I was at my parents’ the past few days visiting, and my mom and I were hanging out while the TV was on. I half-caught a commercial for some sort of breakfast offering at Taco Bell. I had never heard of a thing, and didn’t know if anyone else knew anything about it.
If it helps, they live in Dayton, OH, which has been used as a market-testing area before, so I’ll buy that it’s some sort of testing thing.
I don’t know about TB, but Subway has been advertising breakfast lately.
Test market, at least for now. They’ve been testing breakfast stuff for several years, in various markets.
http://fastfood.freedomblogging.com/2010/03/17/taco-bell-expanding-breakfast-in-o-c/55311/
There’s no mention of breakfast items on TB’s main web site at the moment.
Yup, saw that after I posted.
Thanks for the update guys!
Postcards - I had the Subway breakfast offerings a few years ago on a business trip (their test market was apparently a grody truck stop somewhere between Louisville and Indianapolis). It was pretty heavy for a breakfast, since instead of serving it on a muffin like they apparently do now, it was just a 6’ sub with an ommlet on it. I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing the English Muffin works a lot better.
TB used to sell breakfast burritos. I hadn’t noticed they stopped, except some TBs don’t open early enough to serve breakfast items.
Subway’s breakfast sandwich was abysmal. A pre-cooked frozen egg patty that they microwaved. So, so nasty.
Del Taco (a “Mexican” fast food chain based in California) has had a breakfast menu for years. It is actually pretty good (in fact overall, anything Del Taco makes it much better than Taco Bell, breakfast items or not) and at least in the location closest to my place, Del Taco’s breakfast menu is served 24 hours…
I’d guess that the Taco Bells near you were involved in the breakfast test market at some point, and then weren’t any longer (YUM is a client of mine, and that’s how they will often test menu items…put it in a few markets for a while, rejigger it, and put it in some different markets).
If TB decides to go national with breakfast items, most, if not all, TBs will open earlier.
Almost all of the fast food places are looking for a way to offer breakfast.
It only makes sense – they already have the building, parking lot, cooking & dining facilities – sitting empty and making no money during 1/3 of the day. There are only minor additional costs to being open at breakfast time (electricity for lights & signs & cooking gear, extra hours for workers (managers are probably already there getting ready for lunchtime), extra supplies for the breakfast menu, etc.). If they can sell enough to cover these added costs, anything beyond that is just extra profit.
Not surprising, considering the popularity of the breakfast burrito, apparently. I never much cared for them, myself. Nothing ruins a burrito faster than putting eggs in it ;P.
Why does the general public require “breakfast” to have eggs in it? Me, I’d prefer the regular “lunch” Subway/Taco Bell/McDonalds/etc. if I happen to go there in the morning, but I can’t find anyone else who agrees.
I am happy to agree :). I often order lunch at IHOP because the only suitable “eating out” breakfast food I like is corned beef hash ( eggs are ok with that but not necessary ). I stopped at Starbucks for a free bag coffee the other day and tried their ham and swiss panini – no egg!! Yeah! It was a little pricey but very good (and huge).
It’s the breakfast protein. That’s just how it is. It’s why people don’t generally have pancakes or waffles for dinner.
I actually liked the Subway breakfast when the one near my office offered it. Yes, it was a microwaved rectangular egg patty, but add on some sausage and honey mustard and it was freaking awesome.
Whataburger is my go-to place for breakfast. Fresh eggs, cooked right on the griddle. Biscuits and gravy. Honey butter chicken biscuits. They serve lunch and breakfast at the same time, so you can even get fries if you’re inclined. (I’m still bitter about the time I was on a school trip and we stopped at McD’s, but I couldn’t get fries because it wasn’t 10:30 am yet.) Every other fast food place pales in comparison. Though, a shift leader once confided in me that he hates breakfast, since they do have to juggle both lunch and breakfast items.
I have a Taco Bell by my house that doesn’t serve breakfast items bu they are open at 8am. On weekends they stay open 24hrs.
It’s a great store for us nightshift workers.
…the fuck? Is the breakfast taco not a fast food staple in the rest of the country? Egg and bacon? Egg and potato? Egg and sausage?
Considers never leaving San Antonio.
Here, here, although I’m in Austin. In Denver I could get breakfast tacos by asking to make me a breakfast burrito, but with the taco tortillas. No place has ever minded, but it’s strange to me that it isn’t already on the menu. Not everyone wants fifteen pounds of food that early.
As for Taco Bell breakfast, I know they had it in LA awhile back, but I never tried it.
Probably. Vacaville, CA in 1994 (ish) is what I specifically remember.
One Taco Bell in our area in Florida used to sell breakfast, but not all of them. They had a breakfast burrito that had eggs, tater tot thingies, and sawmill gravy. It was great hangover food.
Ha! They should put that on the marquee out front: GREAT HANGOVER FOOD.
BTW, what is “sawmill gravy”? Sounds like gravy with sawdust in it!