68 replies to this topic

[annanstee]

I have never been to a Taco Bell- I live in Vancouver- not sure that they even have them right in the city. I think there is one on the way to Whistler. I have always wanted to secretly try it.
I once had a roommate who told me that the Chilupa from Taco Bell was the most satisfying fast food experience of his life. Mind you he also warned me that he didn't think he could live with someone who hadn't seen Star Wars: Phantom Menace (it had been out for about a week). Good Times.

[Josh]

It should fail in a place like San Francisco and many other places in this country as well! Unfortunately, not every place is fortunate enough to have even decent Mexican restaurants. That is certainly one of the culinary weaknesses of where I live. While I do not find the food horrofying, instead reasonably palatable, I would be very happy indeed, if the chain failed everywhere for the reason you mentioned.

Mmmmm.... Taco Bell.... My guilty pleasure

I cannot tell a lie -- occasionally I crave Taco Bell. But never, never, never do I find myself saying, "Hmmm, I want Mexican. I know, let's go to Taco Bell!" Never. Why? Because it's not Mexican -- it's Taco Bell! My Mexican cravings take me to hole-in-the-wall tacquerias... Similar experiences could be found with some people and their McDonalds cravings (fries excluded, because them be good fries!).

Moving along, while I joke with the best of them about the Chihuahua mascot vanishing because he visited a processing plant and was mistaken for raw materials by the line men working the grinder, the quality of ingredients is actually quite okay.

I just did a quickie nutritional comparison on the Taco Bell and McD's websites.

A beef soft taco supreme at Taco Bell is 220 calories, 14 grams of fat (22% DV), 7 grams of saturated fat (35% DV), 360 mg of sodium (15% DV), 35mg cholestorol. Excluding drink, a meal would probably be 3 of 'em, so triple those numbers and you get 660 calories, 42g fat (66% DV), 21g saturated fat (105% DV), 1380mg sodium (45% DV), and 105mg cholesterol.

FYI, if you opted for bean burritos again thinking they are more healthy, think again -- each has 370 calories, and while there's 1/3 less fat and cholesterol, each one of these suckers is 1200mg of sodium (50% DV)!!!

A quarter pounder with cheese at McD's is 510 calories, 25g fat, 12g saturated fat, 1150g sodium (WOW!!!!), and 95 mg cholesterol. Excluding drink, a meal would add at least a medium fries for another 350 calories, 16g fat, 3g saturated fat, 220 g sodium, but no more cholesterol. Total here? 860 calories, 41g fat, 15g saturated fat, 1370mg sodium, and 110g cholesterol.

So it seems to be a wash, except for the sodium on those darn bean burritos. Friends, I am now thoroughly disgusted

Guilty pleasures are just that -- guilty! I don't have the heart to look up any other items...

[PurpleDingo99]

I worked taco bell for two summers.

# The whole bit about guns are caulking guns, and that's for the sour cream and guacamole, not beans.

That bit is quite true.


# The beans apparent come as a dried powder and are reconstituted.

I dont know if I would call it a powder, although they are certainly dehydrated and reconstituted.

# Ditto for most of the sauces.

Nope- all came out of pre-mixed bags last I checked.

# Meat and nacho cheese come in pre-portioned boil-in-bags.

Quite true.

# Lettuce arrived at the store pre-shredded

Affirmitave

# Tomatoes were peeled and sliced on-site.

For us, they all came pre-prepared in bags. Salsa Frescas (pun intended. ) was actually prepared from pre-diced ingredients and uncut cilantro.

As far as health issues go, it matters on the store. I never heard a single illness resulting from our store, but another store in a different company nearby was downright notorious for it. If you order steak-not beef- then you shouldnt have a problem for the must part. They keep rather strict time controls on all the ingredients, but the beef is nasty to begin with.

[CandyRanch]

Hi eG friends:

I have an obsession to admit.... I am in love with Taco Bell. Some people think it is so gross, but I have to say that anything from that restaurant is as good as gold to me (for a quick, spicy meal). Sure it is unhealthy, but I think thats the case wherever you go for fast food. Any one else?

[NancyH]

About once a year, I am seduced by the TV ads and drive through the Taco Bell. I bring whatever it is back to my office and take a sniff - then one bite - then, I throw it out and wonder "what was I thinking"???

[sickchangeup]

I agree with the guy who said that when he craves Mexican, he doesn't think Taco Bell. Taco Bell is it's own food category.

But having said that, I LOVE Taco Bell. I see absolutely no problem with on the one hand, spending $500+ on a fancy meal, then turning around and enjoying Taco Bell the next day. No problem at all :-)

In the end, I still only eat there a handful of times a year though.

[chappie]

(I do see a bit of a problem with spending $500 on a meal, period, but ...)

I love the Crunchwrap Supreme and all its funky incarnations. Damn. I'm craving one now. And I agree, it's in a separate category all its own.

[Pierogi]

Until a year or so ago, Taco Bell (or Taco Hell as we called it when I was in school) held a special place in my gastronomic heart of hearts. It was THE fast food of choice in So Cal when I was in high school and college. There was one literally out the back door of where I worked while I was in college, so many a lunch break consisted of a cup of frijoles, a tostada and a burrito. *SIGH*......good times as they say.

Even in my more mature years, I'd get a craving about 3 or 4 times a year for two tacos Supreme and a Mexican Pizza (I believe that's combo #6).

Then......e. Coli hit, and Taco Bell stopped using scallions in any of their food, even though scallions were ultimately vindicated as the source of their contamination incident.

Taco Bell food without scallions is just not the same. I've only been back one or two times in the past couple of years, and I no longer hear the siren song of Taco Bell calling my name. Sure wish they'd bring back scallions.

[CaliPoutine]

Until a year or so ago, Taco Bell (or Taco Hell as we called it when I was in school) held a special place in my gastronomic heart of hearts.  It was THE fast food of choice in So Cal when I was in high school and college.  There was one literally out the back door of where I worked while I was in college, so many a lunch break consisted of a cup of frijoles, a tostada and a burrito.  *SIGH*......good times as they say.

Even in my more mature years, I'd get a craving about 3 or 4 times a year for two tacos Supreme and a Mexican Pizza (I believe that's combo #6).

Then......e. Coli hit, and Taco Bell stopped using scallions in any of their food, even though scallions were ultimately vindicated as the source of their contamination incident.

Taco Bell food without scallions is just not the same.  I've only been back one or two times in the past couple of years, and I no longer hear the siren song of Taco Bell calling my name.  Sure wish they'd bring back scallions.

I always picked taco bell in S. Cal too. Dont know why, when there are so many great mom and pop taco stands.

Here in Canada, Taco Bell sells fries. You can get them loaded( I always leave off the meat). The last time I got them, they were topped with dried chives. Horrid!!

[gingerbeer]

I don't know why, but as a person who will quite unfortunately eat both KFC and McDonalds with little resistance, Taco Bell really scares me. The food just tastes awful, and my stomach always feels uneasy afterwards.

I'm surprised that some things are prepared on site!

[Susie Q]

If I Take In-N-Out out of the mix I would eat Taco Bell over any major burger chain. That's if I had to chose a major chain fast food place. Since we have several Alberto's stands (small but good chain), hundreds of other hole in the wall mexican places, and also wagons/carts here in So. Cal. I never have to settle for Taco Bell.

[Restorer]

Taco Bell sometimes satisfies my hunger when I'm back home visiting my parents, but it's hard to go there anymore. I have such a hard time finding something that's okay to eat. Everything either has beans, cheese (or "cheese"), or way too much sodium. While I don't always try too hard not to be naughty with my diet, I always feel guilty, especially if it makes me feel bad the next day. The standard hard taco is actually decent in nutrition for me, if a little low in protein, but I prefer the taco supreme, where the sour cream is verboten.

[Jaymes]

I get the Taco Bell chicken soft taco with fixings. It's tasty, the price is right, and I think it stacks up very well nutritionally with other fast food choices.

As an aside... I always thought that the logo and name came from the common Mexican mission church bells. But nope. It's named after the man that started the chain. A Mr. Bell.

[Peter the eater]

As an aside...  I always thought that the logo and name came from the common Mexican mission church bells.  But nope.  It's named after the man that started the chain.  A Mr. Bell.

That's the kind of info that just shatters my belief system. I would've wagered heavily that "Taco Bell" was the product of a careful focus group analysis.

[Lilija]

I like a few things from the Taco Bell menu. Weirdly enough, nothing else will do when the craving hits. Mostly it's for the bean burritos, or enchirito, or now the volcano taco. A good lunch, not too horrible nutritionally is 2 bean burritos. I don't like anything else on the menu, though. I think the thing that hooks me in is the sauces.

[emilyr]

I like a few things from the Taco Bell menu. Weirdly enough, nothing else will do when the craving hits.  Mostly it's for the bean burritos, or enchirito, or now the volcano taco.  A good lunch, not too horrible nutritionally is 2 bean burritos.  I don't like anything else on the menu, though.  I think the thing that hooks me in is the sauces.

Sauces for me, too. I've started getting the Big Taste Taco. It's just a regular taco, but with crunchy red tortilla strips and the spicy-ish sauce from the quesadillas. Plus, it's 89 or 99 cents. I can't remember. I used to always get the chicken soft taco, but I don't like it as much now that they only offer it with the ranchero sauce. I like both the chicken flavor and the ranchero sauce (on other products), but I"m not a big fan of them together.

I only get TB maybe once a month. I prefer it over McD's but not as much as even chain, sit-down Mexican.

[DTBarton]

I occasionally eat a snack at Taco Bell (cheap and fast). But speaking of their sauces, many years ago (would have been early 90s given where I was working), they introduced a sauce in the packet called "Wild" sauce. It tasted kind of like their regular hot sauce in the packet but with a heavy shot of cilantro and it was very good. Bean burrito with wild sauce was a regular bargain lunch in those days.

I did notice that no one but me ever got the wild sauce, and as expected, it disappeared.

[JimH]

Crunchy Beef Tacos, Mexican Pizza, Nachos Bell Grande, now I'm hungry.

[jsmeeker]

Taco Bell is rolling out a taco shell made from a cheese Dorito.

http://www.slashfood...os-taco-shells/

[Chris Hennes]

MM, perhaps they can use these for their crunchy volcano tacos. Which clearly need even more fake cheese-like product. And salt. I'd try them.

[jsmeeker]

The thought of eating at Taco Bell makes me scared. I can't even remember the last time I bought a bag of Doritos. I used to really like the Cool Ranch flavor, too.

[EatNopales]

As a Mexican I despise Taco Bell for a variety of reasons.

Despite popular belief, Tex-Mex is not a Texan fusion or interpretation of Mexican cuisine... Diana Kennedy coined the term to explain why "Mexican" restaurants north of the border serve Chips & Salsa, Cheese covered Combination Plates etc., she happened to be living in New York at the time & restaurants that served this type of food often had Texan & Southwestern names & design themes... but they never referred to themselves as Tex-Mex. The menus, the style of cooking & plating the food had nothing to do with Texas.. it was invented by two California chains Taco Bell (founded by Glen Bell in South L.A. suburbs) and El Torito (founded as a Tiki bar by Eddie J. Cano in the San Fernando Valley). At this time in California there was a strong culture of segregation (L.A. enforced segregation through city ordinances in the 1920's & 1930's)... during the 1950's & 1960's when Faux Mexican restaurants became popular in the sub-urbs of Southern California restaurants in those communities typically had signs that read "No Hobos. No Dogs. No Mexicans"


At that time Anglo society held a popular notion that Mexicans did not follow sanitary practices (Newspaper pundits & Filmmakers often - usually with Klan ties - on occassion created Fox News type insinuative infomedia that suggested people died or got very sick from eating Mexican food from Mom & Pop shops). Glen Bell was among those that promoted the idea, to his own profit, that "industrialized" Mexican food was more sanitary than what Mom & Pop restaurants offered up.


I was bused out to High School in the sub-urbs and was actually excited when I saw that there was a Taco Bell a block away from my school... having seen so many commercials and never been inside one... the first time I tried it I thought... how the fk can anyone like this sht? A few months later, the local white girl I was dating invited me to her house for dinner and her mom thought it would be cute to have a "Taco Night"... she bought packaged "Taco Shells", cooked up Ground Beef with "Taco Seasoning"... had the full on spread with shredded iceberg, tasteless tomatos, black olives, bottled hot sauce etc., and I thought omg people actually eat this crap at home?

That was one of the pivotal experiences in getting me interested in gastronomic culture... I ended up finding a proper Taqueria not far from the school and evangelized dozens of valley friends.


Now stripping away the history & baggage that Taco Bell represents for Mexican food enthusiasts... if you take the time to taste the food everything tastes like preservatives, the ingredients are all crap (how much beans are really in their "beans", is their "cheese" even made from milk?, 36% beef.. really?) Is the American palette so fked up by processed food & fast food chains that it is numb to the off putting flavors?

[heidih]

EatNopales - I live of course in a city blessed with taquerias, taco trucks and other wonderful and inexpensive glimpses into Mexican cuisine. Taco Bell still seems to thrive here- though now with a conjoined fast food twin Pizza Hut (!?!) I think that one needs to see Taco Bell as any other cookie cutter fast food mega chain with a style of food unto itself. There are many people whose palate considers this decent, good, or even a "treat". It is along the lines of not holding out a McDonald's burger as an example of a classic American burger. You can only imagine how I cringe every time I see a Wienerschnitzel that specializes in hot dogs! I think the chains have a history together. I just smile and shake my head.

[EatNopales]

Heidi... I understand what you are saying.. I don't mean to berate... just wanting to share my particular experience of initially being excited to try it, very disappointed with my first taste... now as my palette has developed I've tried Taco Bell... it has plenty of off putting flavors...

I will be the first to admit I do eat Fast Food from time to time... I do trade convenience for quality at times... and whether it be McDonalds, JIB, Carl's Jr... when I taste the food its got bad flavors.. recently I ordered the Churros at JIB and from the first bite they had that chemical flavor you find in canned frosting, and the oil was a bit stale. Even though I will eat fast food it doesn't cancel out the fact that it does taste bad... if you are on the road & listening to the radio... it seems to matter less, but all the fast food joints are pretty much crap, no?

[jsmeeker]

I have no illusions that Tex-Mex is actually Mexican. It's no more Mexican than spaghetti and meatballs is Italian. But I loves me some chips and salsa. And a chicken enchilada with cheese melted ontop.

[Country]

Ten or fifteen years ago I ate a Taco Bell bean burrito. My stomach didn't like it and I've never tried Taco Bell again.

[Andrew Fenton]

Taco Bell is rolling out a taco shell made from a cheese Dorito.

http://www.slashfood.com/2011/04/13/taco-bell-tests-nacho-cheese-doritos-taco-shells/

See, it's this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that made America great. Also fat. But mostly, great.

[StanSherman]

it was invented by two California chains Taco Bell (founded by Glen Bell in South L.A. suburbs) and El Torito (founded as a Tiki bar by Eddie J. Cano in the San Fernando Valley). At this time in California there was a strong culture of segregation (L.A. enforced segregation through city ordinances in the 1920's & 1930's)... during the 1950's & 1960's when Faux Mexican restaurants became popular in the sub-urbs of Southern California restaurants in those communities typically had signs that read "No Hobos. No Dogs. No Mexicans"

I grew up in LA and never saw one of those signs. Sure there was prejudice but I never saw signs like that.

Eddie Cano had relatives across the street from us and near his second El Torito. Since he had a business degree from USC, I'll bet El Chollo had a much bigger influence in his style than any food or culture. He was in the business of selling drinks.

Toluca Lake was a gold mine then. He had waitresses/actresses in short skirts serving drinks from 5pm (when the studios let out) until late at night. He was a man with lots of charm and charisma. When I was about 10 or 12 he gave me a ride to his Encino restaurant in his new XKE Jaguar. The East section of the Ventura Freeway had just opened and I got my first chance to feel a car at over 125mph.

[EatNopales]

it was invented by two California chains Taco Bell (founded by Glen Bell in South L.A. suburbs) and El Torito (founded as a Tiki bar by Eddie J. Cano in the San Fernando Valley). At this time in California there was a strong culture of segregation (L.A. enforced segregation through city ordinances in the 1920's & 1930's)... during the 1950's & 1960's when Faux Mexican restaurants became popular in the sub-urbs of Southern California restaurants in those communities typically had signs that read "No Hobos. No Dogs. No Mexicans"

I grew up in LA and never saw one of those signs. Sure there was prejudice but I never saw signs like that.

Eddie Cano had relatives across the street from us and near his second El Torito. Since he had a business degree from USC, I'll bet El Chollo had a much bigger influence in his style than any food or culture. He was in the business of selling drinks.

Toluca Lake was a gold mine then. He had waitresses/actresses in short skirts serving drinks from 5pm (when the studios let out) until late at night. He was a man with lots of charm and charisma. When I was about 10 or 12 he gave me a ride to his Encino restaurant in his new XKE Jaguar. The East section of the Ventura Freeway had just opened and I got my first chance to feel a car at over 125mph.

Thank you for your response.

With regards to "No Dogs, No Mexicans" signs... my grandfather came as a migrant worker during the 1920's and throughout the next 20 years, he personally saw them throughout rural California & Oregon. In fact, he told my dad the first time he encountered Burritos (which were and mostly are still unknown throughout much of Mexico) was when he picked Oranges in Orange County... they couldn't find any Cafe that would allow them to eat dinner, but there was a family from Sonora who would wrap stews with/without beans inside these strange wheat tortillas into a very transportable package that resembles a mule pack (hence the name). As for more academic resource... just go to Amazon.com and search for "No Dogs. No Mexicans" you will find dozens of scholarly works on the subject.


As to the role of El Cholo in the development of Tex-Mex / Mexicanesque cuisine... it seems that it played very little role. Frank Berumen, a Harvard PhD, is the primary researcher on Mexicans in Hollywood.. and his research brought him to research El Cholo as a Hollywood institution. As you might know, after Prohibition, much of the Hollywood & L.A. elite turned Tijuana into its boozing playground. In fact, the same families that developed L.A., founded LA Times, the eugenics society that eventually became the Cal Tech endowment etc., bought up much of the land of Rancho Tijuana and developed it into 1920's Tijuana.

El Cholo Spanish Cafe was founded as place where the Hollywood elite could indulge in the cuisine they had come to love in Tijuana. The name was actually very telling... the word Cholo (derived from Xoloscuintle the hairless, skinny, black dogs prized by the Aztecs) was the Spanish derogatory term for Native Americans - it is still very commonly used as such in South America - and then there is Spanish cafe. At that time many of Hollywood's biggest stars (Ramon Novarro et al) were born in Mexico but there was a lot of pressure to invent Spanish births or recent Spanish ancestry... and to downplay any Greaser ancestry (American slang for Mexican).

El Cholo's menu for the first 30 years of is existence was essentially inherited from the Tijuana steakhouses of the 1920's. They were the first to introduce the Ceasar Salad to L.A. (invented at Ceasar's in Tijuana), the house specialty was the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon served with Baked Potato, you could also order Paella, Ropa Vieja served with Spanish rice, Shrimp in Garlic Mojo served with Spanish rice... a common appetizer was the Queso Fundido served with Flour tortillas. Unfortunately, there isn't any surviving copies of the complete early menus at El Cholo... but that should give us an idea of what their food was all about.

It wasn't until the 1960's with the growing popularity of Mexican food, particularly among the hippies & hipsters, that El Cholo dropped "Spanish" from the name & began to "Mexicanize" its offering... which was clearly more influenced by the cuisine being popularized by El Torito (and its cognates) than what was going on in Mexico.

[StanSherman]

Thank you for your response.

With regards to "No Dogs, No Mexicans" signs... my grandfather came as a migrant worker during the 1920's and throughout the next 20 years, he personally saw them throughout rural California & Oregon.

That is very believable.



In fact, he told my dad the first time he encountered Burritos (which were and mostly are still unknown throughout much of Mexico) was when he picked Oranges in Orange County... they couldn't find any Cafe that would allow them to eat dinner, but there was a family from Sonora who would wrap stews with/without beans inside these strange wheat tortillas into a very transportable package that resembles a mule pack (hence the name). As for more academic resource... just go to Amazon.com and search for "No Dogs. No Mexicans" you will find dozens of scholarly works on the subject.

Don't be hating my "wheat tortillas", For many years I visited southern Baja with wheat flour. The women in the fish camps were so grateful to have something different they would make me the finest meal one could imagine, in return. She made the tortillas on hot rocks, beach side. A Harvard PhD can't give me that experience.


As to the role of El Cholo in the development of Tex-Mex / Mexicanesque cuisine... it seems that it played very little role. Frank Berumen, a Harvard PhD, is the primary researcher on Mexicans in Hollywood.. and his research brought him to research El Cholo as a Hollywood institution. As you might know, after Prohibition, much of the Hollywood & L.A. elite turned Tijuana into its boozing playground.

Don't you mean during prohibition?


In fact, the same families that developed L.A., founded LA Times, the eugenics society that eventually became the Cal Tech endowment etc., bought up much of the land of Rancho Tijuana and developed it into 1920's Tijuana.


Are you trying to convince me that Mexicans had influence in the development of California?

El Cholo Spanish Cafe was founded as place where the Hollywood elite could indulge in the cuisine they had come to love in Tijuana.

I don't quite buy that. It was out of their driving radius. It was a place to have similar fun experiences after a football game.


The name was actually very telling... the word Cholo (derived from Xoloscuintle the hairless, skinny, black dogs prized by the Aztecs) was the Spanish derogatory term for Native Americans

Cracker Barrel has also done well.


- it is still very commonly used as such in South America - and then there is Spanish cafe. At that time many of Hollywood's biggest stars (Ramon Novarro et al) were born in Mexico but there was a lot of pressure to invent Spanish births or recent Spanish ancestry... and to downplay any Greaser ancestry (American slang for Mexican).

Do you know how to tell the difference between Spanish and Mexican?...drum roll... Your daughter is engaged to a Spaniard. I had many friends who went through that.


El Cholo's menu for the first 30 years of is existence was essentially inherited from the Tijuana steakhouses of the 1920's. They were the first to introduce the Ceasar Salad to L.A. (invented at Ceasar's in Tijuana), the house specialty was the Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon served with Baked Potato, you could also order Paella, Ropa Vieja served with Spanish rice, Shrimp in Garlic Mojo served with Spanish rice... a common appetizer was the Queso Fundido served with Flour tortillas. Unfortunately, there isn't any surviving copies of the complete early menus at El Cholo... but that should give us an idea of what their food was all about.

Have you been to El Cholo's? Bacon wrapped filet was 60's.


It wasn't until the 1960's with the growing popularity of Mexican food, particularly among the hippies & hipsters,
that El Cholo dropped "Spanish" from the name & began to "Mexicanize" its offering... which was clearly more influenced by the cuisine being popularized by El Torito (and its cognates) than what was going on in Mexico.

At the same time in Mexico Carlos and (name any name) were expanding American/Mexican food with huge bars and dance floors. My basic point is that drink revenues have played a bigger part in the view of Mexican food than what has been put before the public.

I find the term Mexican food as offensive as American food. They both accent mediocrity.

Edited by StanSherman, 17 April 2011 - 05:56 PM.