Welcome back, dear reader. At this point it has been a full 4-1/2 weeks since my last visit to the Border. I have even pondered giving up on my Live Mas adventure on a couple of occasions over the past month or so. (Yes, it's true.) Part of my Taco Bell listlessness is probably attributable to my most recent visit, when I tried the Cantina Power Bowl. Was this what Taco Bell's future held? I had become a bit disenchanted after consuming that $6.00 bowl of lettuce. Without dressing. After all, Taco Bell became a successful company by peddling cheap and tasty quasi-Mexican junk food, not $6.00 bowls of lettuce. Let's face it: I needed a kickstart in the worst way.
Enter the kickstart: Over the course of the past week or so I became aware of some new Taco Bell menu additions: the Taco Bell "Dollar Cravings" menu. This new marketing initiative became the impetus to re-start my Live Mas adventure. I wasn't too optimistic from a flavor perspective, given my experiences with dollar menu offerings at other fast food establishments. But this new menu DEFINITELY seemed more rooted in Taco Bell's core strengths and called for some objective investigation.
Item #44: BEEFY MINI QUESADILLA
First up on this evening's Dollar Cravings Menu trifecta: the Beefy Mini Quesadilla. From the Taco Bell website:
"Seasoned beef combined with creamy chipotle sauce and a three cheese blend, folded in a freshly grilled flour tortilla."
Price: $1.00 (Remember, this is the "Dollar Cravings" menu!)
Taste: 8.5 (out of 10)
Value: 9.0 (out of 10)
Overall Score: 8.6 (out of 10)
Taco Bell, dear Taco Bell, this is what you are soooooo good at. (Yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition. This is a blog, not a goddamn term paper.) The Beefy Mini Quesadilla (BMQ) is an absolute home run. The textures are pitch perfect, the flavor is spot on -- have I mentioned lately how I prefer the taste of a grilled tortilla -- and the value is damn near unbeatable. While I have always enjoyed the full-size quesadilla offered by the Border, the BMQ is actually a MUCH better value without sacrificing anything of significance (other than the steak option).
As you may recall from earlier posts, the Border's mysterious Chipotle sauce made appearances in both the excellent Quesarito and the somewhat underwhelming Smothered Burrito. (The BMQ definitely shares more qualities with the Quesarito than with the Smothered Burrito.) Here the Chipotle sauce marries perfectly with Taco Bell's always-excellent ground beef and the three-cheese blend. To quote another way-more-disgusting fast-food restaurant's slogan, I'm lovin' it.
Item #45: SPICY POTATO SOFT TACO
Much earlier in my Live Mas adventure -- I believe it was on my 6th visit to the Bell -- I sampled the Crispy Potato Soft Taco. This menu item is no longer technically available, but most of the components have been reincarnated into a new menu selection known as the "Spicy Potato Soft Taco." From the Border's website:
"A warm, soft tortilla filled with crispy potato bites, real cheddar cheese, crisp shredded lettuce and creamy chipotle sauce."
Price: $1.00 (Remember, this is the "Dollar Cravings" menu!)
Taste: 8.0 (out of 10)
Value: 7.5 (out of 10)
Overall Score: 7.9 (out of 10)
Once again, the Chipotle sauce plays a starring role here. And that is definitely a good thing. The textures and other ingredients pretty much mirror the earlier Crispy Potato Soft Taco offered by Taco Bell. (Interestingly, the price on this earlier menu incarnation was $0.99.) But the Chipotle sauce bumps the heat level on the new menu offering up to a nice level. As far as meatless tacos go, this one is definitely tough to beat.
Item #46: CHEESY BEAN & RICE BURRITO
I have probably mentioned this before -- but can you really blame me for repeating myself when I am closing in on 50 different menu items consumed at this point? -- but a very underrated component in several excellent Border menu offerings is Taco Bell's refried beans. (I seem to have a weird singular-plural conflict in that last sentence that I don't want to spend time resolving.) The latest menu offering to put these beans to good use is the Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito. From the Taco Bell website:
"Hearty beans, cilantro rice, warm nacho cheese, and creamy jalapeño sauce wrapped up in a flour tortilla."
Price: $1.00 (Remember, this is the "Dollar Cravings" menu!)
Taste: 8.0 (out of 10)
Value: 8.5 (out of 10)
Overall Score: 8.1 (out of 10)
There are three magical sauces on offer from the Border which seem to have the power to elevate pretty much any run-of-the-mill menu item to a stature that it has no inherent right to occupy: Chipotle sauce, the rarely-seen Pepper Jack sauce, and the creamy Jalapeño sauce that makes an appearance here.
The composition of the Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito is simple, but oh-so-effective. The beans play the "meat" role here, and the nacho cheese does an adequate job providing the salty flavor component. In addition, the rice is a perfect textural contrast to the creamy Jalapeño sauce and nacho cheese,.
In fact, to date, the Cheesy Bean & Rice Burrito is the top-rated meatless menu option that I have consumed. Nicely done, Taco Bell.
Tonight's receipt:
Needless to say, tonight's excursion through three selections on the Dollar Cravings menu has done much to restore my faith in the Border. Viva la Taco Bell!
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