The Cantina Bell Menu is Taco Bell’s move up the culinary ladder to fancier, higher-quality dishes. The Bell even hired celebrity chef Lorena Garcia to “inspire” the bowls and burritos on the Cantina Bell Menu.

These celebrity chefs have got some racket going. Garcia not only helps Taco Bell raise the “steaks,” she has lines of cookware, bowls (I get that), towels and bedding (huh?). The last time I was allowed to eat in bed was when I had my tonsils removed.

Garcia is small potatoes compared with the Food Network’s overexposed, cool chef/game-show host Guy Fieri, though. Spiky-haired Fieri hawks autographed (take a deep breath): cookware, knives, books, DVDs, glasses, about a hundred different T-shirts, baby bibs, wristbands, glasses, bobbleheads, hoodies and underpants. Yeah, nothing says “romance” like boxer shorts autographed by a game-show host. What’s next, a Wink Martindale line of teddies?

I can see Joan Rivers chasing Angelina Jolie on the red carpet now: “Who are you wearing, Angie?”

“My dress is by Monty Hall; the shoes are Regis Philbin. They’re orthopedic.”

Here’s the Chicken Cantina Bowl blueprint: strips of white breast meat, black beans, guacamole, roasted corn and pepper salsa, and cilantro dressing on a bed of cilantro-flavored rice.

Total calories: 560. Fat grams: 22. Dietary fiber: 12 g. Sodium: 1,560 mg. Carbs: 64 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $4.79.

The ingredients in the Chicken Cantina Bowl also come wrapped in a burrito, for the same price. For $2 more, make it a combo with chips, a side of guac, corn salsa or pico, plus a soft drink. You also can get Steak or Veggie Cantina Bowls and Burritos. Chicken is the smart play, though.

The chicken is all white meat, but it looks like compressed material. It does have grill marks, and you know what they say: “You eat first with your eyes.” The Chicken Cantina Bowl tastes pretty darn good when it hits your stomach, too. The black beans are cooked just right, and the guacamole is made from Hass avocados. We like familiar name brands in the drive-thru.

The thing is, how much of a jump in quality is the Cantina Bell Menu? The ingredients seem to be standard Taco Bell fare, just in a different combination, all mushed in a bowl. What exactly was Lorena Garcia’s “inspiration” here, besides sticking her name on the menu? That signature will cost you, by the way. Celebrity endorsements don’t come cheap.

Mushed-up bowls are good. I like a little of a lot in a spoonful. But this idea seems to be something borrowed from Taco Bell’s partner chain, KFC, and its successful line of chicken bowls.

The Chicken Cantina Bowl gets a passing grade. Everything is perfectly fine and dandy in there, it’s filling and $4.79 is a fair enough price tag. But what’s more (often less), many legit, locally owned Mexican restaurants offer lunch specials in the same $5 range, and you don’t have to endure the institutional fast-food experience.