Thursday evening we joined the crowds at the new El Pollo Loco in Lehi.

The opening day crowd spilled out onto the sidewalk, but we decided to give it a shot. I had a personal interest, since El Pollo Loco, which means, of course, the Crazy Chicken, got its start in 1975 in Guasave, Mexico.

The last time I was in Guasave was in 1972 -- some 36 years ago -- where I spent the longest three months of my LDS mission. Guasave was a rocky field in the otherwise fertile garden of northwestern Mexico. It was a fairly small town, but had experienced LDS missionaries for many years.

In fact, it was the only place I ever saw a no soliciting sign directed solely at my religion. The sign was direct: "No aceptamos visitas de Mormones." (We don't accept visits from Mormons.)

We all had our photos taken in front of this sign, but while some might have thought this was a challenge, everyone I knew respected the owner's wishes.

The town has few distinctive characteristics. It lies in the state of Sinaloa, about 90 miles north of Culiacan, the largest city in the state and the drug trafficking capital of Mexico. It has a reputation for its thoroughbred horses and quiet lifestyle.

And, of course, it is the location of the first El Pollo Loco restaurant, which started as a street side taco stand.

There are lots of these in Mexico, and none of them serve the kind of taco you will find at Taco Bell or Del Taco. Each Mexican taco stand has a gimmick to attract customers.

At El Pollo Loco, the appeal was chicken marinated in citrus juices as well as herbs and spices. And the chicken was very good. So much so that it spawned an international food chain, kind of a reverse KFC. The Lehi store is one of more than 380 such restaurants in the United States, and the first in Utah.

I don't think the new store in Lehi has much in common with that first Pollo Loco. Inside it looks much more like a modern American fast-food restaurant than a Mexican roadside stand.

But the owners have been able to keep the chicken recipe intact, and they encourage customers to tear their tortillas into pieces for use in eating the chicken -- and that's exactly what they do in Mexico, with almost everything.

My son-in-law and I were impressed with the chicken, which has great flavor. My wife was put off by slow service, but the store was so swamped with first-day customers, I think we ought to give the place a second chance after the excitement has died down.

From the opening day crowd, it was clear that the restaurant was a favorite with our Latino population, which made up about half of the customers. And they were having a great time.

While I have no desire to return to Guasave, I'll be going back to El Pollo Loco again.

...

Tuesday, which was on July 1, was a day of firsts, including the first effective day of the North Utah County Library Cooperative, an interlocal agreement that allows people with library cards from American Fork, Lehi or Pleasant Grove to use their cards at any of the libraries. Eagle Mountain is also part of the agreement, but users must pay a nominal fee.

It was an honor to be the first American Fork Library patron to check out a book from the Pleasant Grove Library. About the same time, my colleague, Cathy Allred, was checking out books from the American Fork Library with her Lehi library card.

It took three librarians to get me into the Pleasant Grove system -- not that it was difficult, but it was new, and they were quite excited and very nice about it.

I don't intend to use the Pleasant Grove location for all my library needs -- American Fork is still my home. But since my office is in Pleasant Grove, it will be nice to have the option, and to expand my options.