Visit #23: Monday, September 8, 2014: 5:33 PM

It was definitely time for yours truly to dine in at Taco Bell.  After all, it had been a long time.  How long, exactly?  I hadn't eaten inside one of the Border's fine dining establishments since June 16th.  Of course, that was the occasion when I became trapped inside the Border for a time during a hellacious thunderstorm.  Perhaps that threw an unconscious scare into me that contributed to my inadvertent hiatus of nearly 3 months.

There are definitely pluses and minuses to dining in at Taco Bell.  The biggest plus -- by far -- is the freshness of the food.  It can't make bad food taste good, but it can definitely make good food taste better.  Another plus:  you have easy and unlimited access to condiments and drink refills.  But there are certainly minuses, too.  Sometimes -- not always, and I'm sure to some degree that this phenomenon varies by location -- the whole place is crawling with people/families who clearly just cashed their monthly welfare check.  Another minus:  there is seemingly less of a commitment to speedy food preparation when compared with the urgency given to drive-thru orders.

Nevertheless, it's good to mix it up from time to time.

Item #53:  FRESCO STEAK BURRITO SUPREME

I am finally nearing the end of my burrito marathon.  There are two more burritos yet to come after this evening's Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme.  It's definitely been an uneven journey thus far.  From the Border's website:

"This Taco Bell fresco burrito is a warm, soft flour tortilla wrapped around marinated premium thick cut steak, hearty beans, tangy red sauce, crisp shredded lettuce, diced onions, diced ripe tomatoes, and pico de gallo."

Price:  $3.89

Taste:  6.0 (out of 10)

Value:  4.0 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  5.5 (out of 10)

Here is a menu item where the aforementioned "dining in"option is not really an option.  Why, you ask?  Because if you choose to order the Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme -- and only God knows why you would, when you could order the spectacularly better Steak Quesarito for almost $1.00 less -- you are dealing with my favorite dead horse to beat:  iceberg lettuce trapped in a hot, moist, enclosed space. Time is of the essence if you don't want to be chewing on mouthfuls of shredded lettuce slime.

The steak in this particular burrito was very tasty.  That's the only good thing I have to report, however.  The beans were adequate.  The red sauce did little more than slime up the "crisp" lettuce.  Onions are here, but they seem out of place.  No cheese?  No sour cream?  Oh right.  This is a fresco menu item.  I guess if you are looking to "eat healthy"and absolutely HAVE to eat at the Border then this is an option to consider.  But even then, while a bit more pricy, the Cantina Power Bowl is significantly tastier.

Item #54:  SPICY TOSTADA

The Spicy Tostada is a new menu item featured on the Border's Dollar Cravings Menu.  From the Border's website:

"A crunchy tostada shell topped with hearty beans, crisp lettuce, real cheese, tangy red sauce and creamy chipotle sauce."

Price:  $1.00

Taste:  7.5 (out of 10)

Value:  8.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  7.8 (out of 10)

Wow.  After consuming the mostly worthless Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme, perhaps my bar had been lowered a bit.  But the Spicy Tostada is without a doubt the best vegetarian, non-dessert menu item that I have experienced at Taco Bell to date.

It is very similar to the Mexican Pizza, but the Spicy Tostada is meatless and is constructed with only one tostada shell instead of two.  Oh, and it costs more than $2.00 less, so it's a MUCH better value.  And it revisits a very tasty sauce combination:  tangy red sauce and creamy chipotle sauce.  This same sauce combination was introduced in the Smothered Burrito, but there were so many other ingredients in that behemoth that these two sauces didn't particularly shine in that context.

Add to all of the above that the Spicy Tostada is both a decent helping of food quantity-wise and presents a nice level of heat and it's a no-brainer.  And it's fun to eat -- it's tough to get into your mouth without making a mess.  It's hard to believe that the same establishment is responsible for both the Fresco Steak Burrito Supreme and the Spicy Tostada.  If Taco Bell's management team was ever able to remove their heads entirely from their collective asses, the Border would probably take over the world.

Item #55:  CHEESY FIESTA POTATOES

From the Taco Bell website:

"Golden potatoes topped with warm nacho cheese sauce and reduced-fat sour cream."

Price:  $1.69

Taste:  7.0 (out of 10)

Value:  7.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  7.1 (out of 10)

I discovered a new condiment tonight:  picante sauce.  (Another reason why dining in at least occasionally is a good idea.)  Don't get me wrong -- I've had picante sauce before.  I just never knew that it was on offer at the Border.  I am not familiar with the Salsa Del Sol brand, either...that needs some further investigation.  Anyhow, I correctly assumed that it might taste really good on Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes.  

Taco Bell's foray into menu offerings featuring potatoes has been relatively successful from a flavor standpoint, with the notable and interesting exception being their potato-containing breakfast menu items.  Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes represent another successful notch on the potato belt.  Simple concept, relatively few ingredients, and it works.  Sour cream on potatoes is never a bad thing.  The texture of the potatoes was nicely crisp -- thanks once again, dining in.  The one thing lacking here is heat, and the picante sauce picked up the slack in that regard.

Tonight's receipt:

55 menu items down.  Only 6 more to go.  Live Mas!