Taco Bell and the Great Burrito Debate

As many of my friends know, I was a HUGE fan of Taco Bell's 99 cent Beefy Crunch Burrito. When they brought it back for the second time, I probably had close to thirty of them in the course of a couple months. Never before could I get filled up at a fast food restaurant for a couple bucks and some change. It's a shame that yet again, it was taken off the menu.

Now, after marketing their Doritos Locos Tacos for a while, they've brought a new addition to the menu (albeit temporary) that makes me forgive Taco Bell for getting rid of my BCB. Okay, almost makes me forgive.

This new item is known as the Beefy Nacho Burrito. Sounds/looks kind of familiar, no?

While the BNB has Fritos, cheese sauce, sour cream, and beef, the main difference between this and the Beefy Crunch Burrito is that instead of the BCB's Flaming Hot Fritos, the Beefy Nacho Burrito contains "Queso Strips", which are essentially Fritos with a slight nacho-like taste to them. Also rice is not included, but can be added for about 25-30 cents, depending on the location.

I wasn't able to take pictures when I first tried this Beefy Nacho Burrito, but I'll try to relay my experience as best as possible. First off, any time I get a burrito like this from Taco Bell, I always order it "grilled", which is basically them putting the burrito in a flat-iron type grill and pressing it for a few seconds. It's the same way they make their Grilled Stuffed Burritos. And there's no charge in having this done. The upside to doing this is that the outside is pressed and somewhat crispy, and it makes the whole burrito hold together better, and the fillings stay hot as heck, even on the drive home.

Like I mentioned above, I added rice, which cost me 50 cents to add to two burritos, which isn't too shabby. It's about as close as I'm ever going to get to... You know. :[

I used a few packets of the always delicious hot sauce and went to town. It tasted very similar to the BCB, but not exactly, since there wasn't that delicious kick that the Flaming Hot Fritos gave. There wasn't a very recognizable taste to the Queso Strips, it just tasted like seasoned taco chips. The cheese sauce and sour cream go well together, as do the rice and beef. I think it should be required for rice to be on this burrito, since it adds its own seasonings and texture that meshes with the other ingredients so well.

All in all, even though I'm biased and I didn't order these babies how they're supposed to come, I was still satisfied afterwards, and even was tempted to order a third. Which I didn't end up doing, but that's saying something.

Judging by the taste, price, and size (this things weighs about 7 whopping ounces) this is an excellent deal, especially for the 99 cent asking price. Adding rice is merely just throwing in some pocket change. I give this an easy 80/100, but in comparison to the Beefy Crunch Burrito, I'd have to go with a 70/100, since there's no reason why the BCB shouldn't be a permanent item.