Mi Corazon!

At the prompting of my wonderful wife, I am about to do something rather unorthodox and plug a fast food restaurant.
"Like OMG, WTF, dude, are you like totally losing your mind, lol?" -This may be what you're thinking (god I hope not), but rest assured, I am staying true to my standards.
As you may recall (not likely), I once wrote about Kentucky Fried Chicken being somewhat of a whole food outcast in the realm of fast food, not that that means it's a great decision for a meal, but considering the alternatives, at least you know what it once was. But anyhow, I wanted to take this opportunity to endorse in my own way, La Bamba! Yes the beloved Burrito shop located on OSU campus with it's ridiculously large burritos as well as a number of other Latino offerings.
Why on earth would I endeavor to promote this fast food business, you may ask? I have a few reasons. First let's look at the "real food" reason; They use actual food items that are cooked on premises, not just reheated there. The chicken came from actual chickens, the beans are simply that, beans- hell their even vegetarian beans, no lard! (which I'm personally not against by the way, healthier than butter!). Keep in mind that not everything they have is necessarily good for you (chorizo) and probably none of it is sourced locally or even from sustainable producers, but it's faaar better than anything the big chains are offering. Next let's look at the "Authentic Mexican" dilemma. I like Mexican food, hell, most of the time I find it preferable to American food and that's probably because I've had some really good stuff cooked by people who know what they're doing, none of which were "professionals" by the way but rather Dishwashers, salad station workers and various grunt labor in non-Mexican restaurants (Viejo, I miss your lunches!) What is the dilemma? It is the hoard of restaurants around town all offering the same homogeneous beans rice and cheese dishes slopped on a plate and labeled as "Authentic". Bullshit! It's pasty drab colored three ingredient garbage! If I wanted to eat that, I'd go to a Chinese restaurant! (yes, I do believe there is NO such thing as "good" Chinese food).
I will admit, Labamba does offer the usual beans and rice, and it is of course all that I have illustrated above, however, they have at least kept it simple for the most part. Tacos, Burritos, Tortas, Tamales Quesadillas and Nachos (for all you gringos). There are no enchiladas, no chimichangas, no psuedo chilies rellenos, chilaquiles, no pinche "Cuco's Special" or Steak Ranchero. They do a few things and do them well, although I can't vouch for the Quesadillas or Nachos, I go for the good stuff.
Some larger chains that recently cut the cord from McDonald's (Chipotle) make a good attempt at tacos and burritos, and don't do a bad job either, but it's a little dressed up and made pretty, not to mention LOADED with rice filler. Labamba is a sort of street food looking, chicken juice dripping, wrestle with the super burrito and you're gonna lose messy concoction of good ingredients prepared daily and assembled to order so that your mouth, stomach and wallet will all be happy. Don't get me wrong, it ain't no taco truck (Oh pupuseria how I love you!) but remember, Labamba is a chain restaurant, so all things considered, this place is awesome! And the best part is, you can eat your corn there!