Free Chipotle Burrito

Sorta…on April 14th or 15th, buy a burrito from Chipotle. Then on April 16th (TAX DAY), bring your receipt and fill out the BurritoEZ-WFI form and come back for your free burrito. (Chipotle)

Not a bad deal if you can stomach massive burritos on consecutive days. More power to ya if you can.

Dining for a Cause

Last month I posted about the Tap Project, where UNICEF and NYC restaurants partnered, charging a buck for tap water in effort to raise money for safe drinking water for children around the world.

Coming up this month are two more opportunities for you to help, just by eating out.

The first is Dine Out LA, a one-day fundraising event where LA restaurants donate 20% or more of their day’s proceeds to Aid for AIDS to help prevent homelessness and hunger for impoverished and disabled individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS. On Thursday, April 19th, head to restaurants all over the LA area. (Dine Out LA)

The second is Dining for Darfur, which is country-wide.

Dining for Darfur 2007 will be held on Sunday, April 29th to coincide with the release of Don Cheadle and John Prendergast’s new book “Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond (Hyperion). This year, the charity dine out event will take place in restaurants New York City and across the country. All DFD restaurants have pledged to donate 5% of sales for one night to the IRC’s lifesaving humanitarian work in Darfur and Chad. Mark your calendars to eat out and make a difference to thousands of survivor’s lives. (Dining For Darfur)

Del Taco, Hollywood

by Anthony Vargas

There are times when one attempts a restaurant review and, on each and every visit, the food takes a backseat role. This was the case on all visits to Del Taco on Santa Monica and Highland Boulevards. This A-rated restaurant offers a 24 Hour drive-thru and a dining room that is always filled with the perfect storm of Hollywood stereotypes from cross-dressing prostitutes to well-heeled drunks from Les Deux Café.

Be certain your auto insurance is paid and current because this parking lot is notorious for fender benders, near collisions and bumper-on-ass action. That is, if you can even get into the lot. Cars oftentimes spill onto Highland, trying to muscle into the drive-thru and blocking other unfortunate Del Taco patrons, creating a gridlock of autos either blaring hip-hop or boasting hundreds of gothic stickers on the rear window.

For after club munchies, do yourself a favor and dine indoors instead of fighting the drive-thru. The interior décor, much like any other Del Taco is Latin Festive with harsh and cold fluorescent lighting, painted streamers on the wall, and upholstery that is shrink-wrapped and vomit proof.

Don’t expect personalized service or exquisite cuisine. Our suggestion is to order the #1 Del Combo Burrito meal and do it quickly. It is filled with pinto beans, which they claim are slow cooked for four hours, ground beef and cheese. Skip the mild salsa and grab a few packs of their “beyond spicy” Del Scorcho sauce. The crinkle-cut fries are wonderful. Stay away from the burgers. The soda fountain offers Mr. Pibb, which we found was much better after the ice had melted.

What makes this Del Taco stand out from any other burger-and-burrito joint is the people watching opportunities. At 3 a.m., a drunken patron screamed “I’m in the mood for a pink taco!” before flouncing up her pink Betsey Johnson skirt to reveal her personal delicacies. On a different evening, we decided to dine in my parked car, where I had a lovely view of another drunken clubber immortalizing himself by signing his name in urine on the sidewalk. Hooray for Hollywood!

(323) 465-8100
6768 Santa Monica Blvd.
Hollywood, CA

Review from The Rockit. Photo from Flickr.

And click here for a coupon for Del Taco’s current promotion – 6 tacos for $2.49. Then make sure you have some Imodium A-D on hand. Just in case.

A Dose of Design

Productdose is a great source for all things style/technology/design/substance. Today they had two items that caught my eye.

First off is the titanium spork. Part spoon, part fork, all utensil. According to productdose, Titanium won’t give you the metallic smell or taste often associated with cheap cutlery, and it’s quite a bit more durable than the plastic sporks you grew up on.

You can pick one up at L.L. Bean for $8.95.

Next up is the DeLonghi Esclusivo. While I’m not a huge fan of drip coffee or Americano, I’m a huge fan of good design and this may be the nicest coffee pot I’ve ever seen.

DeLonghi presents its theory on the science of coffee-making Esclusivo 10-Cup Coffee Maker, which features dual-heating elements in a rapid boiler and optimal-temperature warming plate. Aside from looking like a sleek graduate of science lab, this machine packs features like a drip-pause and serve function, auto shut-off, and anti-splash drip system.

Order yours through the Amazon Marketplace for $164.99.