Contrary to popular belief, Taco Bell is not that bad of a fast food restaurant. Sure, there’s the recent salmonella incident at Taco Bell, but I’ve never gotten sick. It hasn’t deterred my eating their food.
To be honest, I’ve never eaten at many big name fast food restaurants (excluding pizza stores) as a child because we didn’t have a car. I’ve eaten fastfood at a big name fastfood restaurant maybe fifteen times up until the age of about 29 and never at a Taco Bell. We still don’t have a car but we moved to a commercial area and so there are tons of big name fastfood restaurants nearby. In the past year and a half, I’ve eaten fastfood about thirty times and at Taco Bell about half of those times (McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Yocco’s – a local hotdog shop and Blimpie’s). Truth be told, I’ve felt sick (bloated, heartburn) at every one of these restaurants except Arby’s (just ate there once) and Taco Bell. Yes, it’s true, I’ve eaten at Taco Bell over a dozen times and I’ve NEVER once gotten sick. I’m not sure exactly why that is but I’m guessing that their food isn’t fried as much or in different oil but most of their food doesn’t appear to be fried. In any event, it’s great to eat a fastfood and not feel sick.
I love getting the packets of hot sauce. Even if I don’t use them all, I always get like 15-20 packets with each order (so far I’ve only order for myself each time; not sure if we’d pass the limit with taking 45 packs for 3 orders?). I usually get a third mild, a third hot and a third fiery and mix them together in one bowl before pouring it on the food.
The ability to upgrade some items from ground beef to chicken or carne asada steak is a godsend because the ground beef tastes like dead bodies (not that I ever tasted dead bodies, HONEST!). What’s funny is how Taco Bell tries to make carne asada steak sound so exotic when, in reality, it translates to just “roasted meat steak”.
The 99 cent Big Bell Value Menu items make for a cheap meal although ,only a few of these items make my top 10 list.
I’ve yet to try everything on the Taco Bell menu but none of their food looks good so I’ll try most of them. Most of their food falls into categories of which in each it’s mostly just variations of the same item.
I will first list all menu items, then review my top 10 favorite menu items and end with a few honorable and dishonorable menu item mentions.
MENU (Items preceded by an * are 99 cent Big Bell Value Menu items)
Tacos – basic corn or flour tortilla shells with meat and toppings
Original – corn tortilla, beef, lettuce, cheese Taco Supreme – corn tortilla, beef, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream Soft – flour tortilla, beef, lettuce, cheese Ranchero Chicken Soft – flour tortilla, chicken, lettuce, cheese, avocado ranch sauce and Fiesta Salsa Soft Supreme – flour tortilla, beef (chicken or steak), lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream Grilled Steak Soft – flour tortilla, steak, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, creamy lime sauce *Grande Soft – flour tortilla, with double portion beef, lettuce, cheese, wrapped in second shell covered in nacho cheese sauce *Spicy Chicken Soft – flour tortilla, shredded chicken simmered in spices, lettuce, Fiesta Salsa *Double Decker – flour tortilla, spread with beans wrapped around crunchy, corn shell filled with ground beef (steak or chicken), lettuce, and cheese
Burritos – basic flour tortilla wrapped around a filling
Bean – beans, cheese, red sauce, onions 7-Layer – beans, rice, three cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sour cream, and chunky guacamole Chili Cheese – beef chili, cheese Supreme – beef (steak or chicken), beans, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, red sauce, sour cream Fiesta – beef (steak or chicken), cheese, rice, Fiesta Salsa Grilled Stuft – beef (steak or chicken), beans, rice, tree cheeses, Pepper Jack sauce, Fiesta salsa, grilled *1/2 LB Cheesy Bean & Rice – beans, rice, three cheeses, nacho cheese sauce, zesty sauce, Fiesta Salsa *1/2 LB Beef Combo – double portion of seasoned ground beef and filled with hearty beans, onions, cheddar cheese, red sauce *Spicy Chicken – shredded chicken simmered in spices, seasoned rice, creamy Jalapeño sauce, Fiesta Salsa *1/2 LB Beef & Potato – beef, potatoes, red sauce, sour cream
Chalupa Baja
Crispy, chewy Chalupa shell filled with seasoned ground beef (steak or chicken), creamy Pepper Jack sauce, crisp, shredded lettuce, a blend of three cheeses – cheddar, pepperjack, and mozzarella, and Fiesta Salsa.
This has to be my favorite menu items! I love corn tortillas but prefer them soft. This offers the best of both worlds. Great texture. I usually get the chicken or sometimes the steak. The sauce blends together great with the cheese and salsa! It’s the total package. I can eat about one and a half.
7-Layer Burrito A warm, soft, flour tortilla wrapped around seasoned rice, hearty beans, a blend of three cheeses – cheddar, pepperjack and mozzarella – crisp, shredded lettuce, diced ripe tomatoes, cool sour cream, and chunky guacamole.
This is my favorite burrito because it’s not ALL bean, which gets too filling for me. The rice adds an extra layer of texture lighter than the beans. The tomatoes add more taste. The sour cream and guacamole blend together great. It’s another total package. It’s filling so I can only eat one.
Burrito Supreme A warm, soft, flour tortilla wrapped around seasoned ground beef (steak or chicken), hearty beans, tangy red sauce, crisp, shredded lettuce, real cheddar cheese, diced onions, diced ripe tomatoes, and cool sour cream.
Another great burrito but not as good as the 7-Layer. It adds meat but takes away the rice. It’s also missing the guacamole which takes away that mellow taste I like. Of course, the red sauce helps it. Not a total package. It’s filling so I can only eat one.
Enchirito A warm, soft, flour tortilla wrapped around seasoned ground beef (steak or chicken), hearty beans, diced onions, real cheddar cheese, and tangy red sauce.
I just tried this recently. I was dying to try it because I’ve been wanting to have a good enchilada. This is a combo enchilada (so it gets enchilada-tasting sauce, or it tastes like it in my opinion) and a burrito (hence the beans). I got it with the ground beef for a change. I LOVED IT It’s one of the few items to require a plastic dish because it’s covered in sauce and cheese. It doesn’t look like the photo exactly but then what does? But it’s delicious! Not too heavy. But, the sauce, oh the sauce!! I added about five pockets of the hot sauce and three fiery hot sauces to cover the whole thing. The sauce made the tortilla nice and soft without being doughy. It’s filling so I can only eat one but I also ate an order of Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and a Caramel Apple Empanada.
1/2 lb. Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito
A warm flour tortilla loaded with hearty beans, seasoned rice, a blend of three cheeses, nacho cheese sauce, zesty sauce, and Fiesta Salsa.
Wow, this thing is huge and more than filling. Being mostly beans, this sucker’s VERY filling and pasty (have lots of drink on-hand!). The sauces and salsa offer great flavor and the rice saves it from being too pasty. I can barely finish one!
Nachos Supreme
Crisp, freshly prepared tortilla chips covered with seasoned ground beef, hearty beans, warm nacho cheese sauce, diced ripe tomatoes, fresh green onions, and cool sour cream.
Eh, this is the first item I ordered at Taco Bell. It was good…at first. I ate three-quarters but started to get tired of the sour cream. I put it away till later and when I returned to it, uh, it turned to mush. So, words to the wise: eat these all immediately.
Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes
Golden potatoes topped with warm nacho cheese sauce, cool sour cream, and fresh green onions.
These are fantastic! My favorite Taco Bell side dish; better than any fastfood fries. The potatoes seem to be coated with a seasoning like paprika (just a hunch), which is delicious. The nacho cheese adds a perfect amount of saltiness. The sour cream adds a mellow taste (I love it but the last few bites start to bore me). The onions add a pungent flavor which is great! I buy this with most everything I order there. I sometimes pour hot sauce over it.
Pintos ‘n Cheese Hearty beans, tangy red sauce, and real cheddar cheese.
My second favorite side dish but a little pasty. The sauce helps a bit. The cheese is good but it makes for a salty taste. I often add hot sauce to add heat and thin the pastiness a bit. One order’s enough.
Caramel Apple Empanada
A crispy golden pastry pocket filled with chunks of warm apples in creamy caramel sauce.
This has to be THE best dessert of every fastfood restaurant out there! The flaky, crispy crust is the best part. The apples are good but the caramel is the best ingredient to this filling. Perfect dessert to top off any Taco Bell order!
Cinnamon Twists
Crispy, puffed corn twists, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.
Another great dessert but a bit messy with the cinnamon and sugar falling everywhere. I get this item occasionally.
HONORABLE AND DISHONORABLE MENU ITEM MENTIONS
Chicken Quesadilla
Grilled and marinated all-white-meat chicken** combined with a blend of three melted cheeses – pepperjack, cheddar and mozzarella – and a creamy Jalapeño sauce all folded in a freshly toasted tortilla.
This isn’t a bad item but not good enough to fit into the top 10. There’s not much to these things, just meat, cheese, sauce. I could eat two orders. It’s also uneven; I got four pieces and one was near empty of meat. Requires a lot of hot sauce to dip them in. Not too bad.
Crunchwrap Supreme A warm, soft, flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, warm nacho cheese sauce, a crunchy tostada shell, cool sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes and then wrapped up and grilled for maximum portability.
WAY overrated. I was psyched to get this after I saw the TV ad for these. I was sadly disappointed. The crunch shell is NOT crunchy. It’s inside with wet ingredients and steam from the meat so it all steams the inner shell soggy (yuck!). Not enough beef, too much lettuce. It’s big though, like three tacos in one. I won’t buy it again.
Original Taco
A crunchy, corn taco shell filled with seasoned ground beef, crisp, shredded lettuce, and real cheddar cheese.
I ordered this the first item I ordered at Taco Bell, along with the Nachos Supreme. It was a Sunday, which is 59 cent taco day, so I ordered three. I ate two, saved one for later and it suffered the same fate as the nachos – soggy hell. I liked the first two while hot with hot sauce and they weren’t bad. The left over suffered sogginess and the meat tasted crappy. So, again, eat immediately! It was good but nothing great. I prefer “homemade” Old El Paso tacos made with fresh meat. These tacos are the reason I upgrade most everything, when possible, to steak or chicken.
Mexican Rice Seasoned rice, tangy red sauce, cheddar cheese, and fresh green onions.
My least favorite side dish. It has exactly the same toppings as the pintos but is VERY dry. I poured the hot sauce on it!
Mountain Dew BAJA BLAST® is only available at Taco Bell (participating locations) because it was made specially to go with our great tasting food. Learn more about this tropical lime-flavored concoction.
Nothing special. It’s just Dew with lime flavoring. Not big on soda so I don’t buy it. I prefer lemonade plus it counteracts the heat if the hot sauce gets too hot.
