Drive-thru Gourmet: Taco Bell’s Cantina line is raising the bar
This week I reached out for a new Cantina Steak Burrito, the latest brainstorm from Chef Lorena Garcia’s uppity upscale Cantina line at America’s No. 1 Mexican-style drive-thru, Taco Bell, with 5,600 locations … mostly next to McDonald’s on fast-food restaurant row. Yes, it’s OK to cut through McDonald’s parking lot to get to the Bell.
The Cantina Steak Burrito is a handful and a half: nearly a full pound of food that will hold you until dinner — or till breakfast, if you’re Taco Bell’s target customer in a car full of buddies, with the radio blaring, at 3 a.m.
“Gimme six of everything.”
“What can I get for $3.37 and an unused bus ticket?”
The Cantina Steak Burrito will cost you more than that, so look under the car mats for long-lost coins. The search will pay off.
Here’s the blueprint: braised thicker-cut marinated steak pieces, rice, black beans, romaine lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, roasted corn and pepper salsa and cilantro dressing, all wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.
Total calories: 780. Fat grams: 28. Sodium: 1,900 mg (ouch!). Dietary fiber: 13 g. Protein: 33 g. Carbs: 98 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $4.99 (double ouch!). New and improved doesn’t come cheap.
There’s also a Cantina Chicken Burrito, which has almost the identical nutritional count. So right away, while steak may be the headliner, the other stuff makes up the bulk of the filling.
You’ve probably seen and heard Taco Bell’s commercials with Chef Lorena rejecting Taco Bell’s test steak recipes nine times.
“Too deep.”
“Too spicy.”
“Not tender enough.”
“Too this, too that.”
I miss my old girlfriend.
Thing is, why isn’t Chef Lorena coming up with the recipe? What’s Taco Bell paying her for?
To her credit, since she started advising Taco Bell, the quality in her Cantina menu is definitely there. The guac is made from Hass avocados. The pico is made fresh each day. The rice is more flavorful. Everything tastes fresher. That’s huge.
If Taco Bell listens to Chef Lorena, well, keep on talking.
The new steak is heftier — thicker, darker and more tender — than Taco Bell’s old steak, which sometimes approached jerky. It’s a noticeable step forward. If Chipotle Mexican Grill is what Taco Bell’s shooting for, it’s pretty darn close.
A Chipotle burrito is about 50 percent bigger, but about twice as pricey. Crunch the numbers — Taco Bell is the better buy for square poundage per buck. Here’s another edge for the Bell: They slap their burritos on a griddle to crisp up the tortilla. It’s served toasty. It’s a nice touch to touch.