Court-Martial of the Colonel
By Jason Chiu-Skow
When I think of food, what comes immediately to mind is eating in a restaurant, or having a home-cooked meal. Sometimes, however, the dining experience doesn’t have to be a painstakingly long wait for your meal’s arrival. When fast food becomes the best option, my head wanders to the KFC and Taco Bell in Norwalk, Connecticut -- the same location where many a time I have depended on them to deliver me a quick and tasty meal.
Located at the top of a hill just past the borders of Westport on Westport Ave., somewhat hidden from general view. Some people say that this KFC and Taco Bell combination destroys the unique aspect of both individual restaurants;, however, by taking one look at the jam-packed menu, it’s clear that food options were not sacrificed for convenience .Unlike Westport and its many quaint and rustic restaurants we see surrounded by nature, this restaurant is just down the road from the movie theater, and in clear view of the pawn shop directly across from it. This makes it much more practical and realistic; when you go to this KFC/Taco Bell, you’re not there to be impressed by the scenery or wowed by the decorations. You’re there to have simple fast food -- a drumstick here, a taco there, with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy.
Since Covid began, there have been some changes in terms of eating your food note where, being that it cannot be consumed inside of the restaurant. As far as I know, they had implemented this rule sometime last year. Luckily, though, because it is fast food, you can still choose to either order your food in the colorfully lit lobby, or through the winding drive through behind. Because I and many others typically order by drive through, nearly nothing has changed about the ordering aspect of the food. While there is not much to see outside besides the yellow stucco walls and the bright menu signs displaying a litany of both KFC and Taco Bell items, inside tells a completely different story.
Despite the ongoing Covid crisis, it is apparent that fast food is one thing people refuse to give up. As soon as you enter the restaurant’s doors, what hits you first is the heavy scent of grease and cooking oil. While not an entirely pleasant smell, it certainly reassures you that you are in fact inside of a KFC/Taco Bell. Most of the time, especially during lunch or dinner, you can expect a handful of scattered people, waiting in the lobby to either pick up food, or deliver it in paper bags, marked with the Colonel’s face. I chose to use the drive-through as it appeared to be the most convenient, and so I could compare any changes they may have implemented for Covid.
Service, as expected, is usually quite fast. During busy times of the day such as lunch or dinner time, it can take up to 15 minutes at most; however, you can typically expect to receive your food anywhere from 4 to 10 minutes after…, depending on the size of your order. When ordering, there are two separate Taco Bell and KFC menus, however you can mix and match items from both menus without any problems. As I ordered through the drive through, I found that it took them a while to input my order, however they made sure to confirm what I had ordered before and when I received my food. This particular time, I chose to go with a plain taco, and the new KFC chicken sandwich, so I could generally gauge both aspects of the fast food there. Because of this, this was not my regular go-to order throughout the years, which typically consists of three Dorito nacho cheese tacos, with a baja blast and handful of hot sauce. While the workers do a decent job of delivering the food in a timely manner, they are sometimes too hasty and forget things. Sometimes it's as little as not giving you forks, napkins, or hot sauce; and other times, you may be missing entire parts of your meal. While this is rare, I would still implore anyone to make sure they have everything they’ve ordered before they leave. Luckily, while ordering myself, I was not inconvenienced by any of these issues, and received my meal after about 8 minutes. After receiving the food, I checked the packaging and found that the taco appeared to be properly wrapped in its paper, and saw the sandwich in its heat-reflecting bag. Soon after, I drove back to my house to enjoy the meal I had ordered.
The whole ride home, I was excited to dig in to eat, as a strong, warm, and hearty smell emanated from the sandwich bag, of pickles, and freshly fried chicken, reminding me of times in New York earlier in my life, picking up fresh KFC for . As I sat down at the kitchen table at my house, I noticed that the Taco wrapping had gotten loose, and had lost some of its lettuce at the bottom of the bag. As expected (despite the many pictures of the food items in-store), the Taco and sandwich did not look nearly as appetizing as I had visualized.
Before actually consuming the food, I already noticed several flaws. The taco itself had lost all of its heat from the 20-minute ride home, and the meat looked as if it had begun to fuse with the taco shell itself, all of the moisture running from the meat, into the now soggy bottom shell. The sandwich was a bit better, except the filet looked a few shades darker than advertised, and the bun looked squashed.
Soon after finishing my visual critique, I began sampling. Starting with the taco, I was pleasantly surprised by the taste. While its original smell was lacking any substance, the first bite was meaty, moist, and full of taco spices; a chili, onion, tomato mix. The crispness of the now slightly wilted lettuce leaves added on to the texture; however, this ended up being more disappointing, as the taco shell seemed to slowly dissolve into a goopy corn mix. Transition
Next, I tried the new KFC Filet Sandwich. My first bit began with a bit of everything - bread, filet, pickle, and sauce. Immediately I could taste the signature 11 herbs and spices embedded into the chicken. Paired with the crunchy sourness of the pickles and the slight sweetness from the brioche-like buns, it was the perfect bite. I did find the filet somewhat overcooked and even dry at some points’ however, the added sauces helped keep the chicken moist.
By the end of my experience, I found the KFC aspect of the restaurant to be more fulfilling when compared to the Taco Bell side, especially when considering the freshness of the on-the-spot prepared chicken to the thawed out ground beef. Despite having these mixed foods together (Mexican and Southern), I found that they complemented each other surprisingly well. Whatever crunch was left of the taco, lettuce, and the beef texture contrasted against the fried chicken, and soft buns brings out the best aspects of both foods, overshadowing any specific flaws one might have in particular. If I could, I would definitely return just to experience more of the menu that I haven’t tried yet.
Overall, I found my night as a whole a satisfying one, reminded that the flavors of my childhood still remained. I would note that like most fast food, KFC/Taco Bell definitely caters to the on-the-go consumers, or people who just want a cheap and fast no-hassle meal. Like many fast food restaurants it also has calories displayed under every food item, and as expected, many of the options are not nearly as healthy as ‘standard’ restaurant food. It’s not by any means a high quality restaurant, nor does it pretend to be. Its main focuses are flavor, efficiency of both time and money, and in many cases including mine, nostalgia. Luckily it manages to do all of these things very well.
KFC/Taco Bell
315 Westport Ave
Norwalk CT
(203) 845-9057
Menu: https://www.tacobell.com/food
Recommended Dishes: KFC Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Price: $
Monday - Friday, 10:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Busy hours: Weekdays 12:00 PM -3pm, all weekends.
Reservations not accepted