Visit #15: Sunday, July 6, 2014: 3:49 PM

One of the over-riding themes of my Live Mas adventure thus far seems to be that when I am relatively certain that I am going to dislike a particular menu item, it turns out that that particular menu item actually tastes pretty damn good.  That theme would continue on this particular visit to the Border.  But I think this phenomenon also speaks to a larger tendency in the American mindset:  if I like something, why would I try something new that I might not like?

My answer to that conundrum is that I might like the "new something" better than the known, liked something.

Item #35:  LOADED POTATO GRILLER

Earlier in my Live Mas adventure -- in fact it may have been on my very first visit -- I experienced the Cheesy Potato Burrito.  My biggest issues with that cheesy, starchy monster were that it was a bit too much quantity-wise and the texture was a tad too one-note in nature.  On today's docket was the Cheesy Potato Burrito's "little brother," the Loaded Potato Griller.

The official Taco Bell website description:

"Delivers the taste of loaded potato skins because we take our crispy potato bites, cover them with warm nacho cheese sauce, flavorful bacon, cool reduced-fat sour cream and wrap all of those delicious ingredients up in a warm flour tortilla and grill it so it's ready to eat on the go."

Price:  $1.00

Taste:  8.0 (out of 10)

Value:  9.0 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  8.3 (out of 10)

From the official description and also from my own tastebuds, the only differences I can detect between the Cheesy Potato Burrito and the Loaded Potato Griller are:

1.  The Loaded Potato Griller is appreciably smaller.

2.  The tortilla enclosing the Loaded Potato Griller is grilled.

3.  The Loaded Potato Griller has bacon!

All three of the differences move the taste needle in a positive direction.  The crispy little pieces of bacon add a punch of flavor and help to break up the monotonous potato texture.  As noted in previous blog posts, I am a fan of the grilled tortilla flavor.  And the size is so much more manageable.  Plus, it only costs a buck between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.  What's not to love?

Item #36:  7-LAYER BURRITO

The 7-Layer Burrito is where the aforementioned over-riding theme had a chance to rear its head once again.  The deck was seemingly stacked against me liking this item based on its components, so if the theme held, I would have to like this burrito.

The official Taco Bell website description:

"A warm, soft flour tortilla wrapped around premium Latin rice, hearty beans, a three-cheese blend, crisp shredded lettuce, diced ripe tomatoes, reduced-fat sour cream, and chunky guacamole."

Price:  $2.59

Taste:  7.0 (out of 10)

Value:  5.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  6.6 (out of 10)

The 7-Layer Burrito had seemingly innumerable undesirable qualities at first glance:  lettuce in a heated, enclosed space; an ungrilled tortilla; a complete lack of meat; and guacamole.  This would be my first toe-dip into the Border's guacamole pool.  But then a funny thing happened:  it kind of tasted good.  I didn't hate it.  What the hell was going on here???

I am not sure whether it was a particularly good-tasting batch of beans, or the unexpectedly not-unplesant tanginess of the guacamole, or the cheese and sour cream ooziness...but whatever it was, it worked.  The 7-Layer Burrito is certainly not my favorite Taco Bell menu item.  But given a menu item using all of these ingredients, and no others, it is hard for me to imagine better execution.  I do have a bit of a problem paying nearly 3 bucks for a meatless burrito, however.

Item #37:  CRUNCHY TACO SUPREME

And now I return to the beginning.  In an earlier post I wrote of the inception of the relationship between the Border and myself.  Strictly speaking, there is a key variation between the Crunchy Taco first experienced in my (relative) youth and the item I sampled this afternoon:  I went with the Crunchy Taco SUPREME today.  But at its heart it is still the plain Jane staple I scarfed down each and every time I visited Taco Bell prior to a few years ago.

From the Taco Bell website:

"A crunchy, corn taco shell filled with seasoned beef, reduced-fat sour cream, crisp shredded lettuce, real cheddar cheese, and diced ripe tomatoes."

Price:  $1.39

Taste:  7.5 (out of 10)

Value:  6.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  7.3 (out of 10)

I can say this much authoritatively:  I have thoroughly spoiled by the two Doritos crunchy taco variants that I have tried thus far.  The "plain" corn taco shell employed here was still texturally pleasing, but it certainly tasted a bit bland compared to the Doritos variants.  Otherwise, the tasty beef, sour cream and cheese combination worked as well as ever here.  But it is hard to justify paying $1.39 for this taco when the Doritos variants cost just 40 cents more.

The receipt from this afternoon's installment of my Live Mas adventure:

Keep it real 'til next time, dear reader!

Visit #14: Wednesday, July 2, 2014: 6:08 PM

Occasionally when shopping for groceries at my local supermarket I will come across Taco Bell-branded products.  It's always a bit unexpected.  Last week at the supermarket I encountered some Taco Bell-branded sour cream dips.  They were available in 2 varieties:  jalapeño and habanero.  As they were relatively inexpensive, I bought one container of each.

I should mention that I used to be a hardcore salsa guy when it came to my preferred topping for crispy tortilla chips.  At some point in the past 18 months -- it was actually more of a gradual process than one particular point in time, I suppose -- I became pretty much a total convert to sour cream-style dips.  They tend to be tastier, with more depth of flavor, and much less expensive.  But from a heat perspective, the "spicy" sour cream dips always left a bit more to be desired when compared to "spicy" salsas.

No more, my friends.  The habanero Taco Bell sour cream dip brings the heat and then some.  About 5 chips in you will feel the burn.  But this dip manages to be mighty tasty at the same time.  I haven't opened the jalapeño variety yet, but it promises to be a bit milder.

Item #34:  CRUNCHWRAP SUPREME

The Crunchwrap Supreme:  undoubtedly the favorite Taco Bell menu selection of my girlfriend.  Prior to this evening's meal, I believe that I had only tried the Crunchwrap Supreme on one occasion.

The official Taco Bell website description:

"A warm, soft, flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, warm nacho cheese sauce, a crunchy toasted shell, reduced-fat sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes and then wrapped up and grilled for maximum portability."

Price:  $2.89

Taste:  7.5 (out of 10)

Value:  6.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  7.3 (out of 10)

This Crunchwrap Supreme experience was somewhat better than I remember my initial experience being.  I believe this is primarily due to the fact that I consumed this one immediately after ordering it; on the previous occasion, there was approximately a 5-to-10 minute delay.  This time crunch (no pun intended) affects two ingredients primarily:  the crunchy shell and the lettuce.

First, the lettuce.  I have railed earlier against Taco Bell's tendency to wrap lettuce in an non-breathable burrito.  It just doesn't make sense.  Even upon consuming almost immediately, the lettuce still managed to take on a slightly slimy quality.  Secondly, the crunchy shell contained within the Crunchwrap Supreme wilts even more rapidly in the enclosed space than it would in say, a Crunchy Taco.  It is therefore critical to eat the Crunchwrap Supreme very quickly.

From a taste perspective, the Crunchwrap Supreme is pleasing enough, but just a tad bland for my liking.  Everything works pretty well together, but a few minor alterations might make it a bit more successful from my viewpoint:  1.  Lose the lettuce.  (Duh.)  2.  Swap the super-tasty but rarely-used pepper jack sauce for the nacho cheese sauce currently used.  3.  Make a steak option available.

From a value standpoint, the Crunchwrap Supreme is a reasonable amount of food for the price, but it falls short when compared with other offerings from the Border.  I believe the relatively high price is due primarily to the somewhat complicated construction process.

While the Crunchwrap Supreme is a classic Taco Bell menu item that is not likely to be retired any time soon, a couple of minor tweaks could result in an improved product.  (But again, that's just my opinion.)

The receipt:

Until next time, dear reader, Live Mas.

Visit #13: Sunday, June 29, 2014: 5:19 PM

Burritos, burritos, so many burritos.  At the end of my last post I took stock of what remained of my Live Mas adventure.  While I concluded that less than 50% of the Taco Bell menu lay ahead of me, unfortunately much of the uncompleted portion of the menu appears to be inhabited by my principal nemesis, the burrito.  As avoidance will get me no closer to my ultimate goal, onwards we go, dear reader.

Item #31:  COMBO BURRITO

By my count, there are no fewer than 12 principal varieties of burrito on offer at the Border:

I have conquered the following burritos thus far (in chronological order):

1.  Cheesy Potato Burrito

2.  Smothered Burrito

3.  Bean Burrito

4.  Steak & Egg Burrito (breakfast)

5.  Burrito Supreme

6.  Beefy 5-Layer Burrito

On this visit:

7.  Combo Burrito

Yet to come:

8.  Cantina Burrito

9.  7-Layer Burrito

10.  Black Bean Burrito

11.  Fresco Burrito Supreme

12.  XXL Grilled Stuft Burrito

That is a lot of fucking burritos.

The official Taco Bell website description for the Combo Burrito:

"A warm, soft flour tortilla loaded with a double portion of seasoned beef filled with hearty beans, onions, real cheddar cheese, and tangy red sauce."

Price:  $2.19

Taste:  7.5 (out of 10)

Value:  6.5 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  7.3 (out of 10)

I have to confess that at this point all of the burritos are starting to run together a little bit in my Taco Bell consciousness.  I did not notice a large difference between the Combo burrito and the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, even though the Combo Burrito cost nearly $1.00 more.  If anything, the flavor was a bit more on the bland side here.  And while the Taco Bell website claims a double portion of beef in the Combo Burrito, I didn't find it to be appreciably more filling than the Beefy 5-Layer Burrito.

Also, this is one of the seemingly random menu items where chopped onions make an appearance.  There seems to be no rhyme or reason that determines where these things are included.  They do add an interesting crunch here and there, but not much in the way of flavor.  This could easily be remedied by using red onions instead of white onions.  But I won't hold my breath on this one.

The bottom line:  There is little to distinguish the Combo Burrito from the rest of Taco Bell's burrito lineup.

Item #32:  MOUNTAIN DEW BAJA BLAST FREEZE

I managed to get a fair amount of sunburn working outdoors yesterday.  Sunburn sucks.  I didn't get too sunburnt yesterday, but I think I still might rather have a cold than sunburn.  (Of course, if I had a cold, I would probably say that I would rather have sunburn.)  Plus, it was roughly 85 degrees with 85% humidity all day yesterday and today.  All of which is to say that my skin is on fire and my body thermostat is set to "HEAT" for the time being.  I thought, "Why not try an ice cold beverage?"

The website description:

"The Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze is a refreshing frozen soft drink with the flavor and energy of Mountain Dew and a blast of tropical lime."

Price:  $2.09

Taste:  8.0 (out of 10)

Value:  7.0 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  7.8 (out of 10)

I am not a big frozen drink guy.  Give me a cold beer over a margarita any day of the week.  But this one tasted surprisingly good.  The frozen texture still managed to allow for a fair bit of carbonation, which was a nice surprise.  Having said that, however, the Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze (that's a mouthful of name right there) didn't really taste much like Mountain Dew or tropical lime.  (Is there such a thing as a non-tropical lime?)  But it was a nice change of pace on an extremely warm day.

Item #33:  BLACK BEANS AND RICE

There is a trio of side dishes available at Taco Bell that I never even knew existed prior to my Live Mas adventure.  Each of these side dishes come in a dish/bowl type of container.  The first is Black Beans and Rice, which I tried tonight.  Also available are Pintos & Cheese, and the Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes.  Can you guess which one of the three I expected to consume sans cheese?  I will give you a hint, dear reader:  that's right, the one that didn't have cheese in its name.

The website description:

"Premium Latin rice topped with flavorful black beans."

Price:  $1.49

Taste:  7.0 (out of 10)

Value:  6.0 (out of 10)

Overall Score:  6.8 (out of 10)

First of all, let me say this:  the Black Beans & Rice on offer from the Border did not taste bad.  It was pretty much what I expected.  Except for one thing:  there was a pretty substantial layer of cheese on top of the beans and rice.  (See official Taco Bell description above; note that there is absolutely no mention of cheese.)  This layer of cheese is plainly visible in the picture above.  This cheese did not impart a strong, cheesy flavor, however; it mainly served to help smooth out what could be a rather fibrous texture if the beans and rice were left to their own devices.

My bottom line for Taco Bell's Black Beans and Rice:  It was filling, but not extraordinary from a flavor perspective.  I do have a slight problem paying $1.49 for a menu item that does not include any meat.  And the inclusion of the rather heavy cheese layer does pretty much disqualify any claims that this menu item might have to "healthy alternative" status.  But it still does offer an "off-the-beaten-path" quality that may appeal to some.

Bonus:  it comes with a spork.

My receipt for tonight's meal:

Keep it real, my peeps.