# Has there ever been a less appetizing food item than Taco Bell's new black taco? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 12, 2009, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482 "2009-10-12T02:48:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/21 "2009-10-12T14:15:35Z")
It’s actually not bad at all, as far as Taco Bell food goes. Nothing to write home about, but tasty. It looks like its made with really dark blue corn, but I’m willing to bet there is some food coloring added to the masa. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/22 "2009-10-12T14:21:44Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Yeah, and then cheese? > > What the hell were those guys thinking anyway? Did they pull items from a hat to decide what would go in the bowl? Actually I thought the bowl would have been really tasty if it didn’t accentuate the reconstituted-ness of the mashed potatoes for some reason. Now I can’t even eat regular mashed potatoes from KFC without tasting that same papery flash frozen potato “goodness”. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/23 "2009-10-12T15:15:14Z")
I sort of make a version of the KFC bowl at home that is actually really good. On the bottom is a layer of mashed potatoes. In the middle is a layer of cubed, baked chicken covered in country gravy. On the top is a layer of biscuits. I make it about once a year as a comfort food kind of thing and I don’t care what anyone says it is delicious. Of course that might be because it isn’t covered in corn and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/24 "2009-10-12T15:47:34Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > This is the most grotesque food item ever proposed: > > [http://www.hulu.com/watch/1447/saturday-night-live-taco-town](http://www.hulu.com/watch/1447/saturday-night-live-taco-town) I want to go to there. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/25 "2009-10-12T16:04:04Z")
Yes, that was it, the Crunchwrap Supreme! Neat and convenient for eating in the car while driving, lol! I don’t think this new black taco is going to be around long, judging by the sheer revulsion at the very sight! I would bet good money food color makes it that lovely shade. Wouldn’t natural blue or black corn be too expensive to use? No, I think Taco Bell is putting this baby out just to get attention and it will just be one of those things you argue about years later - “didn’t TB have a black taco at one time?” ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/26 "2009-10-12T16:26:07Z")
The KFC bowl is totally delicious, although I could do without the corn. It may seem like goofy overkill, but it’s really basically just an American equivalent of a Shephard’s Pie. I won’t even attempt to defend this nightmare of Taco Bell’s, though. Arbitrary edition of food coloring is not culinary breakthrough. Sadly, I probably go to Taco Bell at least once every couple months and am invariably disappointed. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me regularly every six-to-eight weeks… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/27 "2009-10-12T16:39:19Z")
Leave it to Taco Bell to frack up a taco. That purple thing was a nasty abomination. I sure aint trying the black version. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/28 "2009-10-12T17:18:55Z")
I don’t understand the revulsion. I think it looks tasty, and I’ll go try it soon. Yeah, it’s a total gimmick, but why, precisely, does the black color make you think it will taste bad? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/29 "2009-10-12T17:31:24Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I don’t understand the revulsion. I think it looks tasty, and I’ll go try it soon. Yeah, it’s a total gimmick, but why, precisely, does the black color make you think it will taste bad? I’m sure it will taste like a regular hard-shell taco, but it _looks_ unappetizing. They could make dark black potato chips with enough food coloring, but most people wouldn’t find that very alluring. Hell, you could dye just about any food black, but I think that would be a turn-off for 90% of people. It looks unnatural. If there was a legitimate reason for the taco being coal-black, then fine. However, it’s just a marketing ploy, like their Volcano Taco, which also has no business being fuchsia. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/30 "2009-10-12T17:34:50Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I’m sure it will taste like a regular hard-shell taco, but it _looks_ unappetizing. They could make dark black potato chips with enough food coloring, but most people wouldn’t find that very alluring. Hell, you could dye just about any food black, but I think that would be a turn-off for 90% of people. It looks unnatural. If there was a legitimate reason for the taco being coal-black, then fine. However, it’s just a marketing ploy, like their Volcano Taco, which also has no business being fuchsia. At least in the Volcano one there’s a semblance of sense. It’s extra-hot. Red = hot. And some foods ARE bright red, so it’s not THAT unnatural looking (I’ve even seen bright red tortilla chips before). But I’d be hard pressed to name any foods that are BLACK. Let’s see…I can think of mussel shells, oil sunflower seeds, REALLY burnt hot dogs, and goth cakes. None of which screams, “hooray, taco.” ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/31 "2009-10-12T17:42:55Z")
Apparently, [black tortillas](http://www.hobotraveler.com/2009/01/black-and-white-tortillas.html) are not unknown in Guatemala. I would have no problem paying 90 cents for one of those if I knew the color came from the corn, although I disagree with the one poster who said it looks healthier. It’s just pigment after all. If it’s added artificial food coloring, I reject it, not because food coloring is necessarily unhealthy but because I don’t think non-food substances should be deliberately and capriciously added to food for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/32 "2009-10-12T17:47:48Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I was watching football this afternoon and saw an ad that I thought was a parody. Just wanted to say that I thought the exact same thing. I was watching the Steelers with my son, at my gf’s house. I was a lil drunk. I thought it was a parody and I thought it was funny. When I realized it wasn’t a joke, I was disappointed. Haven’t eaten fast food in years, and I won’t be changing to try this. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/33 "2009-10-12T17:52:50Z")
All right, apparently natural pigment from blue (black) corn might have some tiny [health benefits](http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/article.html?article_id=44154) after all (although I still wouldn’t consider a fast food taco health food). ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/34 "2009-10-12T17:53:05Z")
I’d eat it. I’m not attracted to the black color, but I have no problem with it, either. But then, I’m confident that a blood orange isn’t full of blood, and I understand that brain-shaped Jello at Halloween is really just jello. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/35 "2009-10-12T18:12:17Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > This is the most grotesque food item ever proposed: > > [http://www.hulu.com/watch/1447/saturday-night-live-taco-town](http://www.hulu.com/watch/1447/saturday-night-live-taco-town) The odd thing about that SNL ad is that it’s not so outrageous that you can’t imagine an eating establishment actually having an item like that on their menu someday. Incidentally, if you Google “Taco Town taco”, you’ll find a number of people have tried to duplicate the “recipe” for those tacos. [QUOTE=typoink] But I’d be hard pressed to name any foods that are BLACK. Let’s see…I can think of mussel shells, oil sunflower seeds, REALLY burnt hot dogs, and goth cakes. None of which screams, “hooray, taco.” [/QUOTE] There’s also licorice but unless it’s some type of candy, a licorice taco doesn’t sound that appetizing. And I think they look more dark blue than black. I just figure Taco Bell is calling them black because it’s sounds cooler and a lot of people have a mental block against eating blue food. ---
**Author:** ![troub](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troub/32/14802_2.png) [@troub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troub)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/36 "2009-10-12T18:23:02Z")
People make enough jokes about the effects of Taco Bell on their excretory system, and now they introduce this blue thing. I bet this is just a marketing ploy aimed at getting teenagers to buy these things for green poop joke fodder. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/37 "2009-10-12T18:29:21Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > And I think they look more dark blue than black. I just figure Taco Bell is calling them black because it’s sounds cooler and a lot of people have a mental block against eating blue food. No kidding ! Cue up Charlton Heston’s voice : Tacos are made of Smurfs! ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/38 "2009-10-12T18:30:45Z")
Well, to settle the black vs. blue question, I do have 89 cents and a digital camera… Maybe I’ll swing by this afternoon and take a picture of this thing in the flesh, even though I do hate to reward this kind of “innovation.” ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/39 "2009-10-12T18:32:07Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I just figure Taco Bell is calling them black because it’s sounds cooler and a lot of people have a mental block against eating blue food. Also, “Black Jack Taco” tested better than “Blue Jew Taco” with focus groups. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482/40 "2009-10-12T19:16:21Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Yeah, that KFC bowl had a good idea, but then they added stuff that just didn’t belong in it. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy all in one bowl is probably great. Adding in corn and I forget what else was overkill. The corn is there to let you know it made it through OK. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-less-appetizing-food-item-than-taco-bells-new-black-taco/513482.md?page=3)