My Favorite Bar.

Tricked you……

This is my favorite kind of bar…..

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All you want, free salsa and cilantro.  I brought back the mango salsa bowl, telling Billy that it was a bowl of soup that they gave me but he made me take it back.  Rude.

So, I took shots of it instead.

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He is so proper, and I am well you know….not.

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Billy’s nacho burrito. Of course I chomped off a good part of that sucker and it was amazing! It really did tast like a huge nacho.  Remember how we had burritos like 12 hours ago…..we can’t help our love for Mexican Food.

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I found a coupon (aka stole it from my in-laws) and told (aka commanded) Billy that we need to go to my most favorite place for lunch.  I am not even exaggerating when I say that Baja Fresh is the place I would chose for lunch over anything…even cafe rio.

Why you ask?

Before salad.

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After demolishing the salsa bar and doubling the weight of my salad with salsa and pico.  I have serious problems.  There is nothing better than a fresh, ripe tomato made into pico de gallo.  Any guesses on the total amount of mangoes and tomatoes I ate with a side of salad.  I am guessing 4 whole tomatoes and 3 whole mangoes.

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My belly is full.

I am more than satisfied.  That doesn’t mean I won’t beg him for something sweet in about twenty minutes.

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If you could chose your NUMBER ONE lunch spot right this moment…..where would it be?

Favorite type of salsa…..mango, pico, smokey, hot, medium, mild, chunky, liquidy, thick?

-1st-Mango.  2nd-Pico and it has to be CHUNKY. I like hot, medium and mild….they are all delicious!

Every restaurant here puts the calorie count next to EVERYTHING on the menu!  Do they do that where you live?  Would you like them to post the nutritional information everywhere or just have the option to get the pamphlet and look there instead?

-I think they are great resources and good for people to see but I do not like them when I am standing in line at Jack and the Box ready to order my milkshake and I see that it is 900 calories….kind of rains on my parade.

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65 comments

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OH MY GOSH take me thereeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! That salsa bar looks AMAZING! yall are the hottest couple in da world, for real. Ehh Im not a fan of the calories thing- if you want it THAT bad, you can go and look it up. I would rather not know! but of course, this is coming from a former calorie NAZI!

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I LOVE mango salsa. I also like any regular salsa as long as there is NO cilantro in it. I can’t stand cilantro.

I live in CA and we passed a law in the last few years that required chain restaurants to post the calorie counts. I’m with you, it is a great resource but I don’t like seeing it when I am ready to order. Guess it is doing what it is supposed to though because I always change my order once I see the calorie count.

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That looks like the BEST salad ever!

I love this little local Vietnamese restaurant – best Pho soup ever!

Mango is number one for sure! Then Pico and chunky for sure! I stick to medium or mild varieties. But really any salsa rocks!

I don’t know if I have seen the nutritional info on menus here, unless it is a special under x amount of calories menu. Online you can find most nutritional info for menus though. I like having the option of knowing but don’t know I want it in my face, might ruin me having a really good supper since we have to indulge sometimes!

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I want to be at this restaurant STAT! Looks so yummy!

I think nutrition info is good at fast food type places, but don’t like it at sit down dining type restaurants – I just feel like it is tacky more than anything else. But I think it is necessary at fast food places – especially because some people eat fast food several times a week!

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Holy mother of moses that is a huge burrito!!!! And what is funny is we love mexican food here too! I am making taco casserole which should really be called enchilada casserole and I am not sure who named it but what a dummy! Anyhoo, we had it less than a week ago and my family begged and pleaded that I make it again! It’s fat girl heaven! Meat and cheese and maybe some veggies and tortilla but who cares about that stuff?

No calorie counts on menus in Indiana or down here in Georgia at least not that I have found. I think you should be able to ask for a calorie menu but not have to look at it if you are, ya know, hormonal and gonna eat one of everything and need to be in denial!

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Favorite lunch spot is hard for me, I really don’t like lunch food. BUT if I had to choose it would be Panera.
Favorite salsa for me is HOT and not too chunky. I like the tomatoes but hate raw onion!
No, the restaurants around here don’t put calorie counts. I always find myself looking online for calorie counts. I think it’s a great idea, people will really start questioning what they eat!
P.S. your mexican food made me soooo hungry for it, I am making plans with my friends right now to get it Saturday night :)

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Baja Fresh – another reason I miss my CA hometown – none of that up in Canada! ;) I am a pico kind of salsa girl, but I also like thew hotter green salsa! And I’m with you on the nutritional stats – when I am choosing something “healthy” it’s affirming to see the numbers but not when I go to Dairy Queen for a mini blizzard intentionally! ;) Generally though, they don’t make that public where we are in Calgary like in some spots in the US.

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I LOVE Baja Fresh, especially for their salsa bar. It’s awesome! I get so many sides of salsa I hardly have room for my elbows on the table! Looks like a fun lunch with your honey :D.

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I LOVE salsa! I can drink it, I love it so much. I love the Mango/peach salsa from costco, so good. I LOVE fresh pico, oohhh gosh! Mexican food is my favorite! If you have time, you seriously need to take a trip down to Old Town San Diego if you love Mexican food…. it’s about the closest I have encountered to legit amazing deliciousness Mexican food… granted it is about 20-30 from tijuana :) go there, you’ll love! there’s also a Mormon Battalion historical site. Pretty cool too.

I LOVE living in cali and that they are required by law to post nutritional info on the menus, it’s amazing!!!! I think it should be a nationally instated law!

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Old Town does have the best mexican restaurants! I lived in the Linda Vista area of San Diego last year and loved going to the different restaurants or drive-thrus in SD, they all had delicious, authentic food. Can’t beat a french fry-stuffed “california burrito”!

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wow I cant believe that they ALL post the calories, that’s awesome!!

your salad looks amazing, its so big! My fav salsa to eat anytime is medium with cilantro, but i love a good mango salsa. and pico is great, but i cant just have pico, there meeds to be another salsa on it too

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hahah salsa bars are pretty amazing… try this cheap-o trick: go to taco tuesdays at el torito for $1 tacos. my guy friends get about 6 and I get 1 and then proceed to pile my little basket FULL of shredded lettuce, 3 salsa types, and onions + cilantro. Then I find a to go container and shake it all up…. I easily eat more food doing that than my guy friends do!

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Panera is probably one of my favorite lunch spots. And if I was still in Florida, I would also say “The Broken Egg” (I blogged about it last week. If it’s good enough for Dick Vitale, it’s good enough for me!).

I LOOVVVVEE salsa, too! Chunky, fresh pico would probably be my favorite. I don’t like Chipotle that much (although my husband is obsessed), but I LOVE their mild chunky salsa. Yum!

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I am sooooo jealous. I LOVE Baja Fresh. They have a chicken torte sandwich thingy that is my FAVORITE. Healthy? Nope but I do so love it and miss it dearly. I love their pineapple salsa to death!! :) Maybe I better just fly out there for a quick visit and go eat there with you ;)

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I looooove chunky pico de gallo. Also, green tomatillo sauce that is really juicy is good!!

I like seeing the calorie information because it helps give me an idea of what I’m getting, but at the same time it is probably way inaccurate. The portions that restauarnts give are so different from place to place. Chipotle in one city might give way more beans than another location— so at the same time it’s good to just be mindful of your portions, etc. and not rely on the little number on the menu.

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I wrote too quickly… corn salsa and guacamole own my life.

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I just moved out to California seeing the calorie counts next to everything still really grosses me out. I don’t go to In n Out Burger to be healthy, so I really don’t need to see that a cheeseburger is a trillion calories, thank you.

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Oh my gosh this looks awesome. I would just eaten a dish of pico with salsa on top!

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Baja Fresh is the best! I get their chicken tostada (the shell, which I don’t eat, serves as a great bowl) with extra lettuce, sans cheese and with the guac and sour cream on the side, and then I put on more pico de gallo than one would think possible. If I get it to-go I can’t put the top on the container and just hold it on there so the contents go spilling out, but I don’t care! I also add their spicy carrots and a ton of cilantro, and lime wedges. When I saw your first Cafe Rio post it reminded me of my own creations!

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CBW (Crazy Bowls and Wraps) is my current FAVE!! So good! Wonder if they have one near your IL’s?!?!?

I am in So Cali so yes the calorie count and fat grams are large and in charge at every restaurant!

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wow, that has to be about a pound of salsa on that salad! haha! my favorite place has got to be chipotle, hate me if u must, but i like it even better than Baja.

ya, CA passed that law about posting up nutrition stats, and not gonna lie i’m actually happy about it for the most part. that is until i want to completely ignore the fact that the milkshake/whatever is a calorie bomb. so we need to come up with a nifty sign that we can selectively turn off and on, when we wanna know and when we don’t. that sounds fair, right?! ;)

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I love most salsas and unless its verde, it has to be hot!…or at least medium. Living in LA makes me miss all of the awesome mexican places in San Diego with their delicious little containers of salsa and spicy carrots.

I honestly don’t notice the calorie count thing much anymore. Even if i do look at it, it doesn’t usually deter me from getting what I want. If you go to places that have less than 20 locations they dont have to put the calorie count anyway.

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Is it bad I was thinking bar like CLIF or Luna bar when I read this post…

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I love HOT salsa. And chunky, not runny.

That salad looks awesome…and like something I’d do too :)

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The second I saw the first pic I thought, “someone went to Baja Fresh.” I’m a big fan of the fish tacos.
If I had to chose a favorite lunch spot I’d have to go with Chipotle. I can probably match even Hungry Runner Girl when it comes to eating Chipotle.
I am a true fan of the hot stuff. If my hair catches fire then it is just about right. That said, my favorite is Smoked Tobasco. Light on heat, but I put it on everything.
I don’t really need to know how many calories are in the food I’m consuming. I would probably never visit a Cold Stone again if they put the calorie content next to everything.

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Wow you just made me HARD CORE crave Mexican! I’m a HUGE fan of it, mostly because it is hot! If I could, I would steal Billy’s burrito right off his plate!

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Mango salsa is awesome! We buy it at meijer, mango-peach flavor and eat a whole jar in a meal. With just two of us.

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I love baja! When I was pregnant I had to have a baja burritos at least once a week. My fave lunch spot is The Gypsy Den at The Lab in Coats Mesa. I wish I lived closer. And I don’t want to know the caloric content of every food. I know when I’m eating crap.

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Sushi for lunch!!!!

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Ha ha. When I read the title I thought you were going to post about your favorite cookie bar. (I’m from Utah, too :)

There is a restauraunt in Midway called Tarahumara that has a salsa bar, and GREAT food. Have you ever eaten there? Yum.

I love any type of fresh, mild salsa or pico, and PILE on the cilantro. LOVE IT!!!

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I was so surprised that was from baja fresh, I havent been there in forever.. My favorite places Dos Coyotes. It is the best Mexican place ever! You would love it. The salads are HUGE with a gigantic tortilla underneath that spills off the side of the plate plus their tacos are da bomb! I don’t think they have em in socal though. :(

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I would go to FLAMING AMY’S BURRITO BARN for lunch..it’s to die for!

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Your salad looks amazing! I love to go to Whole Foods for lunch – I can get whatever I want there from pizza to sushi. I love smoky salsa, but my favorite is just salsa fresca with tomatoes, lime, cilantro, onions, etc. And I like it hot!

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Mango-Peach salsa is my favorite! I like the idea a a pamphlet with the nutritional info there if you wanna look, but I’m with you, I don’t like to see it in my face when I am getting ice cream!

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i need to go there nowwwwwwwwwww!!!
love this little sushi place by my house for lunch or dinner. lets be honest breakfast would be awesome too.. but theyre not open! rude!
mango salsa defff in first place then medium second. like it a little spicy!!

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i like spicy garlic salsa :) yum yum
i’m obsessed with this place called cafe mexicali right now- they make their own tortillas right there in front of you!!
i think for some people calorie counts would be good and some people it would be terrible!!!

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You’re nuts and I love it!
We don’t have calories in menus here in Victoria BC, Canada but totally think we should, I often have to really hunt around for nutritional info! I think it would also really help as quite often I think I’ve chosen the ‘healthy’ option salad and find out it’s like 12474411calories of sugar and fat right before I order it!!!

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Mexican food (well Mexican-American) is my FAVE! My favorite place to eat for lunch is also our local Mexican restaurant (our town has 2 restaurants total). So,yeah…

I’d like for the calorie count to be on everything! That would “guilt” me into only eating a little of the fattening stuff, instead of 6 portions. But– all calories are not the same in my book, so I’d feel better about eating a whole avocado than I would a bag of Doritos.

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I’d probably pick a Chipotle or Moe’s. I’ve never had Baja Fresh, I don’t think we have them around here! Pico is the best, it seriously makes everything better :) They do the nutritional info thing in NYC but up here in the suburbs it’s not mandatory so you never see it. Sometimes I think it’s helpful other times I’d rather not know ;)

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um, YUM, where are these places on the east coast?!?!? Want, need, must have!

I live in NYC so there are calorie counts at ALL chain restaurants – I had to go to Olive Garden to pick up some pasta they donated to an American Cancer Society event and let me just tell you…taking a glimpse at that menu was SHOCKING. Pretty sure my arteries started clogging just reading it.

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Yup, we Californians and our calories. I despise it. Put it in a book (like The Cheesecake Factory) and give us the option. When I go out I know that I’m splurging and hate the buzz kill, to stick with your bar metaphor ;)

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We used to have a baja fresh by us but it closed. That was a sad, sad day. =[

Pico-y salsa? Yes please! Mild & chunky/thick.

I also LOVEEE that they have calorie counts next to EVERYTHING near you. I wish Chicago would get in the game and do that too. Only if they do the macros as well though, b/c I want to know cals + protein/carbs/fats. Sometimes places do it, sometimes they don’t. Lucky you guys!

Love your blog BTW.

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WHY don’t we have these in North Carolina?!?! I’m going to throw a tantrum now ;) That looks amazing! And y’all look adorable!

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That salad looks amazing! My favorite place for lunch is Sakura, a local sushi restaurant where I live. It has the BEST sushi ever! My cousin lived in Japan for a while, and he went with me and was amazed. I think he said “I never thought west Tennessee would have sushi just as good as Japan.” It is amazing.

I love HOT salsa and also mango salsa. I definitely like chunky.

Nutritional stats are amazing and I wish every place had them for every item – even though sometimes I don’t want to see them – people (including me) need to be aware of what is going into our bodies.

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That salsa bar looks amazing. I would eat that daily. I make a great pico if I do say so myself. It’s chunky and super lemony… I would love it if every place here put their nutritional information on the menu. I think it helps us make wise decisions. I make due with my Eat This, Not That app on my phone.

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LOVE mango salsa!!! I make it at home all the time and put over chicken :-)

Isn’t Mexican food the best!?! Bryan and I eat it a lot too ;-) I think the best part is all the free ships and unlimited salsa with EVERYTHING! Yum

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I’m in love with Qdoba’s corn salsa, love love love.

They don’t post calories here in PA, but I really wish they did. I like to know if something seemingly healthy is actually calorie-loaded. It’s just so hard to monitor your food when you’re not the person cooking it; so I like the extra information and I like to have it right there. Unfortunately, the people that probably need to be utilizing the calorie information don’t even understand what a reasonable daily calorie count is anyways. It also convinces me to order an iced coffee at Starbucks instead of the fancy sounding drinks with 5x the calorie count, and it’s still delicious!

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My favorite lunch place is Zupas. Have you been there? Best salads ever. They don’t have one in TX, so my favorite lunch place in TX is Hula Hut, a cute Hawaiian restaurant on the river. I would actually love it if there was nutrition information next to everything here. That way I wouldn’t get tricked into eating a 1500 calorie salad.

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Oh salsa bar! I like to try every kind of salsa any given restaurant has. I’d definitely fill my table with little back cups of salsa to try them all.

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Oh, the nutrition facts… The law was passed in California, Oregon and Washington, I believe, for chain restaurants with a certain number of locations. I think it is super great for 95% of the population because you would not believe the number of people who don’t know anything about nutrition/calories. However, I think they are a hard thing to deal with for a lot of healthy active women and people recovering from eating disorders. It just is too much focus on calories, rather than nutrition, and I don’t think that is healthy for everyone.

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that seriously looks amazing!

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I got really excited when I saw the title “my favorite bar”, I thought things were going to get a little crazier.
The food looks amazing. That burrito is like the size of Billy’s head! I would barely put a dent in that thing. I love Mexican food. Actually, I love sour cream and I mexican food as my excuse to eat it.
I love medium salsa that is liquidy, not watery though and not super chunky (I am not a big tomato fan)

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That is one huge salad!! Looks delic!

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I really like any of those baja fresh/chipotle/moe’s/etc type of places… I just love salads with mexican beans & a tonnnn of salsa as “dressing”. So good!!!

<3
n

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Oh I love Baja and hit up during my time at Stanford regularly! Mango salsa is delish and pile on the pico–I don’t do spicy.

I would choose this new place Ingredient where salads, sandwiches and pizza are made with fresh stuff daily.

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I live in California and I love/hate that they post the calorie counts on the menus. I haven’t had a scone at Starbucks since they passed that law..everytime I see the calories I change my mind. I think it’s good to know what you are putting in your body however ignorance is bliss :)

My favorite lunch is Subway.

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yummm mexican food is my fav. No baja fresh here in Oklahoma though :(

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Yummm!!! there is an awesome salsa bar at this place near me (Jersey Shore ugh!) called Surf Taco…I love the green salsa, Verde I think??

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I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Baja Fresh. Used to go there whenever we were in Salt Lake. It has been way too long!!

Mexican food is at the top of my list of favs.

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You must go to El Pollo Loco while you’re in CA. Then I would recommend filling up 17 tiny containers full of Avocado salsa. Then take them home and pour that crap ALL over every meal for the next 17 days. DO IT!

You can thank me later, Janae.
Ask the Duplex

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Baja fresh is the best! I could just live off their chips and salsa. No need to order real food (but of course I do!).

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But that said, he does not do it in a confrontational way as you appear to be doing at this time. You are certainly free to have your opinions, but perhaps you should reread what you plan on writing before you press the send key to make sure they will not be taken in an incorrect manner.

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Hey. Very informative article. I`ve learned a lot from it.

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