At one time, Pepsi and then Yum Brands owned Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, A&W, and Long John Silver. I think the latter two have been separated.
Idle's ongoing mission to try many things at Taco Bell (complete with opinions/thoughts). [Ed title]
When referring to Taco Bell, the ethnicity of the brother-in-law is irrelevant. Taco Bell is sui generis.
What do you mean “old-style?” The one I miss disappeared in the late '90’s, but the one they had on the menu until last year is still available, I just have to request it.
I need the recipe for that really old school one.
Did not know that, since there is still a KFC/LJS here. They must have made some agreement, although I’d be ok if they closed- the chicken tastes like fish from dirty oil.
QFT.
If you remember with fondness those wonderful deep-fried apple pies McDonalds used to serve before converting over to those “healthy” “baked” abominations, get Taco Bell’s apple empanada.
Get the apple empanada. It’s got caramel.
Anyone actually been where they are trying out the Fritos shells? I’m so looking forward to them, and I hope they make it here.
Right now, the only things I can get at Taco Bell are the Catina Bowls. They’re good, but they seem to not be a lot of food for the price.
Anyone have any luck getting a taco salad without the shell?
Has anyone ever tried ordering an item off the burrito menu without the tortilla? Like a burrito bowl or naked burrito? Could I get, f’rinstance, a beefy frito burrito bowl? Do they accommodate shenanigans like this?
I haven’t tried it, but traditionally Taco Bell franchises have been very flexible as matter of policy in responding to requests to mix and match ingredients.
I tried all three of those new grillers the other day. I suppose the Fiery Ghost Pepper version had a bit of a kick, but you really need to deliver a little more with a name like that. (Not that I was the tiniest bit surprised at the tameness.) I haven’t seen my absolute favorite Taco Bell offering – the chili cheese burrito – on the menu in many moons. THOSE things are awesome. I could pound those little guys down all day.
So just out of curiosity as a non-living-in-the-United-States-currently-person, is “ghost pepper” like the new “chipotle”? I’ve now seen it in this thread from more than one restaurant, and as a chile aficionado who’s never heard of this, I’m a bit curious.
It’s nowhere near as extensive as chipotle or sriracha is (I would say sriracha is more along the lines of “the new chipotle”), but has been marketed heavily in the last two years or so to appeal to the “hot & spicy” crowd, and maybe a little bit to machismo. But it’s pretty much all marketing–the ghost pepper items I’ve had (like at Wendy’s) had little heat to them. (Though I have yet to try the Taco Bell item. I have heard from others that it does have a little bit of heat to it, even if it’s nowhere near what you’d expect from something labeled “ghost pepper.”) Even stuff I’ve had at sit-down restaurants and bars, like ghost pepper wings, have usually been disappointing in the heat department and maybe have one part per million of actual ghost pepper in them.
Unless they make you sign a release, there isn’t going to be much ghost in any dish.
To further expand, “ghost pepper” is synonymous with bhut jalokia or naga jalokia. It’s a habanero-like pepper (capsicum chinense) cultivated in certain parts of India. Somewhere around 2005 or 2006 it began gaining popularity among the chile-heads, as a strain of bhut jolokias was grown in New Mexico and broke a million Scoville units, becoming the hottest pepper in the world (I believe the Red Savina habanero was the record-holder at the time.) It’s since been eclipsed by the naga viper, various similar peppers from Trinidad (the 7 Pot bunch and the Scorpions), and the current record holder, the Carolina Reaper.
That release stuff is marketing bullshit too, IMHO. I’ve been to a wing place where they made me sign a release, and the stuff was hot, but nowhere near release-worthy. I didn’t even need to reach for my beer as I finished off the dish. Meanwhile, I’ve had truly hot ghost pepper items at a couple of places and nobody asked me to sign a release or any of that bullshit. There was even a place here that put Trinidad scorpions on your burger if you wanted them, sans release.
They don’t make you sign a release for Taco Bell Fire Sauce, and that stuff is dangerous
Seriously? I’m not an ultra hot fan, but that stuff is timid at best.
I missed this earlier, but this was the place I was referring to. We’ve been there three times and each time it was great.
The place outside and across the street from the pyramid has this going for it…
the drinks are cold
it is a good place to watch the fireworks
they usually have good music
the seats are comfortable
the parrots across the street are fun
did I mention the drinks?
I’ll get to the food eventually, but I think I can think of a few more things better…
oh yeah… it isn’t too far from restrooms
…
Not to mention they have an even hotter sauce than fire now called (I believe) Lava.
Sooo where were we on the Baja Blast? Seriously I love that damn stuff and it’s only at The Bell
Idle, while I appreciate this thread and everything that you’re doing, the very thought of taking Taco Bell home to have “for later” terrifies me to my very core. That stuff has a [del]half-[/del] shelf-life of about as long as it takes to get through your system.
Good to hear about the ghost burrito though - that’s now on my list.
This thread made me go out and try the ghost pepper grillers. You know what? They’re actually not bad and have a reasonable amount of heat to them. It’s not silly heat, but much more than typical “ghost pepper” fast food dishes where the dish passed in the shadow of a ghost pepper. I dare say, I would actually go back and get these again, which is the first time I’ve ever said that about Taco Bell.
Well, ghost pepper is now on my bucket list. In the mean time I’ll keep trying to harvest my serranos and habaneros from my smuggled-in seeds. The only locally-sourced alternative is cayenne (they’re everywhere here).