Chain Gang: Cantina Bowl

Company description: "Experience our new citrus-herb marinated chicken, flavorful black beans, guacamole made from real Hass avocados, pico de gallo prepared fresh daily, roasted corn & pepper salsa and a creamy cilantro dressing, all served on a bed of cilantro rice."

Chain: Taco Bell.

Calories: 560, with 22 grams fat, 60 mgs cholesterol and 1,520 mgs salt.

Location: The Gallery Food Court.

Order time: Four minutes.

Price: $5.49.

Review: The Gang has to give Taco Bell points for trying - Americans need choices besides beef, beans and cheese smashed into a giant Dorito - but this "salad" created by Chef Lorena Garcia (we love it when name chefs work with fast-food restaurants to create meals for a million diners) is an alternative only if you're looking for something healthier to eat at Taco Bell. Although it looks fresh, and the salad's greens, yellows and reds are pleasing to the eye, it's as if the flavor has been sucked out of each ingredient. Every few bites, you get a burst of lime on the rubbery chicken. But avocado? Is that green, buttery spread supposed to be avocado? We don't like cilantro, which is cool because we couldn't taste even a glimmer of it here. And the pico de gallo may be made fresh daily, but where? How long ago were those tomatoes picked?

Summary: Recently, for just $2 more than Taco Bell's salad, the Gang had a delicious Burmese beef salad at non-chain Rangoon (112 N. 9th) and a yummy Thai pork salad at non-chain Erawan (925 Arch St.) that burst with flavor and crackled with freshness. Bland as it is, however, the Cantina Bowl is one of the better-for-you things to eat at Taco Bell - or anywhere else in the Gallery Food Court.