Dear reader, we have arrived. Where, you ask, have we arrived? At the initial conclusion of my Live Mas adventure. I say "initial" because the devious food scientists on the Border's payroll have no doubt been busy at work concocting the next wave of tasty (hopefully), quasi-Mexican menu newcomers. There will be more blog posts to come.
The journey has been a bit surreal. It's difficult to believe -- but appropriate -- that my Live Mas adventure began exactly 4 months ago, on May 18th, 2014. Over those 4 months, I consumed more than 60 different menu items. And believe it or not, I am not weary of eating Taco Bell's food. In fact, I am excited to return to the Border and re-try some of my favorite menu items without the burden of formally documenting my dining experience.
Visit #26 was in one way a first for me: I visited Taco Bell during my lunch break at work. It turns out that "dining in" during lunch hour means that you will be completely surrounded by senior citizens. Who knew that the Border was such a draw for the geriatric crowd?
Without further ado...
Item #60: CANTINA POWER BURRITO (STEAK)
The official Taco Bell website description:
"Experience how high protein meets BIG flavor! Marinated and grilled thick cut 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 wrapped in a warm flour tortilla."
Price: $4.79
Taste: 7.5 (out of 10)
Value: 5.0 (out of 10)
Overall Score: 6.9 (out of 10)
The Cantina Power Burrito shares many similarities with the related Cantina Power Bowl. Fortunately, one way it which it differs is that there is less lettuce. (That goddamned Cantina Power Bowl had sooooo much fucking lettuce in it.)
From a taste perspective, the Cantina Power Burrito works pretty well. The guacamole wasn't even particularly off-putting here, even though it's definitely not my favorite condiment. The steak was very well-seasoned and succeeded in providing the necessary textural contrast.
In fact, my primary gripe about the Cantina Power Burrito was its internal temperature. You'll notice from the official website description that there are quite a few ingredients that comprise this item. You might also notice that the only HOT ingredient is steak. Lettuce, guac, pico, ranch, cheese, sour cream...all of the other ingredients are cold. The result is that the interior of this burrito soon becomes lukewarm. And a bit sludgy.
Taco Bell is eager to boast of the high protein content in this burrito. Here's a way to add even more protein, yet also keep the interior piping hot, as it should be: Add some beans! (You're welcome, Taco Bell. I just keep solving your problems and correcting your missteps.) And do we really need both fresh guac AND avocado ranch dressing?
All in all, however, the Cantina Power Burrito does garner a higher score than the Cantina Power Bowl. Its size is more manageable, its price is $1.00 less, and it contains a much more reasonable amount of lettuce -- although I will say that using romaine lettuce in both items is a nice touch.
Item #61: MOUNTAIN DEW KICKSTART BLACK CHERRY FREEZE
The official Border website description:
"The Mountain Dew Kickstart Black Cherry Freeze is a refreshing frozen soft drink with the flavor and energy of Black Cherry Mountain Dew Kickstart."
Price: $2.69
Taste: 3.5 (out of 10)
Value: 7.0 (out of 10)
Overall Score: 4.4 (out of 10)
I am not the world's biggest fan of frozen drinks. So I was relatively surprised when I found that I rather enjoyed the Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze. That experience gave me hope that I would enjoy the Mountain Dew Kickstart Black Cherry Freeze. As it turns out, that hope was misplaced. It was false hope. VERY false hope.
The first sip was sweet. VERY sweet. I took another sip and almost gagged. This drink is disgusting. It's hard for me to imagine that anyone would find this taste appealing.
My first thought was that it was like drinking ice-cold water so saturated with sugar that its texture became almost honey-like, but without any of the tasty flavor of honey. Instead, one gets slapped in the tastebuds with a decidedly horrible flavor that is vaguely reminiscent of what I would imagine is spoiled cherries.
In its totality, it was just an awful experience. It saddens me that my last "official" visit to the Bell in the near future was sullied with such a terrible, terrible drink. The Mountain Dew Kickstart Black Cherry Freeze garnered the lowest "taste" score of any item during my entire Live Mas adventure.
To add insult to injury, I had unfortunately ordered the larger of the two available sizes. For only the second time on my Live Mas adventure, I left an item unfinished.
Dear reader, stay away from this one.
**UPDATE: As of early October 2014, Taco Bell has discontinued the Mountain Dew Kickstart Black Cherry Freeze. Thank Christ.**
The receipt from the final installment (for now) of my Live Mas adventure:
Stay tuned, dear reader. There is more to come!
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