Taco Bell Dollar Menu Review

Taco Bell, at one time, was the absolute bottom dollar choice in fast food. When you were so broke that it hurt, and didn't want to cook your own rice and beans, it was time for a Taco Bell run.

However, the "dollar menu" has become a solid business draw over the last couple of decades, and with it being adopted by many chains, Taco Bell soon became just another fast food option in the same general price range as all the other fast food options. They've recently rolled out a new value menu, however, in an attempt to undercut the competition with some items priced at 79 and 89 cents.

Will Taco Bell once again become King of the Cheap Eats? Let's take a closer look.

79 Cent Items

The 79 cent menu features three items in total . Two are new items to the menu - the Cheese Roll-Up and the Triple Layer Nachos. The third is the Cinnamon Twists dessert - essentially a little baggie of very small churros.

The Cheese Roll-Up is basically a poor man's quesedilla - a flour tortilla with melted cheese. As a main dish, it is a bit scanty, but it can work as a side supplement. I question whether one tortilla plus a handful of grated cheese run through a toaster is worth 79 cents, but if you are in the mood for a grilled cheesy snack, this is much more inexpensive than the quesedillas which start around $2.

The Triple Layer Nachos aren't much different from the old nachos that cost a buck - a handful of chips with melted cheese glopped onto them, only these have some taco sauce and refried beans slopped onto them hastily as well. Personally, I find Taco Bell's refried beans kind of nauseating, so I did not order this particular item.

89 Cent Items

The traditional Crunchy and Soft Tacos are on the 89 cent menu - depending on which location you go to, this could be as much as a twenty-cent drop in price, a ten-cent increase, or no change at all. Here in San Francisco, for example, the few Taco Bell locations we have were charging $1.01 as of late for the crunchy and soft tacos, so this is a small but welcome drop.

The lone newcomer to the menu here is the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito. I am confused as to the use of the term "double", as to what it is in reference to. The Cheesy Double that I had was actually made up of less than 50% beef, and was mostly rice. With only rice, beef and cheese as the ingredients, however, I did find it to be a more appealing option than the burritos that use the aforementioned runny refried beans that I really don't like.

99 Cent Items

On the 99 cent menu are the Bean Burrito and the 1/2 Lb. Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito. The Cheesy Bean was previously at this price since it's introduction several years ago, so there is no change here, as was the Bean Burrito (which I have not had, as I presume it is packed solely with refried beans). The Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito has not changed in composition at all, being the same sloppy, goopy mess of runny cheese, runny beans, a tiny bit of undercooked rice, and taco sauce that it has always been. Also returning are the Caramel Apple Empanadas, which have always been 99 cents to begin with.

The Big Taste Taco is the lone menu newcomer here. This is the standard beef taco, with the simple addition of red tortilla strips and jalapeno sauce.

Final Opinion

The "new" value menu actually changes very little. None of the new items are particularly exciting - kids and grilled cheese fans may like the 79 cent roll-up, and the Big Taste Taco has a decent flavor if you want something a bit more bold and spicy than the standard taco. There's a lot of old items at the same price, however, and some really good items previously on the dollar menu have been cut. For example, there used to be a spicy chicken breast taco that was around $1 to $1.29 (depending on location), which was a popular choice for people trying to choose something relatively healthy. This has gone missing, and the nearest equivalent for a simple chicken taco is now the regular chicken soft taco, which comes only with lettuce and cheese, and costs in the area of two dollars. Also absent (although they have been off the menu for some time at most locations) are the Fiesta Nachos, a dollar nacho plate that was not only bigger than the Triple Layer Nachos, but came with diced tomatoes and sour cream. On the whole, Taco Bell's new value menu doesn't seem to make any really impressive changes or introductions, and it personally won't be increasing the frequency of my visits to their restaurants.