I am 50 years old and I'm about to try Taco Bell for the first time. What should I try first?

lazylion_ca@lemmy.ca to Ask Lemmy@lemmy.world – 192 points –

A Taco Bell finally opened up where I live, and we are going to go try it tonight. What should I try and what should I avoid?

Of course I know I should try another restaurant and avoid Taco Bell, that's too obvious, but what is life without a little Adventure.

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Crunch wrap supreme.

Back in 2009 or so they started fielding this item, they had it at Buy 1, Get 1 Free. Broke college grad me working at a coffee shop would walk across the parking lot and purchase this every fucking day.

I’m living at my office now, halfway across the state from my wife and dogs. I still get this with 2x burrito supremes when I don’t use a hot plate to cook something in the break room.

You live at your office?

It’s not abnormal with certain promotions and in my industry.

Sorry to hear that. I hope you get to sleep next to your wife and dogs soon.

This, OP. If you're going to do this to yourself, at least do it right.

Given your username, I'd think you'd be partial to the breakfast crunch wrap that comes with a coffee as an option for the drink.

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Probably 90% of their food is the same stuff wrapped up in a different shape, they're spooning the same meat into the tacos as the burritos as the crunch wrap etc.

So if your goal is to get a full sense of what taco bell has to offer, get a hard taco, a soft taco, a Doritos taco, and a chalupa, mix and match the meats, sauces, and other toppings, and you'll have a pretty representative sample of most of the menu.

As far as personal recommendations, I like steak chalupas, chicken crunchwraps with chipotle sauce, any variety of their grilled burrito, and their cinnamon twists. Sometimes they have a limited time specialty item that's pretty good, not sure what they're pushing now but always worth checking out what they have.

I will also say that if you don't get a Baja blast you're doing it wrong

I would add 5 layer burrito to that mix, to really capture diarrhea you get from the unholy combination of ground meat, nacho cheese, and sour cream.

My boyfriend is a Taco Bell fanatic. I asked him and he told me "a grilled cheese burrito, a crunchwrap supreme, and nacho fries if they have them". Enjoy!

Cheesy Gordita Crunch and Crunchwrap Supreme.

I'm also a fan of the Beefy Five-Layer Burrito positively smothered in Fire sauce.

I’m also a fan of the Beefy Five-Layer Burrito positively smothered in Fire sauce.

I don't know if it's everywhere, but the Diablo sauce has a better flavor in my opinion. I am a sucker for the Beefy Five-Layer Burrito though.

I haven't been able to find Diablo sauce in the past few years.

Maybe it's a regional thing? The one closest to me has had it for as long as I can remember. Was actually just there on Tuesday and got some.

Cheesy Gordita Crunch is the correct answer, but probably best to also try basic items just for comparison.

I remember the dark days when the Cheesy Gordita Crunch was a limited time offer and it kept going away and coming back. I would always go A LOT when it showed back up. So glad it seems to be a stable staple now.

Oh! And fwiw - they actually sell the Fiesta sauce in some grocery stores now... that is one of the key ingredients that makes it so good. That sauce goes well on/in so many things.

Dunno fam. You might be too old to start eating taco bell. U might die.

Spicy potato soft taco. Small item overshadowed by others, but a solid go to when you want something small. Potatoes, spicy ranch and lettuce in a soft tortilla. Nothing fancy, just tasty.

This has always been my go to. Cheap easy and tasty.

When going to a KFC combo, it's also fun to get some fried chicken to add into the taco.

First step of being new to Taco Bell:

My favorite thing is the Chicken Baja Gordita, it's an older menu item that they will still make, love the baja sauce.

Mexican pizza before they take it off the menu again. Also, ask for all of the hot sauces. The workers won't care.

Their breakfast burritos are good, cheap, and a great value for your money. Use their app, and you can get free stuff regularly, too.

EDIT: I'm talking about their lowest tier breakfast burritos. The higher levels are not worth it.

Any burrito that contains fritos or potatoes is a good choice.

They used to have the chili cheese burrito with Fritos. That shit was amazing. My Taco Bell still has the chili cheese burrito, but no Fritos. It's a travesty.

You need to build up tolerance first. Go slow with a simple taco, otherwise you digestion gonna do civil war.

THEY DISCONTINUED MY FAVORITE ITEM: THE 7 LAYER BURRITO. BRING IT BACK TACO BELL, YOU HEAR?

I tried it for the first time a few months ago and it just tasted like a cheap supermarket taco kit. I'm in no rush to go back.

That’s really all I was expecting. We have another place called Taco Time that cant even live up to store bought. So Tbell is certainly an improvement.

Taco time has no business being as good as it is but yeah their kits aren’t quite as great. It started in my hometown and has never gone down in quality, only expanded and released other things. Nothing beats a taco time soft bean burrito imo.

You my friend are so lucky to have known it too, and I am so jealous of your taste buds for only just starting this t-bell journey. Hope you liked it!

I personally love the tacos because they are cheap tacos. There is a lot of flavor, but it's simple. I'm also a fan of the crunchwrap supreme. The crunch paired with the soft outside it delightful. I always order the 12 pack, all soft shell, and a crunchwrap. I used to get two steak quesoritos instead of the crunchwrap, but I think they're gone, or they're too expensive. Diablo sauce isn't tasty, avoid it even if you like spicy. The fire is the best balance imo, but I would like more heat personally.

@lazylion_ca it's a fast food version of Mexican.

I like crunchy tacos with one packet of hot sauce per taco. Crunchy taco supreme is good. Burrito Supreme is good, too.

Sauce is very important, though. You have to have it. Start with the hot sauce (orange packets), and work your way up if you need to. They used to have green sauce that was pretty good, but it's only available in grocery stores now. 🙄

For a drink, you need to try a Baja Blast. It's like their signature thing. Very sweet, has its own flavor you can't really describe.

Just keep in mind that it's fast food. It's not casual fast like Chipotle or Panera - - more Macdonald's or Wendy's.

One thing Taco Bell has had over a lot of fast food places for a long time is that vegetarians and vegans can actually get edible meals there. It's basically all of the same ingredients, just mixed around differently.

They also have bowls you can get. They're not terrible. I prefer my old standard menu items that haven't changed in 40 years, though.

The other thing that just occurred to me - - most of us in the thread responding to you are suggesting their old timey comfort favorites. I'm no different (54 years old and had my first Taco Bell when I was 9), so at 50, your palate may not understand or have the associations with this place that ours do.

I'm really curious what you're going to think about it, though. I think most people going in with realistic expectations don't wind up hating it, though.

Taco bells menu is like 10 different ingredients combined in various ways, it nearly all tastes identical with the exception of the various protein options (I suggest vegetarian).

Yes! Taco Bell is the go-to fast food restaurant for vegetarians. I suggest the black bean chalupa supreme, veggie mexican pizza, and cheesy fiesta potatoes. Unfortunately, that meal and a beverage will probably cost about $17 usd these days

It absolutely is NOT the go-to for vegetarians any more.

They took out most of their vegetarian options recently (within the last month) to make way for their "new" value menu. You know....the menu that is now more expensive and doesn't have the good options.

I'm partial to the beefy 5 layer burrito and the cheesy bean and rice burrito.

Try not to shit your pants

Eat more fibre, your body is a mess.

Taco bell is the best laxitive known to man

I know this is the cliche joke, but it's fucking tired - especially considering the fact there is nothing unique about Taco Bell: they pass food safety requirements just like every other shitty fast food restaurant. If you can't eat a few beans without experiencing GI distress, your diet is the problem, not Taco Bell.

Worthers candies pass food safety requirements too but it also states that if you eat too many it can act like a laxative.

So I'll take your word with the oceans weight of salt.

I eat rather healthily considering majority of the meat and veg raised/grown myself and if I eat at any of those fast food shit joints I get the screaming squirts for an afternoon.

There's no way it's a better laxative then KFC

Youre not supposed to get a cup of grease from the back m8, thats for frying

Try to prepare for disappointment. I was never a huge fan, but would have it occasionally. Had it for the first time in a decade or so a few years ago and didn't enjoy any part of the meal (various different stuff at an office party) :P

If you enjoy it, that's wonderful; it's just never really been a thing I look forward to, and I hope you don't have too good an image in your head.

It was definitely better than the other taco place we have.

That is both good and horrifying, but I'm glad you have something better :)

Get quantity over quality (many small tacos)

I did consider getting the party pack, but I wasn’t ten taco hungry tonight.

😄 Hope you enjoyed what you got!

You've got some people saying you gotta slather it in the hot sauces, and other people saying to get ready to have the shits.

Uh, you can avoid the shits by not using the hot sauces.

Is the hot sauces the secret to getting the shits??

I'm pretty sure going to Taco Bell is the secret to getting the shits.

can't wait till they open here 🌋

As an European, my image of Taco Bell will always be shaped by online hyperbole. Therefore, I chose to believe it is some kind of dystopic yet tasty explosive diarrhea factory were Americans go to purge their bowels in apocalyptic fashion.

Baja Blast with whatever you get. Its the best god damn thing about taco bell and im STILL FUCKING PISSED IT LOST THAT ELECTION TO BE YEAR ROUND IN STORS LIKE 7 YEARS AGO

Dorito locos tacos, or DLT as the workers summarize for me but I am too embarrassed to use myself

Have you ever had real Mexican food? Taco Bell is a not a good introduction.

What makes you think that because they've never had Taco Bell they've never had Mexican food at all?

I feel like the crunchy tacos there are such a staple of their menu, that I'd start there

Cheesy Gordita Crunch with the nacho cheese shell on the inside.

A Seven-layer Steak Burrito & a beef meximelt..... about 12 years ago....

The chicken chalupa is pretty good.

Crunch wrap & fries supreme (🇨🇦)

The fries supreme are just a shadow of their former self though, 20 years ago they were the best fast food item you could get

All I get at Taco Bell any more is the steak power bowl and the cheese potatoes. The bowl is basically just a deconstructed burrito and the cheesy potatoes are cubed, fried potatoes covered in nacho cheese and sour cream.

Their French fries are also hella good; they're like their own kind of cheese dust covered fry. But the cheese potatoes are just better

Soft shell tacos. Easy and does great with any of the sauces. I usually do two fire sauce and one diablo per taco.

Honestly? Just their basic tacos. Maybe the Doritos version if they still have those. But just get a couple of the hard tacos with some Fire sauce. If you like those, you may like other things on the menu; if you don’t, you probably won’t like any of it. They’re Taco Bell distilled.

If they have it (not all locations do), the chili cheese burrito.

..and a mexican pizza. Luckily the store by me has both in vast quantities. I'm only good for 1 or the other, every few months. I'm trying to cut out ulcer causing foods.

Mexican pizza is my anchor menu choice - everything else is just sides. So glad they brought it back.

No matter what you get you have to get hot sauce, and definitely not mild.

Hmmmm, I have also never had taco bell, let me know how it is.

I tried it for the first time at 38? It isn't great but certainly a way to get a calorie bomb into you relatively cheaply. Arguably better than some fast food alternatives which is a low bar. IIRC I was a fan of the crunch wrap but the straight basic burritos are a way better value.

It certainly wasn’t mind blowing, but there was nothing bad about it.

crunchwarp supreme, double decker taco, and the dorritis shell tako

My location replaced the double decker with some other double bullshit with nacho cheese and those dumb crispy tortilla strips

All the people who are clearly getting food poisoning from their local Taco Bells should really report them.

It's not normal to get diarrhea from eating out, even at Taco Bell.

Doritos locos tacos supreme with hot sauce, chicken quesadilla with extra sauce, cheesy gordita crunch.

A time machine.

Go back 5 years when everything still tasted good. Cuz idk what they did since pandemic hit, adding grasshoppers to the beef or something, but its not good anymore. Its weird-meh.

Bruh.

It's probably that your sense of taste has changed, not their ingredients.

You may have long covid.

Nah, there is a lot more grit in the meat. The texture changed for the worse.

Remember that in like 2020 or so Taco Bell got sued by the FDA for putting too much sand in their meat.

Source?

So what is in Taco Bell's seasoned ground beef? Here's the full list of ingredients straight from the company's site:

Beef, Water, Seasoning [Isolated Oat Product, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Oats (Wheat), Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Spices, Maltodextrin, Soybean Oil (Anti-dusting Agent), Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Silicon Dioxide, Natural Flavors, Yeast, Modified Corn Starch, Natural Smoke Flavor], Salt, Sodium Phosphates. CONTAINS SOYBEANS, WHEAT

Silicon dioxide is a major component of sand, and they do not make any bones about including that in their meat, but because of some weirdo suing them saying that it was only 35% beef versus 88% beef I cannot find the link where the FDA was prosecuting them for having too much silicon dioxide in their meat.

Silicon dioxide is a common anti-caking agent. It's used in many foods and is generally harmless when ingested. Inhaling it can be a problem, but that's more of a concern on the production end, not for the consumer.

No, I know that many chemicals have multiple uses, just like propylene glycol can be used as an antifreeze but also works as a sweetener in food.

I honestly cannot find the article that I read but I did read at one point that there was too much silicon dioxide in taco bells meat at one point and they had to reign it back.

Unless you have evidence that they get their silicon dioxide from sand, it is premature to declare they put sand in their food.

Water is commonly found in glacier ice. Do you accuse people who serve water as serving glacier ice?

Pretty much any other food outlet, that way you'll not be disappointed. I've no idea about your country but Taco Bell in the UK is expensive and poor quality.

Make sure you have plenty of toilet paper.

They had to invent the three seashells.

Existing wiping technology became inadequate after every restaurant became taco bell.

The Exit, and the Food.

j/k (...except not that:-P)

You can try to find a Chipotle instead, and get one of their delicious burritos?

Taco Smell is best-known for being (a) cheap, and uh... oh also, (b) leading the world in how little meat processed byproduct they can put into something and still call it "beef" (I think the answer is 0% now, but when it started it was like 1/3rd iirc).

You know your digestive tract better than anyone, but I would suggest some kind of a variety pack. Like all Mexican-inspired cardboard food products (Mexico would legit and rightly go to war with anyone daring to call that Mexican food btw:-P), aside from the more special and unique items, it's mostly the same ingredients inside (with varying spices added) but what makes it present different is the crunch factor, which really does impact the experience.

Seriously though, if it were me I would go earlier in the day, b/c putting that stuff into your gut late in the day for anyone over 20 sometimes does not sit well. Though it is... tasty, and you will enjoy trying something different:-P (but no lie, better for lunch than dinner).

Have fun with it!

Taco Smell is best-known for being (a) cheap,

Except the really aren't anymore.

Oh. Good point. I guess I haven't been in sth like the last 5 years. But even if it costs more now, the food itself is still "cheap" quality, amiright!:-P

Chipotle is ass. Easily the worst of the burrito shops that I've been to. Honestly can't think of a worse option.

Meh, but the comparison here is vs. Taco Bell, so keep that in mind. Both are fast food but one is real food and the other is "cellulose fibers" that I'm not sure anyone truly knows what that means:-P. Delicious but... an abomination of science nonetheless.

Also, Chipotle is best when it is fresh, so at a slow shop during an off-time, yeah. I've never found that it matters for Taco Bell though.

Side by side, I will choose taco bell 100% of the time, no question. It's imo vastly superior in flavor and experience. I have other non food related issues with Chipotles cyber security and response team that doesn't help their case with me. I personally will never give them money again, mostly because of the security thing, but the quality of the food doesn't help.

Their rice is good though.

Omg I love their rice. One thing I like about Chipotle is their choice to purchase locally-sourced ingredients. Ironically that might affect your experience. I am sorry you had a bad experience with their cybersecurity - probably cash payments would avoid that but you are already burnt on them at this point so that's fine I am not pushing.

I recall driving through Iowa a few times where in Des Moines I would often stop off at a Taco Bell (or Burger King, or most often bbq b/c it's really good there), but in Iowa City I would always instead go to the Chipotle nearest the university, where with the constant turnover of ingredients (by all the students & staff) it was really good. Not all places are as good, especially if not fresh, so Chipotle is more hit-or-miss I guess, as compared to Taco Bell that seems fairly consistent.

Also I agree they are 100% different styles - Chipotle is fairly basic ingredients, made very well but quite limited options, whereas Taco Bell is a flavor cornucopia, no doubt about that. Both can be hell on your asshole, but them's the breaks:-). California Tortilla is way better than either, especially for flavor I mean, but also more expensive, although avoids trans fats so way healthier. Chipotle is an odd mixture there where most things have no trans fats, but the burrito (and soft taco) shells do, so you'd have to get a bowl or crunchy corn tacos to fully avoid those. Chipotle is impressively healthy though for what it is - except still loads you way up on salt and calories. Hey, I am old, so I remember splurging occasionally and getting guac on a Chipotle burrito - yum! (it was ONE WHOLE DOLLAR! before Trump destroyed the industry and now it's like triple that) Ofc, eating at Taco Bell is when you just give up on all of that, and just enjoy the flavor regardless of what it will do to you:-P.

In the realm of fast burrito shops though, nothing compares to what is available in Texas that I have ever seen or heard of. Freebirds is noice, definitely worth a try, except that while it has expanded significantly beyond its initial offering in Texas A&M University, it is not available anywhere outside of Texas.