A Vibe Check of Chinatown’s New Taco Bell Cantina | Eater DC

"On my visits to the Chinatown Taco Bell Cantina, I found a fast, city-centric spin on the usual Taco Bell menu—menus largely copy those of the roughly 8,000 Taco Bells worldwide, with the main difference here being the addition of alcoholic beverages—housed in the former home of Irish pub Fado and still sporting a grand-opening banner. The location extended hours to 7 a.m.–4 a.m. (it is not operating 24 hours), and features six digital kiosks (which only accept alcohol orders for dine-in) plus a late-night window that delivery drivers swarm until 4 a.m. I tried the most popular fluorescent-green Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze: the $7.50 standard version is topped with a generous five-second stream of Jose Cuervo and is cheaper and quicker than many D.C. happy-hour cocktails; the touch-ordering system suggests adding another shot for $5, but I found that unnecessary. IDs are checked by the bartender pre-pour, though there’s nothing stopping someone from walking out onto the street with a spiked drink. The scene is a mixed bag—opening night drew Nicki Minaj fans in hot-pink cowboy hats, diners overheard chatting about jury duty and lost Apple Watches, Georgetown students in sweats and nearby T-Mobile employees tap in orders, and two TVs inside air everything from The Flintstones to news mixes and Wild Card MLB games. I also experienced the National Taco Day app chaos firsthand: my $1 Chalupa Supreme froze at checkout during its hour, so I waited for the 4 p.m. $1 Doritos Locos Taco and finally scored my dollar taco." - Tierney Plumb