Review: Taco Bell Loaded Grillers

Like a chubby, semi-spanish, acne-covered Phoenix rising from the ashes, Taco Bell is back and here to stay. 2012 was a strange year for the fast food giant. The Doritos Locos Taco took off and easily became one of the most successful new fast food products in 2012. They had a bit of a slump there for a while riding on the Cantina Bell Menu and the Locos Taco wave, not introducing any new items for a while there in the summer months. Then they came back at the end swinging, launching a new dessert menu, the new XXL Nachos, and now The Loaded Grillers.

The Loaded grillers are pretty much just mini burritos that are designed to be based off popular appetizers like Chicken Wings, Potato Skins, and Nachos (I know, it is as stupid as it sounds). These things are 99 cents each which is pretty good value for the size. They have some good heft to them too which leads me to the one big complaint I have over all. There is a lot of tortilla in these, hence the heft, so it takes quite a jaw to bite through them if you get a stale or overcooked tortilla. Now on to each individual one.

I will start with the strongest of the three in my opinion.

The Loaded Potato Griller: Designed to taste like potato skins this loaded griller is Taco Bell's warm season potatoes, sour cream, nacho cheese, and bacon bits. Sounds simple and kind of gross I know. Well it was actually pretty good. There were tons of bacon bits in it, which were flowing out of the streams of cheese and sour cream. The potatoes are always good at Taco Bell, and there were just the right amount. With the flavor of the potatoes and the bacon, plus the consistency of the cheese, it all really blended into a nice package of almost a gooey hash brown burrito. It also was the most filling of the three so if you need to get full for cheap, this is a winner.

Rating: 4/5 "It's Just Swell"

The Spicy Buffalo Chicken Griller: I think the name gives up what this is supposed to taste like. Does it taste like a buffalo wing? Not at all. That is not to say it isn't any good though. This is just chicken, Lava sauce, and sour cream. Boring sounding I know. The lava sauce is meant to be like the buffalo sauce. Problem is it taste nothing like it. It is spicy, but it is more of a spicy cheese sauce then buffalo. This one reminded me more of a taquito with sauce in it. I actually love all the Lava Manu items at Taco Bell so I liked it a lot but if you do not like Lava Sauce stay away from this one.

Rating: 3/5 "It's Just Meh"

The Beefy Nacho Loaded Griller: Why make a griller taste like a menu item you already have? I don't know. It is Taco Bell, they have never been the brightest when it comes to menu items. This one brings back the classic "lets take what we already have, switch out an ingredient, and call it something new" Taco Bell Strategy. It is just the Beefy Crunch Burrito, but smaller. I don't hate it, but it is just boring. There is nothing here that makes me want to taste it again. It is just stuffing for 99 cents. Not to mention because they switched to the little red tortilla strips the get soggy really quick, which takes away the crunch that is supposed to make it good.

Rating: 2/5 "It's Not Worth It "

All in all it was fun to try these and I definitely see myself getting them again. For only 99 cents they would be an awesome addition to the Value Menu, which is shrinking rapidly. I am just happy Taco Bell is back to its glory days again. Heres to hoping that 2013 brings even more uninspired tasty crap!