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"Opening Thursday, December 6 inside University Mall across the street from George Mason University, the new Taco Bamba will be the chain’s fifth area location. I note chef Victor Albisu—who studied politics and international relations at Mason and quips “They say you can’t go home again, but apparently you can go back to college”—developed the Fairfax menu with chef de cuisine Tom Hall, and the menu is already online. Following Taco Bamba protocol it offers traditional tacos, nachos, sopes, tortas, posole rojo, and elote, plus custom tortilla stuffers such as ramen noodles with shoyu carnitas, fried chicken thighs, and General Tsao’s cauliflower. A “nuestros” section unique to Fairfax features the Robinson Ramen (noodles and pork), the Ol’ Mick Nugget (crisp chicken, sweet-and-sour barbecue mustard, and pickles), and the Savage Sub-Mariner (fried calamari); vegetarian options include the Mr. Chow (cauliflower subbing for General Tsao’s chicken) and the Fairfax 4-way (blistered Brussels sprouts with granola and cashew crema). The menu also carries indulgent items like the cheeseburger-style El Gringo taco and a Papi John quesadilla with pepperoni and chorizo." - Gabe Hiatt