Let us all be brutally honest and just admit that sometimes what one wants to eat is NOT the farm to table, perfectly seasoned, beautifully presented dish, but a greasy, cheesy, fat-laden mess greedily eaten out of a paper bag.  Even the most food passionate of us, and yes I will say it, food snobs, occasionally want, no crave, no NEED, that guilty pleasure that only fast food can provide.  These are the same people who roll their eyes at the Taco Bell spots, that give disdaining looks to those at the Burger King drive-thru and refuse to eat pizza that isn’t in the Neopolitan style.  Trust me, there are nights when these same people are giddily returning home from a fast food run, sitting down on the couch and digging in.  How do I know?  Because I am one of them.  I don’t eat fast food often, but there are times when only a fast food meal will satisfy me.  It is a guilty pleasure that I truly relish.

What do I eat?  Well, I dream about the salty, crisp and just greasy enough fries from Carl’s Jr.  I eat them with way too much ketchup and eat half the bag in the car, on the way home.   I also obsess over really good waffle fries.  The best in my opinion come from Chick-Fil-A, but now with the owner’s outspoken rant about gays, I can no longer eat them (sigh).  So, if you know of a great waffle fry, please recommend!  For breakfast I want an Egg McMuffin with a side of those gut busting hash browns.  I spent many late nights (early mornings?) in my twenties stopping at McDonald’s on my way home from a wild night and ordering not one, but two Egg McMuffins and at least three hash browns.  My hands would feel greasy for days after eating the hash browns, but it was well worth it.  I also like the ultra thin crust pizza from Domino’s, much to my husband’s chagrin.  You know the one, it is cut into squares and is like eating a pizza cracker.  Remember the Edge pizza from Pizza Hut?  Also loved that and wish they would bring it back.  But my true first love when it comes to fast food is Taco Bell and Del Taco.  They are always first on my list when I am considering giving in to a craving.  At Del Taco, I always want a couple of Spicy Jack Quesadillas.  I get sides of sour cream and put Del Scorcho sauce on each bite.  They also have surprisingly good crinkle cut fries.  I go to Del Taco when I want Mexican food AND fries, but Taco Bell is where I go for Mexican with no fry chaser.   I like just about everything on their menu, but am now completely obsessed with the new smothered burrito.  Every time the ad comes on the television I groan and turn to my husband and say, “I REALLY want this!”  Something about all that burrito goodness with the extra kick of enchilada sauce and cheese… Remember the Enchirito? I LOVED that and this reminds me of it.  Have I tried it? Not yet, but I am thinking a night of Taco Bell is in my near future.

I guess I wrote this fast food confession because I think that we, as food passionate people, feel that we can’t enjoy both a Chef created masterpiece AND a smothered burrito from Taco Bell.  That somehow, if our secret forays into the fast food world got out we would be shunned  and our palates called into question.  Why?  Just like I can enjoy a CNN Documentary and then watch the Real Housewives of New Jersey, I can revel in the subtle flavors in a beautifully composed dish and like the in your face flavors of an Enchirito.  Well, I am breaking my silence and proudly saying, “I am food passionate and I like fast food!”

P.S. I am married to a Chef who is an admitted food snob and he too likes fast food.  He craves Whoppers from Burger King, Chinese Spare Ribs drowning in that sticky, sweet sauce and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  He won’t however, eat any chain pizza. You know, the whole New York thing…