Taco Bell Doritos Taco: Chain Claims New Shell Will Reinvent Titular Menu Item (VIDEO)

Some things are perfect: sunshine, rainbows, koala bears, King Lear, fish tacos eaten on the beach in Malibu. These are things that, like the wheel, no one would want to reinvent. But what about Taco Bell tacos? Given that they've been accused of being filled with a faux-ground meat mixture, they hardly seem as perfect as rainbows. So why not reinvent them? Probably can't make them any worse, right?

If only.

As it turns out, Taco Bell had the capability to make its tacos much, much worse. Parent company Yum Brands just had to team up with fellow food giant PepsiCo for an answer, in the form of taco shells made of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos.

The tacos debuted at the beginning of 2011 in selected markets in the San Joaquin Valley in California, and proved enough a success that Yum Brands has decided to bring the product to Taco Bells around the country.

Representative from the company told Nation's Restaurant News that the Doritos Locos Tacos would "reinvent the taco," and help separate Taco Bell from its competitors. The fillings on the Dorito-clad tacos are said to be spiced more mildly than those in traditional tacos, to help compensate for the extra flavor in the shell.

At this point, it's unclear how the bright orange cheese powder on the exterior of the new tacos will affect Taco Bell's sodium reduction initiative, but we can't imagine it's helping. Maybe Taco Bell shouldn't have reinvented its wheel after all.

Here's an ad for the tacos that's been aired in California test markets:

Comments

[Stephen Thorpe]

05:48 AM on 12/13/2011

Won't it be a Dorito not a Taco?

[raoulhubris]

08:34 AM on 12/12/2011

How about a cardboard chimichanga?

[Tunghoy]

04:34 PM on 12/10/2011

Tacos in a crunchy shell almost always end up as a big mess. This dumb idea is an American invention; in Mexico, tacos are always served in a soft, tortilla shell.

[honeybear64]

05:57 PM on 12/11/2011

Correct. The closest thing to a description of a hard-shelled "taco" in terms of actual Mexican food would be something like "a folded tostada". And a lot of Americans thought Taco Bell was being inventive when it came out with the soft-shelled taco, when in Mexico a taco is BY DEFINITION soft-shelled.

[Brandon Christison]

01:19 AM on 12/10/2011

I live in the San Joaquin Valley and have been eating this for the past few months. I love them.

[mira chancleta]

04:06 PM on 12/09/2011

Just one more reason for low-rider shoot-outs at the drive-up window...

[Karl Wilder]

02:08 PM on 12/09/2011

That sounds beyond gross.

[Fran Jaime]

02:45 PM on 12/09/2011

Oh goodness, yes! Gross, disgusting, etc.

[Pyrum]

01:35 PM on 12/09/2011

Wouldn't the shell turn your fingers orange?

[mira chancleta]

04:05 PM on 12/09/2011

I think it depends on the color of your skin

[No stinking fans]

02:22 PM on 12/10/2011

John Boehner loves these.

[MalteseTiger]

08:15 PM on 12/18/2011

Think we figured out Trump's meal of choice

[sean0008]

12:54 PM on 12/09/2011

Stoners with the munchies will love this. Sober people should avoid taco bell with or without Doritos.

[OutAtFirst]

02:34 PM on 12/11/2011

Maybe stoners will like it, but it will never surpass ketchup sandwiches as the munchie of choice

[sacmom3]

12:16 PM on 12/09/2011

I tried that Doritos taco. Trust me, it's NASTY. Some things just need to be left alone.

[Bflobaz]

11:42 AM on 12/09/2011

That means what -- more MSG in the new taco shell than the basic recipe? I'd say more now; just look on the ingredients label of the Dorito's Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips. One commentator; about the ‘down-side’ of MSG and its built-in addictive nature, said: “When the ad says: ‘Betcha’ can’t eat just one, they’re not kidding’.” Sweet!

Ever have one of those reactions to MSG? They used to call it the “Chinese Food Syndrome.” You have, if you’d had something loaded with it, noted by a tightness in the jaw or a headache between your eyes, maybe even dizzy depending upon how sensitive to it.

But I'd be a real hypocrite if I neglected to mention; when I'm about true self-abuse with processed junk snack foods: “Is there anything better in the non-organic, wholesome ingredients line-up than the Dorito’s Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chip?” Nope! I look forward to all the holiday parties when; in the spirit of the season, only, it would be rude of me to ignore all the effort the host(ess) put into the event by ignoring the big bowl of that variety of Dorito’s.

However, I advocate for personal responsibility including health. So for semi-self-abuse with processed junk snack foods, look to the organic section. There’s a brand of cheese puffs with WHITE cheddar and a nacho cheese tortilla chip actually pretty darned good and without the additional chemicals.

[Ghostberry]

11:34 PM on 12/09/2011

MSG is probably the most tested food additive ever. And it was found consistently to be safe, thats an old myth that needs a coffin lid. That being said: msg is mega salt, which will kill you eventually.

[PedroLeon]

11:38 AM on 12/09/2011

I just threw up on my keyboard.

[saysaycollins]

11:34 AM on 12/09/2011

I randomly get intense cravings to eat a Taco Bell then i FEEL terrrrrrrrrible but I always forget how bad it treats me when the craving comes back.

I order same thing every time. 1 cruncy taco. 1 cheese roll up. side of nacho cheese. mmmmmmmmm cheese.

[Joe Krumbach]

11:26 AM on 12/09/2011

Mmmm......crud wrapped in poo.....sounds like a winner!

[Lovelyblue]

11:24 AM on 12/09/2011

Last time I ate Taco H e double hockey sticks.. I got food posioning. Just say no!

[SciFiChickie]

11:23 AM on 12/09/2011

Thanks but I'll stick with my doubledecker tacos. hmmmm yummmy