Taco Bell Quad-Steak Burrito
http://www.tacobell.com/menuitem/Quad-Steak-Burrito

It has long been my thinking that Taco Bell should focus on what it does well and that is providing cheap and fast tacos and burritos.  At about $1.70 less than the Poblano Pesto Burrito I get from Qdoba, I had expectations that this would be a signature product for Taco Bell that would be comparable to other chain burritos but probably not as good at Qdoba or Chipotle.  In this review I will compare the Quad-Steak Burrito to Qdoba’s Steak Poblano Pesto Burrito, a fast food favorite of mine.

What I Ate: Taco Bell Quad-Steak Burrito $4.99

The Quad-Steak comes in at 13.4 oz in comparison to the 23 oz burrito from Qdoba making it more expensive per ounce.  The ingredients are simple including four servings of steak, sour cream, rice, salsa, and cheese.  Comparing nutrition to the Qdoba burrito has the Quad-Steak at 690 calories, 26 g of fat and 2140 mg of sodium to the Qdoba burrito at 1235 calories, 50g fat, and 3035 mg of sodium giving the lower quality Taco Bell Quad Steak slightly more fat and salt per ounce.  Neither will be on the list of anyone watching what they eat.

The appearance of the burrito completely turned me off.  Unlike the Qdoba burrito where you can clearly see the ingredients you have ordered, the Taco Bell Quad-Steak Burrito’s contents looked similar to all of the drop droppings in my backyard after a long winter full of snow.  Unfortunately, the taste did not save this burrito.  The steak tasted rubbery like it was a week old and was drowning in so much sour cream that you could not taste the rice or small amount of salsa included.  I tried adding some hot sauce to balance the source cream but it did not help this burrito disaster.

Would I Buy It Again?  Never! There are many menu items at Taco Bell that are half the price and are at least five times better than the Quad-Steak Burrito.  I enjoy Taco Bell but my guess is that this burrito will disappear from the Taco Bell menu and the sooner, the better.

-EatHSE

Taco Bell
http://www.tacobell.com

Taco Bell has yet again trotted out a new menu item and while I was watching football this past weekend, I saw about a billion commercials for this one and since I am a slave to television marketing (LOL), I figured I’d try it out.

What I Got:  Beefy Crunch Burrito; 99 cents.

As with all Taco Bell reviews, let’s go over what’s in the burrito according to the Taco Bell website:

“Layers of seasoned ground beef, rice, warm nacho cheese sauce, reduced fat sour cream and Flamin’ Hot (R) Fritos(R) wrapped in a warm, flour tortilla.”

I can confirm that all those ingredients were in there, although since I am not a fan of sour cream, I had them remove it from my burrito.

In terms of taste, this was the basic Taco Bell tastes that you’ve come to expect with the added texture of crunchy Fritos worked in.  The ground beef, rice and nacho cheese sauce were all as you’d expect them.  But, when mixed with the Fritos, there was a nice additional crunch added to the burrito and I liked that.  The Fritos weren’t “Flamin’ Hot” in my mind and didn’t add any additional heat to the burrito, but I didn’t mind that because as I said, I liked the crunch added to what is usual just a mushy menu item.

Would I Buy It Again?  For 99 cents, I would definitely buy it again.  If they raised it much above $1.29 or something like that, I would never order it.  Although, you have to take that with a grain of salt since I am an unabashed fan of the Why Pay More? value menu at Taco Bell.  Regardless, give this burrito a shot if you are either A) a slave to television marketing or B) willing to try something different.  You won’t be blown away by the taste, but I also don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

-IndianapolisEater

Taco Bell
http://www.tacobell.com

As usual, Taco Bell has yet again re-worked its menu to re-introduce a menu item that first debuted in 2007, the Grilled Stuft Chicken Enchilada burrito.  Since I didn’t remember this from 2007, I figured this was a “new” item and ventured to my local Taco Bell recently to try it out.

What I Got:  Grilled Stuft Chicken Enchilada Burrito ~$3.00.

As always with Taco Bell, they start out with their usual mix of on-hand ingredients to prepare your food.  In the case of this burrito, those ingredients were:

“Marinated all-white-meat chicken, slow-simmered enchilada sauce, a melty blend of three cheeses–cheddar, pepper jack and mozzarella–enchilada rice and reduced fat sour cream all wrapped in a flour tortilla and grilled to go.”

Well, as always, I can confirm that those were in there.  The second thing that I can confirm is that this thing definitely was “Stuft” because when I took it out of the bag, it felt like I was lifting a brick.  This is definitely a burrito that’s got some girth to it and they don’t skimp on the ingredients.  If you are a light-to-normal eater, you really could make this and maybe one other smaller item into a full meal.  Since I’m not a light eater, well, let’s just say that wasn’t the case.

Anyway, as far as taste is concerned, it was just alright.  The chicken was cooked tenderly and the rest of the components mixed well together and tasted as you would expect them to since it is just a re-mix of their usual ingredients, but all things considered, this burrito really lacked any sort of pizzaz that I would expect from a menu item at Taco Bell that costs in the neighborhood of $3.00.

Would I Buy It Again?  No, I would not.  For $3.00 or more at Taco Bell (the king of cheap food), I would expect a menu item more memorable like the chicken or steak quesadilla.  This burrito definitely could not hold any sort of candle to the quesadilla or the many other menu items in that price range. 

So, all in all, this will probably stay out for a limited time once again and go back into mothballs for another three years until they can dupe some poor unsuspecting rube like me into thinking it is a new menu item. 

-IndianapolisEater

For someone that LOVES Taco Bell, I was thinking recently how odd it is that I haven’t been there in a while.  So, since I was sort of craving it and saw that they had introduced a new menu item, I thought I’d make a visit over this past Labor Day weekend.

What I Got:  Chicken Flatbread Sandwich, $0.99.

To Taco Bell’s credit, they are pretty creative in finding ways to use existing ingredients that they have on hand to create new menu items.  Along those lines, they now have joined the flatbread craze and created this new “sandwich” that they are currently running on promotion.  According to their website, it consists of:

“Warm, square-cut flatbread, filled with marinated all-white-meat chicken, and a melty three-cheese blend of cheddar, pepper jack, and mozzarella topped off with flavorful chipotle sauce and melted to perfection to seal in the flavor.”

As always with Taco Bell, I can confirm that all of these things were in my sandwich (it still feels funny to me to use sandwich and Taco Bell in the same sentence), so the presentation was nailed.  The taste component was nailed as well as the flatbread was both warm and soft, the cheese was perfectly melted, the chicken was tender and the chipotle sauce taste was definitely noticeable.  Although, I will say that the chipotle sauce tasted more of sour cream to me and that’s not a positive in my book because I am not a fan of sour cream.  Still, even with that drawback, I will say that this was not bad.  It’s not earth-shattering in any shape or form, but it is a decent menu item, especially when you consider it is only 99 cents.

Would I Buy It Again?  No, probably not.  While it tastes fine and it definitely does not cost much, there is nothing inherently memorable about the experience that would get me to order this “sandwich” again.  I’d much rather stick to tacos, burritos, etc. before I went and ordered another one of these.  If you are looking to mix it up with your Taco Bell order from time to time, go ahead and order one of these.  If not and you aren’t curious, don’t waste your time.  Trust me, you’ll have no regrets.

-IndianapolisEater

I have an appreciation for authentic Mexican food and Taco Bell is far from authentic.  However, it appears Taco Bell is trying to take a step in this direction with its new Cantina like tacos made with two corn tortillas, chopped onions, cilantro and a lime wedge with three meat choices.  Writing a review gave me a good excuse to stop by and try all three.

What I Ate:  Cantina Triple Pack, $4.62.

Chicken Cantina:  The chicken was finely chopped and tasted marinated but was still a bit dry.  The cilantro taste was strong but squeezing the lime over the top gave it a nice flavor.  Overall, mixed with the chopped onion, I enjoyed this 170 calorie taco with only 20 calories from fat making it a sensible choice.  For those watching your salt intake, this taco had 350mg, the highest of the three Carnitas.

Steak Cantina:  I am always leery of the quality of the steak from a place like Taco Bell.  Have you ever had the pre-made steak you can buy in a zipper bag in the processed meat section at your local grocery?  To me, this kind of steak usually has an odd texture and is missing the grilled taste.  This was the case for my experience with the chopped steak on the Steak Cantina as it tasted like hard pellets going down.   A problem with all the Cantinas is how quickly they fall apart even though there are two corn shells supporting the insides of this taco.  The double taco shell has a purpose but leaves flaps of corn shell hanging off making it an even bigger mess.  Surely Taco Bell could have a double thick shell made for this taco.  I ended up taking one of the shells off and giving it to my carb crazy daughter who loved it.

Carnitas Cantina:  Although wibia is a big fan of Carnitas, I have never been myself.  Of all the Cantinas, this taco was the big winner for me.  For some reason this one held together the best and the pork was soft and almost creamy with a nice juice.  That juice softened the chopped onions making them softer creating a blend of the ingredients that went well with the lime.  Due to the pork, this taco comes in at 200 calories with 60 from fat making it the worst choice of three for those counting calories.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes & No. I commend Taco Bell for trying something new that leans toward the authentic side a bit more.  The Carnitas were a hit for me and it would be something I get every time I go to Taco Bell.  The chicken is worthy of another try and a good choice for those with a chicken preference that like that cilantro chicken combination.  At all costs, stay away from the steak which had poor texture, little taste and was very dry.

-EatHSE

Within the past few days, Taco Bell has debuted yet ANOTHER menu item (seems like this happens about once a month).  This time, they’ve introduced a line of tortadas with one being a Bacon Ranch Tortada and the other being a Salsa Roja Tortada.  If you look at the title of this review, you can obviously figure out which one I got.

What I Got:  Salsa Roja Tortada $3.29

The Salsa Roja Tortada is, in Taco Bell’s words:

“A warm flour tortilla loaded with fire-grilled marinated all-white meat chicken, crisp shredded lettuce, fiesta salsa, flavorful salsa roja, and a blend of three cheeses – cheddar, pepper jack, and mozzarella, all grilled together hot and toasty.“

Well, I can confirm that is the case.  My Tortada included all of these things and I must admit that I was a big fan of the salsa roja.  I thought it would be the same thing as the fiesta salsa that you find in all the Fresco style items and I also thought listing salsa roja and fiesta salsa would be redundant because they would be the same thing, yet I was surprised by the taste.  The salsa roja it had a slight bit more kick to it than your usual fiesta salsa (or at least it seemed that way), so it was a great addition to the Tortada.

The remainder of the Tortada was just a conglomeration of items that Taco Bell ordinarily has on hand (they are good at that).  The cheese was gooey, the tortilla was toasted and grilled quite well and the chicken was flavorful and tender.

As a quick note, this is a fairly decent sized item too as they serve it in the same packaging that they ordinarily serve their quesadillas.  It’s not as big as a quesadilla, but it is somewhat comparable in size.

Would I Buy It Again? Well, that’s a tough question and here’s where I sometimes struggle to give definitive answers for this blog because the taste of an item doesn’t always match up with the price of the item.  If I was buying on taste alone, then yes, I would buy it again.  If I was buying on taste combined with value, then no, I would not buy it again.  This was a very tasty menu item, but I don’t think it is worth the $3.29 that they charged me for it.  If it was in the neighborhood of $2.50 or so, it would be an exceptional value.  At $3.29, it’s a bit too much, even though you are getting a decent sized menu item.

Even still, if you want to try something different, then give this Tortada a shot.  You won’t be disappointed.

-IndianapolisEater

Taco Bell 5-Layer Burrito

What I Got

:  Taco Bell Beefy 5-Layer Burrito 89¢

I was looking for some food late at night recently and some friends and I decided to make a stop at Taco Bell.  I had eaten the Beefy 5-layer burrito before but had forgotten to take a picture to do a review, so I figured I’d make up for my mistake on this visit and get one to go.   And being that I am a champion of the Taco Bell value menu, this was right up my alley.

They introduced this one with the past few months, so it is relatively new to their menu.  On this burrito, there are naturally five layers, as the name would imply.  These layers include “layers of seasoned ground beef, beans, real cheddar cheese and cool reduced-fat sour cream all wrapped in a flour tortilla with a special layer of warm nacho cheese sauce.”

I have gotten it with sour cream before, but for the purposes of my visit this time, I had them remove the sour cream because I am not a fan.  That said, with/without the sour cream, this thing is still good.  It’s the perfect Taco Bell menu item.  It’s sloppy, tasty and cheap.  Also, unlike a lot of their menu items, this thing is quite filling.  Honestly, the size surprised me and I was quite delighted.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes, definitely, especially when you consider that they have got this thing on their value menu.  If I wasn’t such a glutton, one or two of these would serve me well for an entire meal and any “meal” for under $2.00 is naturally a winner.  Combine the cheap price with the fact that this tastes well and Taco Bell has got a real winner here.  Hopefully they don’t rotate this one off the menu like they do with a lot of their food, because this one deserves to stay on there.

Oh, by the way, this one packs 550 calories, so be smart with how many of these that you eat.

-IndianapolisEater

Taco Bell Mexican Cheesesteak

Taco Bell is always pretty creative in their food offerings and puts out new items on a frequent basis.  They take advantage of the ingredients that they already have on hand and then mix them together to come up with new variations on things they already have.

Recently, I was driving past my local Taco Bell (96th Street & I-69) and I saw a sign in the window for a Mexican Cheesesteak.  Yes, that’s right, a cheesesteak.  I was immediately intrigued and searched the internet far and wide and could not find a single mention of this menu item anywhere on Taco Bell’s site or anywhere else on the web.  So, it would appear that Indianapolis is a test market for a new product once again, just like it was for the Pacific Shrimp Tacos several months ago.  I laughed when I thought of a Mexican Cheesesteak, but since we here at WIBIA were all over the shrimp tacos, I figured that we should be all over this test item as well.

What I Got: Mexican Cheesesteak $3.49 + tax ($3.77 total)

As you can see from the picture above, they’ve got quite a variety of ingredients in this melt (that’s what the cashier referred to it as).  Included in the melt/cheesesteak were sauteed green peppers, sauteed red peppers, sauteed onions, grilled steak and melted cheese all inside warm flatbread.  Going back to the theme of Taco Bell re-using ingredients, you can probably recognize this is a twist on their usual Gordita with a slight change in ingredients.  Size-wise, it was about five to six inches long (again, the same size as a Gordita)

That said, the taste of this thing was pleasantly surprising.  I was expecting a disaster, but this thing was actually pretty good.  The vegetables were perfectly sauteed and the steak was tender and perfectly cooked.  The flatbread was also soft and chewy as well.  The only problem with this melt/cheesesteak was that it was a complete mess and barely held in the ingredients as they were plentifully stuffed in there.

Would I Buy It Again?  Yes and no.  I would buy it again if taste was the only consideration, but according to my budget, when you factor in a price of $3.49, the taste really isn’t worth it.  I’ve always been strictly a value menu guy that barely ventures into the regular menu, so that’s why the price is cost prohibitive to me.  If you like ordering items that are not on the value menu and price is less of a factor than taste to you, then I think you’ll enjoy ordering this item.

-IndianapolisEater