FastFoodSnob.com

Price: $0.89

Availability: participating Bells

Location: 3511 W. Devon Ave., Chicago, IL 60659 (map); phone: (773) 588-9712

Rating: 3 out of 5 – acceptable

It’s interesting that when I finally got around to reviewing something from Taco Bell, there’s a new salmonella scare surrounding raw tomatoes that’s got chains around the country pulling fresh tomatoes off their menus. Taco Bell is, of course, not immune to the dangers of bad marketing (nor unfeeling as to its customers’ health), so it was fortuitous that I already wanted to check out a menu item that included no diced tomatoes whatsoever. (The additional Fire Sauce I sprinkled on later presumably uses fully cooked tomatoes in its formula.)

Taco Bell has been making some additions to its Value Menu lately, and the most recently advertised Cheesy Double Beef Burrito seemed appetizing enough to try. Considering its simple composition (”A fresh tortilla filled with double the seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, seasoned rice and red sauce”), I wasn’t really expecting to be blown away — and just to get that out of the way, I wasn’t. But it’s not a bad deal if you don’t mind ground beef (which I find tasty in burritos and tacos from the Bell and elsewhere) or the slightly liquid-y nacho cheese sauce. The seasonings for the beef and rice were terrific as far as Taco Bell is concerned, as I remember the beef tasting (and looking) worse 10 years ago.

I don’t know what’s included in the “red sauce” that rounds out the list of ingredients in this new burrito bad boy, but along with the nacho cheese, this combination of flavors actually didn’t have me pulling for the hot sauce until I was well over halfway through. A trip to Taco Bell generally means multiple packets of Fire Sauce per order for me, so that could be considered somewhat of an accomplishment. (The Fire Sauce packets are the red ones with bits of veggies and spices thrown in, as opposed to the mostly liquid Mild and Hot Sauces.) By the end of my tortilla, however, I grew somewhat weary of the easy chewing and simplicity of contents. I began thinking about how the cheesy softness reminded me of mac & cheese and began coveting the challenge of harder meats like the pricier steak and chicken. For now this would have to do, but it’s not that bad when it’s just under a buck.

Tags: acceptable, beef, burritos, cheese, cheesy, Double, Fire Sauce, ground beef, nacho, review, rice, sauce, seasoned, Taco Bell, tortilla, Value Menu

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 at 12:12 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.