GrubGrade

The long awaited addition to the Volcano Menu has reached the States nationwide.  I recall making my bold predictions at the Taco Bell Test Kitchen back in May, that the next item to bring the heat would be the Volcano Crunchwrap.  The Taco Bell folks were tight-lipped and as it turns out, I was dead wrong.  My second guess was the Volcano Nachos and it turns out I should’ve never trusted my instinct.  So here we are in the middle of the Summer heat and Taco Bell raises the temps even higher with the fiery New! Volcano Nachos.

As I mentioned in my Food News post, Taco Bell entices us with that great promo picture and this description:

Crunchy, freshly prepared tortilla chips covered with hearty beans, seasoned ground beef, warm nacho cheese, red tortilla strips, our new cheesy, molten hot lava sauce, jalapenos and topped off with reduced-fat sour cream

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The newest member of the Taco Bell Volcano Menu is here….Volcano Nachos.  Review coming later today…I just bought them for $3.79.

Crunchy, freshly prepared tortilla chips covered with hearty beans, seasoned ground beef, warm nacho cheese, red tortilla strips, our new cheesy, molten hot lava sauce, jalapenos and topped off with reduced-fat sour cream

Check out the nutrition stats of this monster…

• 910 Calories…56g of Fat…9g of Saturated Fat, 45mg Cholesterol, 1860mg Sodium, 80g of Carbs, 13g of Dietary Fiber, 6g of Sugar, 20g of Protein

A little while ago I posted a bold prediction that on August 2nd the Volcano Menu from Taco Bell would expand to add the Volcano Crunchwrap…well I was wrong but this is the next best thing. 

Insider tip from IBeAnonymous…

Sorry to burst your bubble, the new Taco Bell item, which goes live on July 31st is the new Volcano Nachos.

I work for Taco Bell and we have already gotten our training material for this and trained our crews.  No word on the Crunchwrap though.

Maybe Taco Bell has used my brilliant creation from the Test Kitchen trip?

My Creation: Fully Loaded Cheesy Volcano Chicken Nachos

Volcano Crunchwrap via TacoBell Canada

Warm soft flour tortilla, seasoned rice, seasoned ground beef, spicy Inferno Sauce™, warm nacho cheese sauce, crunchy tostada shell, hot jalapeño peppers, cool sour cream, crunchy red strips.

This is the description of the Canadian Taco Bell version of the Volcano Crunchwrap.  Yeah it’s already available in Canada.  Interesting they call their Lava Sauce, “Inferno Sauce”.  Anyways, August 2nd marks the date for the next Volcano menu item from Taco Bell here in America and my money is on the Volcano Crunchwrap.  It’s been tested in certain markets and people like it…it’s coming nationwide.  Only a matter of time.  Followed by Volcano Nachos I believe…

As some of you may know already, last week I experienced what some have dubbed a “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” experience.  Invited by the nice folks at Taco Bell, I made my way from the rain drenched East Coast to the sunny skies of Southern California (well, sunny once you get passed the morning May Gray/June Gloom that plagues the area around this time of year).  Irvine, California, to be more specific, the home of the headquarters of Mexican fast food giant Taco Bell.  The visit’s intention was for Taco Bell to host an event for a select group of food bloggers to get an inside look of what’s new at Taco Bell.

The view from my hotel parking lot...The Taco Bell Building

Let’s get some details out of the way.  There were about 5 of us bloggers on Day 1 and on Day 2, John from SoGoodBlog and Elie from FoodBeast joined in on the festivities. Day 1 really just consisted of travel (for me it was Baltimore, MD to St. Louis, MO to Las Vegas, NV to Orange County, CA).  Once touching down at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, I took the hotel shuttle to the hotel which was literally a stones throw away.  After checking in and getting settled, I took a look at an envelope that included the 2-day itinerary and a bunch of Taco Bell Bucks…woohoo!  Seeing as though at this point it’s around 4pm and I’m just getting my bearings together, I hop to it to get ready to leave again.  A 4:30pm scheduled shuttle to take the group to Michael Kang’s Five Feet Restaurant in Laguna Beach.  The cast of characters making their way to this dinner… EpicPortions, Endless Simmer, Scott Roberts Web, Food Facts and Pleasure Palate.  We were hosted by Deborah Bell, Lauren Lloyd and Will Bortz, who were kind enough to get the group out for this visit.  The dinner at Five Feet was impressive and the owner and staff were very accommodating.  John from Epic Portions and I contemplated ordering a $7,500.00 bottle of wine from the huge selection but we figured $15 bottles of Chimay was damage enough. Sometime in the future, look out for a more detailed write-up of the restaurant.  A post dinner walk down to the beach was just what I needed after stuffing my face with beer, wine, goat cheese wontons, catfish, shrimp, tuna, boneless BBQ short ribs, mashed potatoes, Creme Brule etc, etc, etc.  The walk down to the beach was followed by a visit to the Marine Room Tavern to check out some live music and watch the Cavaliers hand away yet another game to the Orlando Magic.  The night ended with a handful of us left, at a Belgian-style bar/restaurant called Brussels Bistro.

Dinner at Five Feet Restaurant

A walk down to the beach...

Marine Room Tavern

On Day 2, the actual visit to the Taco Bell HQ took place. A 10:30am start, we made our way to the gigantic hotel sized building.  We could’ve taken the shuttle, but everything is so close, we just took a brief 5 minute walk to the building.   (more…)

I grabbed the New! Volcano Box from Taco Bell today.  Clocking in at $6.99, bring your appetite or bring a friend to help finish it.  The Volcano Box features the return of the Volcano Taco and the mainstream introduction of the Volcano Double Beef Burrito.  Also included in the Volcano Box is a Crunchy Beef Taco, Cinnamon Twists and a Large Drink.

Volcano Taco – Your typical Crunchy Beef Taco fired up with a red taco shell and Lava Sauce.  Seasoned ground beef, grated cheese, lettuce and Lava Sauce nestled in the red shell   The red hard taco shell is just for the aesthetics of making it more Volcano-esque as it’s not flavored any different from what I can tell.  Just your typical taco shell with an intimidating new look.  The Lava Sauce is pretty hot for my feeble palette.  It’s a nice spicy, cheesy beef taco that on first bite you’re just hit with flavor and within a couple of seconds, the spicy sauce really kicks in.  It would be cool (and entirely possible) to get a Volcano Taco with some sour cream added to cool things down.  I found it strange that the only taste difference between this and the regular 89¢ Crunchy Beef Taco is the Volcano Sauce and it’s $1.29 for the Volcano Taco alone.  I guess red shells are more expensive.  I’ll deduct some points for the extra cost.  All in all though, I could handle the heat and maybe the next time I’ll ask if I can have it topped with a cooling agent…a nice helping of sour cream.  GrubGrade:  7.25/10  (Decent)

Volcano Taco - $1.29

Volcano Double Beef Burrito - The new kid on the Volcano block really stood out as the hero of the Volcano Box.  This Volcano Double Beef Burrito was pretty solid.  Here’s an attempt to sound like a Taco Bell ad…it’s “Cheesy, Beefy, Saucy, Ricey, Spicy and Pricey”.  How’s that?  The Volcano Burrito is similar to the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito. It contains seasoned rice, beef, Lava Sauce, Red Strips, Sour Cream, and Cheddar Cheese.  I found that $3.19 for the burrito alone was a little steep considering the Why Pay More! Value Menu has a burrito of similar weight and stature (Cheesy Double Beef Burrito) for 89 or 99¢.  The spicy new Lava Sauce is a bit more subtle in the Volcano Double Beef Burrito because there are a lot more ingredients helping to put out the fire.  This was a pretty filling burrito and I’m glad there was tasty rice included.  It would’ve been cool to have this burrito in a red soft tortilla but still nice addition to the Volcano Menu.  GrubGrade:  8.25/10  (Very Good)

Volcano Double Beef Burrito - $3.19

Crunchy Beef Taco - A bit of a break from the heat of the Volcano items.  Your typical, classic beef, hard corn taco shell.  Seasoned beef, grated cheddar cheese and lettuce.  Nothing crazy, just simple, tasty and cheap food you can eat by the bagful.  At 89¢, it’s a no brainer and a perfect compliment to any Taco Bell order.  I’ll go ahead and give it some extra bonus points for being only 89¢.  GrubGrade:  7.75/10  (Good)

Crunchy Beef Taco - 89cents

Cinnamon Twists – Crispy, puffed corn twists, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.  This was the first time that I’ve had these and I found them to be bigger than I expected.  Very light and crispy.  Cinnamon and sugary sweetness.  Nothing exceptional but an average sweet treat for only 79¢.  I really just wish that Taco Bell would bring back the Choco Taco.  GrubGrade:  6.25/10  (Average)

Cinnamon Twists - 79cents

Mountain Dew Baja Blast – An exclusive Taco Bell Mountain Dew flavor, the Baja Blast is marketed as a tropical lime-flavored Dew drink made specially to go with Taco Bell food.  Mixing in tropical lime and pineapple flavors, this blue Baja Blast was introduced in 2004.  I still prefer Mountain Dew Code Red.  The Baja Blast is kinda odd tasting.  Not a huge fan but I could see it growing on me if I were to be a repeat drinker.  GulpGrade:  5.75/10  (Mediocre)

Large Mountain Dew Baja Blast - $1.89

So for your $6.99, you get a big box of quick-serve Mexican grub that is certain to fill you up.  A good way to sample some new offerings at Taco Bell.  The New! Volcano Menu currently has just the Volcano Taco and the Volcano Double Beef Burrito.  You can make pretty much anything “Volcano” by adding the Lava Sauce.  Down the road I see an expansion to the Volcano Menu that I’m hoping will implement a few innovations other than the Lava Sauce alone.  It would be cool to get some red soft shell tacos or burritos.  Only time will tell.  The bottom line is that the Volcano Menu brings the heat and it is sure to satisfy Taco Bell fans out there.  The Volcano Double Beef Burrito is a nice addition and I’m looking forward to what’s to come.

Nutrition Info for the Volcano Menu items:

The Volcano Double Beef Burrito has 800 calories, 42 grams of fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 2010 mg sodium, 81 grams of carbs, 8 grams of dietary fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 24 grams of protein.

The Volcano Taco has 240 calories, 17 grams of fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 14 grams of carbs, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of sugar and 8 grams of protein.

*UPDATED…see below the pic.

According to the updated Taco Bell website, the New! Volcano Menu just shows a Volcano Double Beef Burrito and a return of the Volcano Taco .  So basically the two items in the promo picture.  No mention of a Volcano Crunchwrap or Volcano Nachos.  The Taco Bell Volcano Big Box includes 1 Volcano Taco, 1 Volcano Double Beef Burrito, 1 crunchy beef taco, cinnamon twists and a large drink.

Price:  I will double check but similar Taco Bell “Big Box” prices have been around $4.99.

UPDATE***   Just checked…the price for the Volcano Box is $6.99.  Individually it goes like this:

1. Volcano Double Beef Burrito-$3.19
2. Volcano Taco-$1.29
3. Crunchy Beef Taco-$0.89
4. Cinnamon Twists-$0.79
5. Large Drink-$1.89

So, it comes out to $8.05 for all 5 items individually (before sales tax).  Savings of $1.06 for the Volcano Box.

READ OUR FULL REVIEW

Nutrition info on the new Volcano items:

The Volcano Double Beef Burrito has 800 calories, 42 grams of fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 2010 mg sodium, 81 grams of carbs, 8 grams of dietary fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 24 grams of protein.

The Volcano Taco has 240 calories, 17 grams of fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 470 mg sodium, 14 grams of carbs, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of sugar and 8 grams of protein.

Click to Read Our Full Review