Visit #4: Monday, May 26, 2014: 2:39 PM

I don't believe this particular topic has been explored on the "Live Mas" blog up to this point, but I tend to be forgetful.  Not all the time, and usually not about important things -- there really doesn't seem to be a rhyme or a reason to it.  But forgetfulness reared its head once again this afternoon.  What happened this afternoon?  Visit #4 to Taco Bell.  You may recall that in my last post that I was going to let "The Cravinator" app choose my meal selections for Visit #4.  I, however, completely forgot about this directive when I found myself staring at the Taco Bell menu board on this Memorial Day Monday.  So I apologize for this oversight.

Item #8:  DOUBLE DECKER TACO SUPREME

I feel as if the Double Decker Taco is a massively under marketed item on the Bell menu.  I didn't even know it existed until I saw it on the Taco Bell website a short time ago.  Its premise intrigued me for a couple of reasons:  1. In concept it is rather similar to the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, which I enjoyed; and 2. The refried beans that I had admittedly tasted only once before (in an order of Nachos Supreme) were very tasty on that single occasion.  The official Taco Bell website description:

"A warm, soft flour tortilla spread with hearty beans and wrapped around a crunchy corn taco shell filled with seasoned beef, real cheddar cheese, crisp shredded lettuce, diced ripe tomatoes and reduced-fat sour cream."

Price:  $1.89

Taste:  8.0 (out of 10)

Value:  8.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  8.1 (out of 10)

This menu selection delivered pretty much as I expected that it would.  In the pic you can see the soft flour tortilla peeled back to reveal the tasty refried beans.  Inside this layer is the crunchy taco shell.  You get a lot of food for $1.89.  (Compare to the $2.49 paid for the Cheesy Gordita Crunch.)  And it's a pretty tasty combination of flavors and textures as well, though ultimately it falls a bit short of the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, perhaps because there is no pepper jack sauce to be found here.  However, the beans add a nice flavor contrast and make it a bit more hearty as well.  In addition, the always-pleasing crunchy-soft texture contrast is present here.  This is a very solid value and an item I will almost certainly order again.

Item #9:  FRESCO STEAK SOFT TACO

I realize that Taco Bell is not out to compete directly with Chipotle.  They inhabit somewhat different market segments:  Taco Bell seeks to fill the low-cost (but still tasty) Tex-Mex food segment, while Chipotle skews a bit more towards higher cost/fresher ingredients/better quality.  But let me gripe about something for a moment:  one aspect of Chipotle's food that I truly enjoy is their lettuce.  I do not know this for a fact, but it appears to be shredded Romaine lettuce.  (Taco Bell's lettuce product is without question shredded Iceberg lettuce.)

The more tender Romaine lettuce provides a more refined mouth feel.  ("Mouth feel" is one of those foodie terms that I try to avoid, but it seems appropriate here.)  Iceberg lettuce is appropriate in certain settings:  I enjoy it on cold subs, for instance.  But when it is mixed with a heated meat component, it can degenerate into something that takes on a less-than-appealing texture.  Romaine does not seem to be susceptible to this phenomenon.  I bring up the lettuce comparison here in the context of the Fresco Steak Soft Taco.  The official Taco Bell website description:

"This Taco Bell Fresco taco is a warm, soft flour tortilla filled with grilled steak, crisp shredded lettuce, and pico de gallo."

Price:  $1.99

Taste:  6.0 (out of 10)

Value:  4.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  5.6 (out of 10)

The reason for the lettuce discussion above:  if you are going to eliminate one of the hardcore components of nearly all Taco Bell menu items -- cheese -- then you had better be damn sure that what is left tastes good.  But the "pico" (seemed like diced tomatoes to me) and lettuce without the usual accompanying cheese is just kind of bland and slightly gross.  The steak here was decent, but the $1.99 price tag was ridiculous.

When compared to the LOWER-PRICED $1.89 Double Decker Taco Supreme, it's no contest.  I realize that this menu item is there to ostensibly offer a lower-calorie option.  And it is true that omitting cheese lowers the caloric content.  But the incredible-tasting Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco (see my blog post for Visit #1) has only 170 calories.  This one clocked in at 160 calories.  So i order to save 10 calories you have to eat something that tastes like crap?  No thanks.  You can (and should) do better, Taco Bell.

Item #10:  SMOTHERED BURRITO (Shredded Chicken)

The Smothered Burrito is a relatively recent Taco Bell menu addition that was the subject of a rather intense marketing campaign.  It comes in its own plastic bowl, and it is rather visually appealing:  lots of cheese, lots of red sauce, and a nice, fat burrito topped with sour cream.  Having said that, however, I was not prepared for the price of this menu item:  $3.99.  That's poking into real Mexican restaurant price territory, so Taco Bell had better be prepared to deliver the goods taste-wise.  The official Taco Bell website description:

"Our new Smothered Burrito is filled with shredded chicken, premium Latin rice, hearty beans, and creamy chipotle sauce.  Then it's smothered with red sauce, loads of melted cheeses and topped with reduced-fat sour cream."

Price:  $3.99

Taste:  7.0 (out of 10)

Value:  4.0 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  6.3 (out of 10)

I will say this for the Smothered Burrito:  it did taste pretty good.  I was a fan of the beans, the chicken and the tangy red sauce.  It had a nice spice note to it as well.  But the rice.  Oh, the rice.  I would estimate that two-thirds of this sizable burrito's heft is due to the "premium Latin rice."  It didn't taste bad, but there was just so much of it.  Total rice overkill (and buzzkill).

Another plus:  This was a pretty filling menu item.  (But then again, it had better be for 4 bucks.)  But meat was difficult to find.  So were the beans.  I keep coming back to the rice.  Why, Taco Bell?  Why so much rice?  The Smothered Burrito had the potential to be a total home run.  Taco Bell seems to have viewed it as a way to charge $4 for something that could/should cost considerably less.  Consider the $2.49-priced Cheesy Potato Burrito.  It offers just as much heft, and comparably good taste (though is sauceless), for a much more reasonable price.  Even at $3.29 or so -- which should be enough of a financial cushion to allow for the addition of red sauce and plastic packaging -- this would be a much more palatable menu option.

I should note once again that the red sauce was really tasty.  The dish did have more of a traditional Mexican taste than anything I have previously experienced at Taco Bell.  But I could get a $4 chicken burrito at a Mexican restaurant with much more meat and much less rice filler.  The Smothered Burrito is not "Living Mas."  Shame on you, Taco Bell.

My receipt for Visit #4...Note that I got Happy Hour pricing on my Diet Mountain Dew!