El Taco of Orange - One of Last Remaining Pre Taco Bell Still Open - Southern California Food Review
A visit to El Taco of Orange. One of the few still left open and started by Glen Bell before Taco Bell
Jayman Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6O_n6HdDYhhr8fZF3Jt5oQ
Transcript
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welcome everyone atoms of whoo here
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today number nine of what started off as
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a temporary series has kept a-rollin and
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we are in full swing where I go around
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to Southern California eateries that are
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open for take-out drive-through or
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pickup but things are progressing and
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changing so that might be adjusted just
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a bit thankfully things are starting to
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move a little forward
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today's episode is just down the road it
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has a a rich interesting history and
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there aren't many of these spots left
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I'm inviting you to join me shall you
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and as seems to be par for the course in
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these days that my bag of accessories
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I'll be taken along not too far from the
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circle only about a mile up arrived at
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El taco of orange see the Hat there
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perched above the e and the El that's
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the logo there are not many of these
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left and don't be confused too even
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though it sounds similar to other taco
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chains it's not it's it's own entity el
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taco of orange to give a little more
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precise coordinates each Chapman have is
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the closest cross street right down
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there this is Tustin Street and I've
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just discovered in the short timeframe
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I've been standing here and looking over
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at the little strip shopping center mall
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that's right next door there's not a lot
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of folks in this neck of the woods that
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are outdoors wearing these particular
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items I'm gonna play it by ear and just
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see how it goes
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obviously what I'm eating this fine
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establishment I will not have this on
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just look at the architecture this is
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this is old school it has been a heck of
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a while since I've ordered food from
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this place the fact has probably been
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four years or so maybe 2015 and from
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what I remember I enjoyed it thoroughly
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but I'm back to to dive into a little
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bit more of the history just look at
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this they don't make structures like
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this anymore
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when it comes to tacos dance ride on the
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thoroughfare that that beacon of that
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signage looking down on everyone say
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come on in and get yourself some food
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perhaps you have heard of Taco Bell and
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Glenn Bell this was his spot he had a
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few of them but this was his spot prior
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to creating Taco Bell a few years before
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pretty interesting right and something
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rarely seen in current days is the fact
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that there are tables open and
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accessible to have your meal on that is
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is pretty it's pretty dang exciting
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another relic of the past a cific coin
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well we see the exterior little
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encompassing shell where a payphone once
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at 50 cents for five minutes at state's
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plenty of choices up there on the menu
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board everything from full dinners to
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salads to burritos to veggie options to
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quesadillas soda pop oh yeah nachos I
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have no idea where oh my god I'm just
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going to decide impulsively when I walk
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up to the window those old school lights
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up there from this angle you can really
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tell where the drive-thru used to be it
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has been eliminated over time and no
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longer quite operational but your
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vehicle would just cruise well basically
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the way I'm I'm walking this way
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and get your order
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something was right down here you can
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see how it's screwed there into the
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ground
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and then it's kind of blocked off with
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those little parking lot sections there
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off the top of my head I do not recall
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how many in existence there still are of
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the El taco I'll call a chain but the
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amount of El taco locations there have
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been a few that have closed over the
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last couple of years so this this is a
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it's a it's almost a dinosaur
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it's a dinosaur of Southern California
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taco culture still kicking
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there's a lot of birds chirping over
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there whole congregation of fowl and the
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front is adorned these flowers here this
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foliage even though it is far from
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December there is a Santa Claus they are
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on the counter another menu board up
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here which looks to be almost I can not
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very antique ish been there for a while
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I fade back out I guess that way you can
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see it from both angles
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that once again met up with Jason from
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the hey man from Jay man Channel and you
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have some memories of this place you
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want to share some of your some of your
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thoughts all right so I've been eating
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here since I was a kid back in the 70s
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when I moved over to Anaheim but this is
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very accent food it's a blend bells on
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top labelled Taco Bell right blend Bell
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had Taco Tia leaves the San Bernadino I
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think there's a few still existence so
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he had a few dip taco so Glen mal could
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have been seen here watching over his
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leg establishment yeah he would have
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been Glen Bao the man himself
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where's the last time you ate here it's
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been here I haven't eaten here probably
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since 2015 so I'm probably eating here
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maybe a half a dozen times but it has
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been a while I just love the
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architecture of this so the Anaheim was
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now gone if you had to guess how many
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you think of these are still left so
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this may be one of only two left
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okay so one of only three to go
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San Pedro and Orange
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do you remember driving through this as
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a as a youngster that's what I was
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thinking it definitely looks like so you
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think there's probably a window right
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around in this section here the stucco
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work but I believe they're one of these
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window
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it makes sense you just pull right up
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and through here and get your get your
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order and drive on out to the road this
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is the original with pointing this out
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this is the original menu board and then
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obviously current day they've had it
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this one here and they have hamburgers
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yeah I have all kind of stuff one copy
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man that's like Bell b4 with us oh we
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talked about that Bell beepers one time
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yeah what's up with second day here so
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they were they were they were kind of
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the originator of that idea yeah forgot
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about those you get the number nine
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number nine dinner antral Auto chunk
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chickens work beef and a medium soda and
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I just don't get the dream there's a
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green sauce on the cruise very spicy so
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gonna spike you get the green stuff but
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if you're not just a very light green
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sock okay I don't think I'm gonna get to
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spam I just get a couple tacos a list of
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the side dishes there and one more
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makers one more look at the menu board
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before before we consume some on the one
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I'm gonna go I have adjusted my order
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I'm going with a number seven the super
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carne asada burrito and I upgraded from
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a medium soda to a large soda mr. Pibb
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style and I believe Jason is getting big
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number nine the dinner enchilada $8.99
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for his and 849 for my well baby a
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little bit more cuz I got the large soda
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Scipio lettering there above the grill
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look if there's a window that's awesome
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I got a soda but now that I look at it
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maybe I should have got one of these
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orange type drinks this states are there
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it has it's made with it has plenty of
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vitamin C and made with real orange
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juice I've never tried that I'm gonna
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not be eating in it I'm not gonna be
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standing and eating which this is a this
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is an excellent occasion I will not be
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near a dumpster
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oh that why is it so high up to your
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chest like that is it made so you can
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just shovel it in I'm not opposed to
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that I don't think I've ever seen that
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that high above the waist like that are
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they all that way yeah they're all that
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way this one this is this one doesn't
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seem as hard all right man move some
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chunky pork chunky pork enchiladas with
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- the green sauce and there might be
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some green sauce that this is marinated
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in a little bit and why do you not like
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the green sauce on spicy here because
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there's green sauce like right down in
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here if I'm just like a little bit of
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green a little bit of kill and you were
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saying about these trays this is like
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this is old-school man it's the way they
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did it back in the day this is what I
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remember back in the day these little
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aluminum foil round trays and I went
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with this I went with a burrito
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asada which is steak right yep I want
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the asada burrito here can't really see
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what's in there to life till I bite into
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it so yours is very visible where mine
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is just kind of concealed in this nice
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little little package
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very windy theoretically this is like a
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corridor a loop in a quarter to hurt
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wasn't and every time we come here it's
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nice yes yes the breeze going out going
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on in here see the pork right here
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that's amazing it's just so tender the
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pressure
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good that's good I do enjoy they're a
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bunch off with what they have here old
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school priests talk about business right
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here Southern California's full taco
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slices there's everything throw a rock
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in any direction
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and hit a taco stands some are better
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than others it's like a good picture of
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everything down in here man some let's
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see talking about well we're in order to
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play with the city but also talking
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about oh you talking to us inside here
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it's just a good mixture sour cream
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or tender pork goodness they usually
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will get cheese enchiladas
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not always even beat like this has you
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know Mita that I really been on she's an
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CH a lot of kidding obviously to get him
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today that this place is a real blast
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from the past with the lighting fixtures
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just like kind of stepping back into
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history
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what were you singing about up here
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there's like a whole piece of signage
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inside oh yeah underneath the light
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there's an open sign that they use to
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plug a hole good I
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I gave then even though I have finished
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my other beverage I went for one of
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these is called an orange bang yep I've
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never had that but it's like look how
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creamy and like frothy it is here goes
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oh yeah Oh make like a creamsicle yeah
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but like worn shoe style whoa
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this might be oh my gosh what have I
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been missing I will be consuming more of
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these throughout the course of my life
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this it's like a creamsicle but like and
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like definitely taste a little bitty the
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OJ in their leaves I think maybe it's
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all my mind
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dang this is amazing where that signage
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is which looks to be like a little bit
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newer in years signage is it's kind of
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placed on some wooden planks there
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that's gonna do it for today if you're
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