GrubGrade

While Taco Bell can be hit or miss with their new limited time offerings, one thing is for sure, the value menu is a winner. The inexpensive variety of value menu items is something that Taco Bell does better than most fast food chains. I’ve been burned in the past with new, more expensive, “featured” items.  This one caught my eye.  A twist on the original Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Taco Bell now introduces the Bacon Cheddar Gordita Crunch.

The original Cheesy Gordita Crunch made it’s debut in 2002. In my opinion, it remains one of the best “new” offerings in Taco Bell’s 40+ year history.  The new Bacon Cheddar Gordita Crunch boasts “Bacon and Cheddar make it better!” Well I’m here to declare…”not really”. The good thing is, the original is so fantastic, this new spin doesn’t hurt it too bad.

The Bacon Cheddar Gordita Crunch switches things up from the original by adding bits of bacon to the cheese spackle that separates the hard shell from the gordita shell. Another added feature is the switch from pepperjack sauce to a zesty southwest cheddar sauce. The zesty southwest cheddar sauce was a flavorful, pleasant surprise.  While I am a fan of bacon, I felt that the bacon was a little off-putting.  There’s just a lot going on.  The only thing I would expect to get at Taco Bell where bacon was a nice addition, would be in past items such as the Chicken Club Chalupa. The chicken/bacon combo just works alot better than ground beef and bacon.  While definitely not bad, it seemed somewhat forced to add bacon.  I just don’t understand why the original Cheesy Gordita Crunch can’t make a triumphant return and become a menu standard.  It was a hit wasn’t it?

There is a lot going on with the Bacon Cheddar Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell, maybe just a tad too much. All in all though, at a reasonably priced $2.69 it was satisfying and quite tasty.

• Pros- Holds together a lot better than a hard shell alone.  Full of flavor.  Inexpensive.
• Cons- The addition of bacon doesn’t work with ground beef like it does with chicken.  Leaves you missing the original Gordita Crunch.

Taste:  8.75/10

Value:  9.25/10

Grubbing on the Go:  8.25/10

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GrubGrade: 9.00/10  (Exceptional)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $2.69

Tacobell.com