I LOVE MY JOB !!

Was that the whiny, spindle-necked girly boy Luke Perry and the increasingly plasticized Pam Anderson touching tostadas at the McCausland Del Taco? Rumor has it the two are in town to star as Tom and Laura in a boffo redo of The Glass Menagerie. The answer: Who cares? As do so many others, we hang at Del Taco not for the frequent celeb sightings, but for the tasty fish tacos and the infectiously happy demeanor of the manager. He looks like Al Roker and sounds like Orson Welles directing traffic through a bullhorn. “GREETINGS!” he booms as customers walk in, and the walls vibrate. While waiting for your order—and wait you will; the food’s good at Del Taco but they ain’t hiring an Indy pit crew to make it—you’ll hear him joshing with drive-through customers, cajoling his staff and, at frequent, nerve-jangling intervals, breaking into a reverberating “A-HA, HA, HA, HA!!! It’s like a demented Santa Claus on loudspeakers. It’s wonderful. This is a guy who relishes his work, who invests his enthusiasm in it, and who can’t help but make you smile. What a refreshing change from the average fast-food joint manager who is generally more tightly wound than Bobby Knight on Red Bull. Del Taco’s lucky to have this guy and it’s worth a trip there just to experience his act. --Harlow Garcia, Fast Food Editor, Mexican Desk