Qdoba!

We hit the new Qdoba for dinner this evening and were not disappointed.

It may seem like an inconsequential thing that a fast-food Mexican style chain restaurant opened here this week, but we loved to eat at Qdoba back in Indiana –particularly the one in Carmel.

When we moved here six years ago, Jonesboro was largely a culinary wasteland where all of the food was brown – either fried or barbecue. It was interesting for awhile, but we longed for the variety we had come to take for granted back in Indiana. Jonesboro has the only Chili’s I’ve ever seen that doesn’t serve alcoholic beverages. It’s a dry county.

But things have improved since the autumn of 2007. Downtown got revitalized with lots of dining choices and south Stadium Avenue has exploded with Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Longhorn Steak House, Five Guys Burgers & Fries, Cheddar’s, Panera, Starbucks, and now Qdoba and a new Wings to Go. There’s even a BW3 nearing completion.

OK, it’s not fine dining, but it represents a variety that was absent when we arrived.

So we were almost giddy when we dived into our steak burrito this evening.