They are in the Boston area as well, I liked the bread options but was disappointed in the pastries.
We saw several Paul carts in Paris, in the gardens at the Lourve and at the Luxembourg Gardens.
And in the airport. Did not order from them but wondered if the offerings were different (or better?)
1 Like
Taco Time is also found in Calgary, AB. Never saw any Taco Bells out there when I lived there, just Taco Times. Mostly in food courts. Seem to remember a friend from Thunder Bay mentioning he grew up with Taco Time. I’ve never seen any in southern Ontario.
1 Like
Yes, this is similar to the spread at the McCafés I’ve visited in Italy. The McDonalds Victoria location in London near Westminister Cathedral also seemed spacious and posh. (155 Victoria St)
1 Like
Me too. I’m going to look for the Country Music series on Amazon Prime. You just never know what you’ll learn on a food board. 
1 Like
Yep, my vegetarian son says the same thing. It’s also known as the relatively “healthiest” fast food chain… but, you know.
Taco Bell is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine and I live in street taco heaven (L.A.) where hole-in-the-walls and taco trucks have Bib Gourmands.
My go-tos are anything BellGrande or Supreme. I like Burrito Supremes but typically it must be in or on a crunchy receptacle - Nachos BellGrande, Tacos BellGrande. I mostly go for ground beef but have a growing affection for the shredded spicy chicken substitute… and the latest, Stuff on Top of Fries. BUT! the best thing ever was the Enchirito! R.I.P. Why? Why? 
Happy Holidays, Onions! I missed you guys!
5 Likes
I love it.
1 Like
The McCafe at the Piazza Duomo in Milan is also posh.
2 Likes
I didn’t take THIS picture, but it’s in my video.
2 Likes
At the risk of bumping this topic and getting back towards the OP’s point, there are some amusing financials about Wagamama. The business, constituting of 190/200 restaurants (reports vary) was purchased about 18 months ago by a largely odious UK quoted entity: The Restaurant Group. Odious because it is the proprietor of various “fast casual” chains that have no reason to exist. The most egregious of which is Franky and Benny’s, some sort of fake Italian/American concept which, I note, the OP instinctively swerved. They have other brands, some of which may well be worse.
About 40% of TRG’s shareholders voted against the deal. Their reasoning was that the price was way too high. TRG proceeded to close the deal. It was reported as £559M. Add in other transactional costs which are not in that number and you will arrive at about £3M per restaurant. Rather expensive, you might think, for mainly leased premises.
Thus about £3M was paid for the restaurant that served slops to the OP. I would welcome his opinion on the value for money aspect of that transaction.
2 Likes
I’ve managed to avoid them all on my visits to the UK
I have ended up at Brown’s, Café Rouge, La Tasca and Bill’s a few times in various mid-sized cities. Very few indie restaurants are open for dinner on Sundays in downtown Cardiff. That’s how we ended up at Bill’s.
1 Like
One being the utterly vile Garfunkels.
On the other hand, they own dining pub chain Brunning & Price which regular readers will know I’m a big fan of. Started out as a mini-chain in northwest England and North Wales but has grown since the original owners sold it. They have, IMO, managed to retain the feeling of independence between the food offerings at each pub. - and a decent dining pub quality.
And to answer the question posed - no, Wagamama was not a value for money dinner. But we’re going to the flicks again next week - probably a morning show and may end up with lunch at Frankie & Bennys but there will only be low expectations.
3 Likes
A McDonald’s in Nurnberg had a huge assortment of wonderful looking pastries, and the counter was as big as or bigger than the burger counter.
2 Likes
Sadly, this is one of the soon to be extinct menu items at Taco Bell.
2 Likes
More bad news.
But hidden within is a ray of hope: the return of green sauce!
3 Likes
Substituting diced tomatoes for pico de gallo is like substituting plain lettuce for a garden salad.
4 Likes
