An Ode to the Taco Bell Chicken Soft Taco

I have been pretty critical on the site and podcast about Taco Bell. I think their food all tastes the same. It all comes out of a flavor gun. I wish I could remember what comedian said a joke along those lines, the food gun, but whoever it was had it spot on. Most of the food still does taste the same to me too.

My wife and son love to go there. I usually do not get anything, but the past two times I have gone there I have indulged. And the stuff I get, for the most part, has no real distance from the other food save for a sauce here or the addition of sour cream there. The crunchwrap supreme is a concoction of every food gun they have, and it tastes like goo. The burritos are all the same. I honestly cannot tell the difference. The Doritos tacos all are similar and they do not put enough dust on them. I haven't tried the rehashed Mexican pizza yet, but if I had to go out on a limb, I bet it tastes just like it did in 2001 when I ate them all the time. But there is one food that I have had the past two times that I keep thinking about. I keep going back and reminiscing on how good it was. I truly enjoyed the flavor. I found it different from what I have had there before.

That Taco Bell food item is the simple chicken soft taco. There is no real difference in ingredients, save for the chicken. The tortilla is flour. There is shredded cheddar, I assume that is the cheese they use. And there is shredded lettuce. It is all the same. But going for the chicken over the "beef" makes all the difference in the world. I honestly do not know what they season it with, but it has real flavor. It kind of punches you in the face after eating all the other food they have to offer. It is juicy and has fake grill lines in it. It has that rotisserie feel to it. It mixes those two worlds to near perfection. The spice mix is great. It tastes like a great protein for a taco. And it is plentiful in the tortilla. I swear they put as much chicken in the taco as they do with beef. There might be more chicken in the taco than there is in their burritos and other foodstuffs. Whatever they are doing, it works. I remember being a kid and when my folks would get Taco Bell, on the very rare occasion, getting the chicken soft tacos was a nice surprise treat. Now that I am an adult and can go there when I want, I think I will only, and always, get the chicken soft taco. I think what I like most about it is the simplicity too. It doesn't need to have a shell with chip dust on it. It doesn't need nacho cheese or sour cream. There is no need to add any sauce to it, but the fire sauce amps the taste up great. The great thing about the chicken soft taco is the ease.

I am still going to be tough on Taco Bell. I still give my wife and kids a hard time when asking for Taco Bell. I would still rather go to almost any other fast food place. But at least I now know that, on the rare occasion that I will be buying food from Taco Bell, I will be buying multiple chicken soft tacos. They are truly a taste sensation.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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