# (Newsflash!) Everything on the Taco Bell menu is the same damn thing!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 11, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731 "2001-10-11T03:54:20Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@saudade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saudade)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/1 "2001-10-11T03:54:20Z")
I usually snub my nose at Taco bell since I live in a place where real Mexican food is cheap and ubitiquous. But anyway I went there just because it was on the way, and I ordered three 99 cent items - the Enchirito, the Meximelt, and the Chilli Cheese Burrito. I wanted to have some variety - and not just get plain old tacos.
So I had the Chilli Cheese Burrito. Nothing special, basically a bunch of meat squirted into a tortilla. Ok, then I got the Mexi-Melt. **It was identical to the Chilli Cheese Burrito!**.
Now the enchirito, that must be different I thought, it came in a traylike dish. It was covered in a reddish sauce. I cleared away the sauce and cut in with my spork-
**It was identical to the Chilli Cheese Burrito!**.
Am I discovering something here, or is this old news? I remember an old Letterman Top 10 list, ‘Top 10 nightmares of McDonald’s Managers’. One was “customers will discover the Filet o’ Fish and the Apple Pie are the same item”. Well I am thinking if I go public with this, Taco Bell will have a scandal on it’s hands!
But I suspect nobody will be too shocked, so I put it in MPSIMS…
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/2 "2001-10-11T03:57:21Z")
Rats. I was going to post the obligatory Onion link, but it appears that story is no longer in their archives. It was something along the lines of “Taco Bell introduces slightly rearranged combination of ingredients.” I remember the line “…it’s slightly more oblong…”
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### Author:  [@Shera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shera)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/3 "2001-10-11T04:00:09Z")
Have you heard about their “New” chicken quesadilla that they have had for years. I guess when you run out of ideas for new food, you move to the stuff you already had.
I guess they ran out of items to deep fry ad call something else. The Chalupa, for example, is just a deep fried Gordita. I feel so used…😃
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### Author:  [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/4 "2001-10-11T05:03:23Z")
mmmm… Taco Bell…
:drool:
Yeah, I admit, I’m not exactly a discriminating eater.
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### Author:  [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/5 "2001-10-11T05:30:55Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Smeghead \*
> \*\*Rats. I was going to post the obligatory Onion link, but it appears that story is no longer in their archives. It was something along the lines of “Taco Bell introduces slightly rearranged combination of ingredients.” I remember the line “…it’s slightly more oblong…” \*\*
The reason you can’t find the link is that it was never a story. It was just one of those blubs on the side.
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### Author:  [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/6 "2001-10-11T05:33:02Z")
Newsflash! Everything on the Taco Bell menu is unhygenic and fucking nasty, to boot. I wouldn’t eat there unless I were trying to test the efficacy of a shiny-new hepatitis vaccination.
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### Author:  [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/7 "2001-10-11T08:12:54Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chickenhead \*
> \*\*Newsflash! Everything on the Taco Bell menu is unhygenic and fucking nasty, to boot. I wouldn’t eat there unless I were trying to test the efficacy of a shiny-new hepatitis vaccination. \*\*
Unhygienic? No more or less than any other restaurant, it all depends on the employees and management. There’s nothing special about Taco Bell that would make it less hygienic than other restaurants. Nasty? Matter of opinion. Taco Bell is my favorite fast-food place. I like about everything on the menu.
As to the chicken quesadilla - I can’t recall Taco Bell every having a quesadilla available before recently. The closest thing I can think of is the Mexican Pizza, which is completely different. Taco Bells only recently started grilling food (I really like the Grilled Stuft Burrito).
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### Author:  [@Shera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shera)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/8 "2001-10-11T16:16:57Z")
[QUOTE]
\*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \*
\*\*
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Chickenhead \*
> \*\*
> As to the chicken quesadilla - I can’t recall Taco Bell every having a quesadilla available before recently. The closest thing I can think of is the Mexican Pizza, which is completely different. Taco Bells only recently started grilling food (I really like the Grilled Stuft Burrito). \*\*
Where do you live? Where I live, the quesadilla has been around for at least five years, probably longer. They had a choice chicken and cheese. I guess they have different menus in different areas.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/9 "2001-10-11T16:31:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _Originally posted by Enderw24_
> The reason you can’t find the link is that it was never a story. It was just one of those blubs on the side.
Sorry, **Ender** , but that’s not true. I just re-read the article two nights ago, in the Onion’s new book, Dispatches from the Tenth Circle. It was a couple of paragraphs long.
Ye gods, I’m using my time constructively today, aren’t I?
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### Author:  [@c\_goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_goat)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/10 "2001-10-11T16:35:27Z")
And you can make your old dirty pennies look brand new by letting them soak in the taco bell hot sauce. Makes you wonder if it’s really safe to eat.
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### Author:  [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/11 "2001-10-11T16:47:12Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \*
> \*\*
>
> > [@](#):
> >
> > _Originally posted by Enderw24_
> > The reason you can’t find the link is that it was never a story. It was just one of those blubs on the side.
>
> Sorry, **Ender** , but that’s not true. I just re-read the article two nights ago, in the Onion’s new book, Dispatches from the Tenth Circle. It was a couple of paragraphs long.
>
> Ye gods, I’m using my time constructively today, aren’t I? \*\*
The side blurbs are real articles you just can’t read them on the website. If you order the onion paper to your home there are articles you get that the web site doesn’t display.
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### Author:  [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/12 "2001-10-11T16:57:17Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Shera \*
>
> Where do you live? Where I live, the quesadilla has been around for at least five years, probably longer. They had a choice chicken and cheese. I guess they have different menus in different areas.
They only recently started offering them here in Southern California (well, the L.A. county area, anyway). And mmmm-mmmm are they yummy.
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by c\_goat \*
>
> And you can make your old dirty pennies look brand new by letting them soak in the taco bell hot sauce. Makes you wonder if it’s really safe to eat.
You can do that with any tomato based sauce. It’s the acid from the tomatoes that eats away the gunk. Spaghetti sauce is my favorite “cleanser” for my copper-bottomed pots. 🙂
* * *
I really appreciate your consideration in avoiding stepping on my penis - **Spiny Norman**
Jeg elsker dig, Thomas
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### Author:  [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/13 "2001-10-11T16:58:26Z")
A few weeks ago a co-worker was going to bring back some Taco Bell food for lunch. She asked if I wanted anything. “Sure,” I replied. “Here’s $5.00.”
“What do you want?” she asked me.
“Does it really matter?” I replied. “Just get me $5 worth of Taco Bell food.” 😃
Coincidentally enough, I just had lunch there today!
(I’m originally from Houston. Here in Rhode Island, though, Taco Bell is about the closest to Mexican food as you’re going to get.)
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### Author:  [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/14 "2001-10-11T17:14:02Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Shayna \*
> **They only recently started offering them here in Southern California (well, the L.A. county area, anyway). And mmmm-mmmm are they yummy.**
Maybe they stopped and just reintroduced them. I had chicken quesadillas when I was in LA for a conference in 1997.
Why do I remember this? Because they are pretty much the only thing I eat at Taco Bell. In college I got off work at midnight and the only thing open on the way home was a Taco Bell. I had chicken quesadillas. THen I went to grad school in Hawaii and found that the Hawaii Taco Bells didn’t sell them. Conference in LA and I was finally able to have one again.
I very bluntly asked the counter person why the cheese and chicken quesadillas were “new” when they had them for years.
The answer is that they have added a pink jalepeno sauce to the quesadilla. I like it. I wouldn’t call it new, but it is different.
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### Author:  [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/15 "2001-10-11T18:22:47Z")
on a slight hijack…
other than something new every once in a blue moon,
MCDonalds has had the same menu for YEARS.
WHY is it so difficult to place an order there?
hmmmm? big mac or quarter pounder?
how can you go to McDonalds and NOT know what you want?
(this mini rant is directed at the lady in the drive thru ahead of me. I could hear her perfectly: “hmmmmm, I 'll have the…lets see…hmmmmmmm. Ummmmmmmmmmm”
ORDER ALREADY!!!)
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/16 "2001-10-11T19:31:53Z")
Damn you, people. Guess what you put me in the mood for…? Hmm? It’s all your fault that I’m going to clog my veins and die an early death. 😃
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### Author:  [@Tommy\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommy_the_Cat)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/17 "2001-10-11T19:57:48Z")
Heading out the door now. Can I get y’all anything. I’m a sucker for the 7-Layer Burrito, myself.
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### Author:  [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/18 "2001-10-11T20:33:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BurnMeUp \*
> The side blurbs are real articles you just can’t read them on the website. If you order the onion paper to your home there are articles you get that the web site doesn’t display.
The actual paper issues also have side blurbs with no story in them. My favorite: “Jurisprudence fetishist gets off on technicality”
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### Author:  [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)
#### Post date: [October 11, 2001, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/19 "2001-10-11T20:51:25Z")
I went to Taco Bell the other day with my SO. He ordered a Grilled Stuffed burrito, and a Fiesta burrito. I don’t eat meat, so I asked him what they put into the Fiesta burrito and he told me (well guessed). Then I asked him what the put in the Grilled Stuffed Burrito. He told me, but it was the exact same list of ingredients. So I asked him “Whats the difference?” To which he replied, “Nothing really, I guess, just one is grilled.” So my question is, why don’t they just call it the Grilled Fiesta Burrito. I dunno.
On another note, I do like Taco Bell, because it is practically the only fast food place where they have vegetarian choices. Mmmm…quesidillas…
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### Author:  [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2001, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsflash-everything-on-the-taco-bell-menu-is-the-same-damn-thing/86731/20 "2001-10-12T00:52:20Z")
There are a lot of really really old Onion articles I remember reading like five years ago that aren’t in the archives any more. Like:
“NASA, NASCAR Merge” - one of the funniest articles I ever read…
Aw, hell. This is a new thread. I’ll go start it in a minute.
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