If you’d told me 15 years ago that come the turn of this decade, I’d be talking to Taco Bueno, I’d have gone straight into medical school.

But yesterday, I did have an exchange with the Texas-based fast Mexican food chain — or, at least, with the brand’s social media manager(s). Which is close enough.

First, I should point out I’m already a fan of Bueno on Facebook, as I am in real life. The first restaurant opened in my hometown of Abilene, Texas, in 1967, and I grew up frequenting the place. Whereas Taco Bell offered advertising even cheesier and sloppier than its food, Bueno was for those with more refined tastes. It was the first place I ever saw with a salsa bar, and the food was just, well, better.

So, yesterday, when Taco Bueno’s Facebook page posted a big picture of a Tostada with the caption, “Calling all Tostada eaters! Help us solve a debate – “Do you pick up a Tostada, or eat it with a fork and knife?”, I had to do my duty and chime in. (My answer, in short: You eat it with a combination of fork and fingers.)

I wasn’t alone, either. At last count, 224 people have posted comments, with 23 likes.

Amused more than anything, I tweeted about the Facebook post, including a link to the discussion and a nod to @taco_bueno.

Within minutes, Bueno had tweeted me back.

In the past, big companies such as fast-food chains specialized in herding people in and out of their restaurants, serving robotically consistent food with robotic, consistent service. You’d interact with the bored high-schooler behind the register and glance at the in-store ads, but that’s it.

The idea of a brand like Taco Bueno stirring up a fun public discussion about how to eat a tostada — there’s nowhere that could have taken place 15 years ago.

Sure, I and the couple hundred people that Bueno’s social media pros got chattering about tostadas know we’re not communicating with the company’s CEO. But we’re also not just sitting and receiving passive messages from a logo.

For all intents and purposes, a person at Taco Bueno thanked me yesterday for taking the time to talk about their tostadas. No strings attached, no marketing message. Just a normal, positive, human interaction.

Olé, Bueno.