# Taco Bell's original menu
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 11, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312 "2006-08-11T17:42:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 6
### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2017, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/101 "2017-10-24T19:44:14Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> I’ve heard that Baja Fresh has been shutting some restaurants, which is a pity.
I know there used to be two within 15 minutes of here, now there’s just one. We used to get delivery from them, via GrubHub, at least once a month but they’ve evidently decided that we’re too far away.
---
### Author:  [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2017, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/102 "2017-10-24T20:24:43Z")
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> I’ll take the catfish over tilapia and basa, that’s for sure. I like flounder, halibut, or cod for fish tacos, but local fish is the best, and if it happens to be catfish, why not?
Flavor is all wrong.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2017, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/103 "2017-10-24T22:33:38Z")
> [@BeeGee](#):
>
> Catfish? CATFISH?? I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you outside, Hoss.
> [@BeeGee](#):
>
> Flavor is all wrong.
Don’t knock it till you try it, Buster! 😉
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/104 "2017-10-24T23:55:48Z")
And if you’re ever in Cleveland (or anywhere else on Lake Erie), you really don’t want to eat any of the local fish. The water’s cleaner than ever, because the zebra mussels have concentrated all of the pollutants in the food chain.
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### Author:  [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/105 "2017-10-25T00:00:46Z")
You missed the Bell Burger, but that is about it.
The Bell Burger was before the beefer and a little less messy
Back then, taco bell was good, you could eating with out your insides falling out.
Now its ruined along with KFC
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### Author:  [@BlutEngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlutEngel)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/106 "2017-10-25T01:37:51Z")
I remember when they were first starting a big nationwide push in the late '80s – at least that’s when they started rising to prominence in South Florida, where I’m from. They had several TV commercials with the likes of Willie Nelson and Little Richard singing about Taco Bell, and the majority of their items were on three separate menus, priced at 59, 79, and 99 cents. Those were the days!
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/107 "2017-10-25T01:39:39Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#):
>
> I’ve heard that Baja Fresh has been shutting some restaurants, which is a pity. I remember when there were only two Baja locations and the closest was a 30-minute drive. It was totally worth it.
>
> Somewhere I should have a copy of their original menu, which read: **“NO MICROWAVES - NO CAN OPENERS - NO FREEZERS - NO RAP MUSIC”**
You’re not missing anything. The quality at Baja Fresh has plummeted. Last time I went I actually had to dump my burrito after a bite. It’s absolutely inedible now.
---
### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/108 "2017-10-25T02:59:57Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#):
>
> Never ate at a Taco Bell, but I first saw one in Lompoc, California, in 1969.
Speaking of Lompoc and Mexican food, there’s a place in Lompoc called El Toro Bronco that has pretty decent food. Their “mascot” is a prawn wearing a cowboy hat riding a bull…there’s a [weird statue](http://theshoutinggrasshopper.blogspot.com/2016/07/angry-prawn-riding-bull.html) of the pair out in front.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/109 "2017-10-25T05:57:59Z")
I first ate TB in Yuba City California circa 1969-ish. It was a very basic menu and my introduction to “Mexican” food. I fondly remember the to-STA-da type pronunciation guide.
Later as a vegetarian, making a run for the border was by far the easiest and fastest mass market fast food to get a quick cheap fill. Probably still is.
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/110 "2017-10-25T10:06:32Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> I
>
> - Taco
> - Burrito: Bean, Beef, or Combo
> - Enchirito
> - Frijoles (now known as pintos and cheese)
> - Tostada
> - Bell Beefer (a Mexican sloppy-joe burger!)
>
> .
Ha. I /thought/ there was a Bean Burrito (and a bean taco). It’s been years since I’ve seen one of those. All I can buy is a “vegitarian” taco/Burrito/Enchilda with other (expensive) stuff added to give it a different flavour
Do Mestizos still eat bean taco’s? Or are they all too rich for that now?
---
### Author:  [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)
#### Post date: [October 25, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/111 "2017-10-25T19:58:34Z")
> [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](#):
>
> I remember when they were first starting a big nationwide push in the late '80s – at least that’s when they started rising to prominence in South Florida, where I’m from. They had several TV commercials with the likes of Willie Nelson and Little Richard singing about Taco Bell, and the majority of their items were on three separate menus, priced at 59, 79, and 99 cents. Those were the days!
> [@BlutEngel](#):
>
> I remember when they were first starting a big nationwide push in the late '80s – at least that’s when they started rising to prominence in South Florida, where I’m from. They had several TV commercials with the likes of Willie Nelson and Little Richard singing about Taco Bell, and the majority of their items were on three separate menus, priced at 59, 79, and 99 cents. Those were the days!
???
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/112 "2017-10-26T01:38:03Z")
> [@Melbourne](#):
>
> Do Mestizos still eat bean taco’s? Or are they all too rich for that now?
WTF?
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/113 "2017-10-26T04:28:34Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> WTF?
It’s a question. Do ordinary Mexicans eat bean tacos? I can’t buy bean tacos, enchiladas or burritos at “mexican” food outlets, I didn’t see any last time I was in California, and I don’t live anywhere near Mexico.
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### Author:  [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/114 "2017-10-26T07:33:10Z")
> [@Melbourne](#):
>
> It’s a question. Do ordinary Mexicans eat bean tacos? I can’t buy bean tacos, enchiladas or burritos at “mexican” food outlets, I didn’t see any last time I was in California, and I don’t live anywhere near Mexico.
Nothing on the Taco Bell menu is Mexican food despite having names and ingredients that are similar to some Mexican foods. Ordinary Mexicans do eat beans and tortillas in many combinations, but the tortillas are almost always corn and the beans are rarely anything like the processed bean paste scooped into your burrito at Taco Bell.
Beyond that, Acsenray’s bewilderment no doubt was because specifying Mestizo in your question was a strange and kind of racist-sounding non sequitur - basically like asking if Mulattos still eat fried chicken in a thread about the original KFC menu.
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### Author:  [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/115 "2017-10-26T08:49:53Z")
Yeah, I thought ‘mestizos’ was like saying ‘half-breed’ or something. It’s impolite right?
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/116 "2017-10-26T15:22:18Z")
> [@Isamu](#):
>
> Yeah, I thought ‘mestizos’ was like saying ‘half-breed’ or something. It’s impolite right?
It can be used pejoratively, but the contexts I tend to encounter it in are neutral.
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### Author:  [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)
#### Post date: [October 26, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/117 "2017-10-26T22:15:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> There were no soft tacos, not chalupas, no gorditas (I don’t even know what chalupas and gorditas are),
DROP THE CHALUPA!!
Yeah, drop da chalupa!
---
### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/118 "2017-10-27T00:34:01Z")
> [@Melbourne](#):
>
> It’s a question. Do ordinary Mexicans eat bean tacos? I can’t buy bean tacos, enchiladas or burritos at “mexican” food outlets, I didn’t see any last time I was in California, and I don’t live anywhere near Mexico.
> [@Crazyhorse](#):
>
> Beyond that, Acsenray’s bewilderment no doubt was because specifying Mestizo in your question was a strange and kind of racist-sounding non sequitur - basically like asking if Mulattos still eat fried chicken in a thread about the original KFC menu.
> [@Isamu](#):
>
> Yeah, I thought ‘mestizos’ was like saying ‘half-breed’ or something. It’s impolite right?
> [@pulykamell](#):
>
> It can be used pejoratively, but the contexts I tend to encounter it in are neutral.
There’s nothing neutral about referring to Mexicans in general as “Mestizo” in a discussion that has nothing to do with racial heritage, especially in connection with a strange remark about their being collectively “too rich now” to eat beans with tortillas. Again, WTF?
---
### Author:  [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)
#### Post date: [October 27, 2017, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/119 "2017-10-27T09:39:32Z")
I really hate how Taco Bell feel into the same stoner gimmick trap that Jack in the Box started by focusing entirely on gimmicky seasonal items instead of just making their core food better. “Regular” Taco Bell tacos now are some of the worst fast food things ever and it’s always the annoying part of ordering any menu combo at Taco Bell since they always give you two of them.
---
### Author:  [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)
#### Post date: [October 30, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taco-bells-original-menu/368312/120 "2017-10-30T22:43:48Z")
> [@Acsenray](#):
>
> You’re not missing anything. The quality at Baja Fresh has plummeted. Last time I went I actually had to dump my burrito after a bite. It’s absolutely inedible now.
The one we go to is still good, except their Diablo Burrito is now way too damned spicy!
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