The concept of a fresher, high-quality Taco Bell menu item runs almost counterintuitive to the Border's core philosophy: cheap, super tasty quasi-Mexican food for an awesome price, with the tradeoff of course being the inevitable visit much later that night (or much earlier the following morning) to the porcelain throne. I'm not sure if Taco Bell is horning in on Chipotle territory here as much as it might be cannibalizing its own core customers. Time will tell, I'm sure.
Item #43: STEAK CANTINA POWER BOWL
We're entering high-falootin' territory here, folks! From the Taco Bell website:
"Experience how high protein meets big flavor! 100% marinated and grilled steak, crisp romaine lettuce, guacamole made from real Hass avocados, pico de gallo prepared fresh daily, flavorful avocado ranch dressing, real cheddar cheese, and cool reduced-fat sour cream, all served on a bed of premium Latin rice and slow-simmered black beans."
Price: $5.79
Taste: 7.0 (out of 10)
Value: 5.0 (out of 10)
Overall Score: 6.5 (out of 10)
Here's the thing: if you -- as a fast food restaurant executive -- are going to market a highish-end salad, you had goddamn better be sure to have a kick-ass dressing to pull the whole thing together. Wendy's has been relatively successful in this regard. Chipotle, while not a "fast food" restaurant, made sure to develop a kick-ass dressing to accompany its salads. And make no mistake: the Cantina Power Bowl is a salad. Sounds good, right? Except that there is no salad dressing. None. As in none available. (Unless you count Fire Sauce.)
The packaging really is quite kick-ass, though:
So kudos to the Bell for that.
Seriously, though...you are giving me a lot of lettuce here, Taco Bell. It is Romaine lettuce, of an admittedly much higher quality than the Iceberg shards that inhabit the interiors of tacos and burritos of Taco Bell's "non-luxury" menu items. But it is lettuce. You can't expect me to choke that shit down NAKED. Yes, guacamole and sour cream are present. Yes, you can add Mild/Hot/Fire sauce to the mix. But you need to offer an acidic dressing to cut through the blandness of the lettuce. History has shown us this. It can't be that hard to come up with SOMETHING.
But NOTHING is what we have to settle for in that regard. Sigh.
There are some positives here: plenty of steak, first and foremost. The Romaine lettuce is also a welcome change compared to the Iceberg penitentiary that has been in power since the inception of my Live Mas adventure. There is also plenty of food, quantity-wise, in the Cantina Power Bowl. But guess what? There is also plenty of food, quantity-wise, present in a dozen other Taco Bell menu items that don't cost $5.79.
But NOTHING is what we have to settle for in that regard. Sigh.
There are some positives here: plenty of steak, first and foremost. The Romaine lettuce is also a welcome change compared to the Iceberg penitentiary that has been in power since the inception of my Live Mas adventure. There is also plenty of food, quantity-wise, in the Cantina Power Bowl. But guess what? There is also plenty of food, quantity-wise, present in a dozen other Taco Bell menu items that don't cost $5.79.
I admire the ostensible aim of establishing the Taco Bell Cantina line; I really do. Healthier food, higher quality ingredients...but does anyone EVER go to Taco Bell thinking about healthier food or higher quality ingredients? I sort of doubt it.
From a taste perspective, it seems like a pretty simple fix: make salad dressing available. For those Taco Bell purists who argue that dressing has no place at Taco Bell, I would remind you of the Waffle Taco. Which comes with a packet of fucking MAPLE SYRUP. If maple syrup can find a home at Taco Bell, surely a Mexican-influenced dressing can pull up a chair at the table. Just sayin'.
The receipt from my "power" meal:
Till the next round, later!
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