waiting for my meds to be ready. I had always remembered Taco Mayo to be pretty good.

Well, that was not my experience this time. The beef was pretty bland and the burrito was ok at first then turned into a hell of a lot of beans in a tortilla. I also found it odd that they served all this with tater tots.



Taco Cabana- I LOVE THEM!! They have really good food, homemade tortillas, a patio to sit on, a 24 hour drive through and they serve alcohol (beer and margaritas). I mean really, whats not to love?? I cant think of anything... can you??



Taco Tico- Either thier food has gone down hill over the years or it REALLY depends on which location you go to.

I remember when I was young there was a Taco Tico around the corner from where my sister used to take piano lessons. They sold tacos three for a dollar. They werent the best but they were a decent after school snack. Now there is one in McLoud and it is not that good at all!!

Taco Bueno- The name really sums it up. I think Taco Bueno is my favortie. Good tacos, burritos and I really love the Nacho Salad. I think they also have better salsas on the salsa bar. The decore is also pretty cool. Kinda mod looking, bright colors... I like it.


SO from worst to best I say that Taco Tico, Taco Mayo, Taco Cabana and Taco Bueno are NOT IN DC!!

Not in DC Part 4

Loves... Loves is not one of my all time favorite places but its something regional that brought up some memories. Its really just a convenience store with (most of the time) a gas station. They are usually bigger and better stocked than just any old gas station snack shop.

The closest thing the DC area has to Loves would be Sheets. Now let me make it clear, LOVES IS NOT AS GOOD AS SHEETS!! Loves doesn't have the whole "24 hour food made to order" thing going for it. Most of the Loves along the interstate have a Taco Bell or Subway in them but that's as good as it gets.

Loves is also a good spot to pick up some local souvenirs along the road.

Loves... NOT IN DC!!

So far this week...

A new installment of Not in DC will be coming soon. The last few days have been packed full of activity!

Monday I took the Amtrak down to Ft. Worth, TX to visit with my cousin Terri and her family. We had a great time! I got to spend a lot of time with Terri's 12 year old son Blaise. Blaise has always been pretty special to me. We had a great time.

I came back on Wednesday night (BTW... the round trip ticket was only $48!!)

Last night Spencer and I went to the opening night of the Dead Center Film Festival and saw Maxed Out! It was really good. Very sobering and very eye opening! I will be paying off our credit cards ASAP!! It was a great time. We got all access passes and I'm hoping to go back and catch a few more of the films!

Not in DC the Third: Braums Ice Cream and Dairy Store

As Spencer would say, "I heart Braums!"

What is Braums you might ask... well it is many things. It is mostly known for Ice Cream. Braums started in Kansas making the Peter Pan peanut butter and was known as the Peter Pan store. Peter Pan carried milk and when the Braums family decided to sell out of their store they sold everything except the milk and made the deal not to open a store in Kansas for a certain amount of years. So they moved to Tutle, Oklahoma and started over fresh shipping their milk from their farm in Kansas on a daily basis, finally moving their cows to Oklahoma. You can find a Braums store in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and finally again in Kansas. You can order Sundaes and cones or you can buy ice cream by the pint or the Half-Gallon. They make terrific malts and shakes and everything is hand dipped. One of my favorite flavors of their ice cream is Peppermint. We had some last week and it was every bit as delicious as I remembered.

They also serve fast food... lunch and breakfast! They have really good breakfast but their burgers are outstanding. I'd say they are a close second to Sonic burgers. They really taste homemade, not manufactured like a McDonalds burger! It is nice to go into a Braums because the employees main concern is about making you the customer happy.

They also have a dairy store inside each Braums. You can buy everything from ice cream and milk to eggs and homegrown vegetables fresh from their own farms. Everything that they carry is made locally and fresh daily. I remember touring the Braums Dairy in elementary school.

Braums milks over 30,000 cows for their products. How do I know this? I have an inside source for this little blog article! My sister is part of the management team at the Braums on Harrah Newalla Road just up the street from our house.

Not in DC Part 2 OR An Homage to Sonic

(To the tune of Mandy)

Oh Sonic
You came and you brought me a burger
And a Cherry Limeaide
Oh Sonic

I grew up across the street from a Sonic and it really is true. You don't know what you have until you've lost it!! The nearest Sonic to Arlington is in Virginia Beach. When Jenny was doing A Year With Frog and Toad at Virginia Musical Theatre she learned the glory of the Sonic Drive-In!

As you can see it is a drive in restaurant. You pull up, look at the menu and push a little button. Minutes later an underage girl delivers your food to your car (that part was a lot more fun when I was also underage!!) Some places still have carhops on roller skates.

They really do have the best hamburgers you can get in a fast food setting. On my vacation I have tried to go to Sonic at least once a day. I AM NOT EATING THERE ONCE A DAY but I get a soda there quite often.

The fountain drinks are another one of Sonic's wonderful perks for several reasons. In the style of the old soda fountains they have an assortment of flavors to add to your soft drink. I was drinking Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper LONG before Dr. Pepper thought about bottling it! They also have great ice. Its a soft pellet ice that is fantastic. Perhaps best of all (and very unique) they use Styrofoam cups!! You may think I'm weird but soda just tastes better from Styrofoam!

As you can tell I LOVE SONIC and what I think is cruel is that though there aren't any for hundreds of miles they still play the commercials on cable. I think its mean to play with my emotions by getting me excited about an Ocean Water Slush by showing one on TV and then I have no where to get one!

Still to come: Braums Ice Cream and a special edition about taco places!!!