Tuesday, November 27, 2007

TBG Reviews Taco Bell's Chipotle Grilled Stuft Burrito




There is nothing on Taco Bell's menu that can be deemed even kinda-sorta spicy. So, it's with much bemusement that I watch their latest ad campaign hyping the new Chipotle Grilled Stuft Burrito. "Don't worry", the commercial implies, "It won't burn your innards!" Well, it's good to know that the fast food industry is using the marketing term "chipotle" so responsibly. Oh, and rarely. So very, very rarely.

NOTE: Yeah, the above clip is the best I could find on YouTube. It's from 1984, includes a cameo from former Los Angeles Raiders tight end Todd Christensen and is in no way close to the "flaming bag" commercial currently airing for the burrito I'm reviewing. I'll show myself out.

I've wolfed down two of these in the last few weeks, which shouldn't be mistaken for an unabashed endorsement so much as my own personal exhaustion of everything else on their menu. Taco Bell's "Grilled Stuft" line of burritos are crammed into a George Foreman-esque grill after they're made, so they come out golden brown on both sides.

This one is "stuft" with steak or chicken, along with beans, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, "spicy chipotle rice" (their words) and a "southwestern chipotle sauce" (again, their words). And, if you remove all instances of the words "spicy" and "chipotle" from the preceding sentence, you'll get a far more accurate representation of what the Tac-(o Bell) is cookin'.

Decent, but bland, if there was any chipotle sauce in the two I ate it must've burned off in the grilling process. If you've had one of Taco Bell's burritos, you've had this one. On the plus side, this is a colorful food item. The inside looks like an edible rainbow with reds, whites, yellows and whatever the hell color thawed microwaved chicken is.

Back to the drawing board, TB.

Grade: 2.5 (out of 5)
Calories: 670, Fat: 29g

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The only thing more shocking in that commercial than Christensen's perm is the idea that a *woman* could finish off the mountain of ground beef and cheese AND the deep fried "bowl" of a taco salad. Look at it. She didn't leave a crumb behind.

Where were women like this when I was dating???