If you’re under 30 you probably don’t remember how good Taco Bell tacos once were. You’re probably thinking I’m having a laugh or that I’ve finally gone mad but it's true.Now make no mistake, these weren’t the kind of tacos you’ll find on the streets of Boyle Heights or El Sereno. But they were traditional tacos in their own way; crunchy ground beef tacos that were greasy and delicious.
I don’t remember the exact date when the Taco Bell taco began to degrade in quality but it was some time around the beginning of the 1990’s. Like most young people during this time I used to eat at Taco Bell religiously and when the poor quality taco came to be me and my pals recognized it instantly. Everything changed about the taco right down to the type of pre-made taco shell used. The Pre-90’s tacos were packed with fresh finely grated cheese. Post-90? A few strands of thick cheese that taste like they were grated during the Reagan Administration. Pre-90’s Taco Bell ground beef was cooked at the restaurant. Post-90’s “beef”? Outsourced to Mars I think. It’s funky, mushy, and just gross. The only thing that hasn’t changed at Taco Bell is the hot sauce. The only difference is with post-90’s tacos you need about 6 of them per taco to prevent the gag-reflex.
Which brings us to Taco Bell’s latest disaster, the doritos loco taco. It’s a post-90’s taco(gross beef, a few strands of cheese) with a doritos flavored taco shell. The commercial says one guy drove 965 miles to get one; I drove two. I really only have two words to say to Taco Bell about this taco and I think I’ve been waiting since 1990 to say them. Fuck you.
The old Taco Bell Grande's were the bomb. I used to get those and a Taco Light. They went to shit when when PepsiCo bought Taco Bell from the owner Glen Bell. Selling out meant the end of their food integrity in favor of corporate controlled cost reduction.
ReplyDeleteIt used to be great, for what it was. There was the fresh beef, lots of thin cheddar cheese, and shells that were cooked on premise. Yes the shell used to be cooked by a specialist that went from location to location, good stuff. Need i have to remind everyone of The Bell Beefer with cheese, a bun taco as it where!This is why it is so important to save Henry's Taco stand. El Taco still does a great Taco Bell style taco but the hot sauce is lacking. I believe Glen Bell Started El Taco before he started Taco Bell.
ReplyDeleteThe dorritos taco loco is very stale and I seriously don't see anything special about, they just put a spray tan on their regular taco and slapped a higher price tag on it. Taco Bell has lost it's edge, if it ever had one. Maybe when they changed their logo to purple?
ReplyDeleteJust like the legendary Naugles. As soon as Del Taco corporatized the menu, it turned to standard crap. Taco Bell got too big for itself and it shows.
ReplyDeleteIMHO Taco Bell is to Mexican food what Justin Bieber is to real music - a very bad, cynical facsimile.
ReplyDeleteThis taco is fuckin AMAZING! But I'm 14 so no one will care
ReplyDeleteTaco bell is dog food today. You younger people do not know how orgasmic Taco Bell used to be pre mid 90's. The food was real, fresh, and made on sight. There was healthy lard used in the refried beans, not the hydrogenated chemically altered vegetable oils that the human body does not recognize. Natural leaf lard is animal fat that costs more, but is healthy.
ReplyDeleteTaco Bell also uses low fat sour cream that has no flavor. They also removed the black olives, and green onions from the menu items. The ground beef also has changed and is more of a filler concoction. They no longer use 100% beef. It is now 35% beef, and 65% soy filler. Soy is also very detrimental to the male gender. Whether you know it or not.
These finely shredded two flavor cheese of years past is gone too. The nacho chips are fried in the crappy vegetable oil now also. The chips were incredible years ago, but that has changed.
Everyone is better off making Taco Bell items at home these days. You can use the proper ingredients and get that blissful taste back. But you won't find those flavors at Taco Bell anymore. Taco Bell SUCKS!
A Mexican inspired birthday party for hubby from a long island catering team: now I know what to do with burritos and tacos!
ReplyDeleteWestern food like tacos is one of my favorite. I've seen a lot of this at 'dining restaurant london' and they were so good. You should not miss it.
ReplyDeleteJust looking at the pictures makes me hungry! I do want to eat Taco right now! I just do wonder if how does the Taco Bell make their tacos delish than other tacos, are they using some sort of industrial oven to make it more tasty and to be able to produce much of it in a little span of time?
ReplyDeleteYeah, even though Taco Bell began to degrade in quality, it’s still one of America’s top fast food restaurants. According to recent studies, it is the only fast food restaurant which offers Mexican specialties that entered to the America’s top quick service restaurants.
ReplyDeleteI just want my cinnamon crispas back...
ReplyDeleteAnd the 69¢, 79¢, 99¢ menu!!