Taco Bell is the holy grail of greasy, gooey, and fast Mexican food. It’s the perfect place for college students to satisfy those midnight taco cravings, or to inhale a filling meal for less than $5. But when we’re craving fried chicken and French fries, Taco Bell doesn’t come to mind—until now.
The Rundown
Alas, Taco Bell is now serving seasoned French fries and crispy chicken chips. But there’s a twist—it’s only available at one location in Irvine, CA. And lucky for me, there’s a Taco Bell right on my campus at UC-Irvine, and I got to try these glorious new menu items shortly after its release.
I was initially surprised by how cheap each of the items were: the fries can be ordered alone for $0.50; the Supreme Fries come loaded with nacho cheese, taco meat, sour cream and nachos for $1.00; the Crispy Chicken Chips are $1.00 for six of the nuggets.
Taco Bell Loaded Fries
I dug into the Supreme Fries and was somewhat surprised. I’ve had my share of Carnitas Fries (served at most hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants in Southern California), so I had low expectations for Taco Bell loaded fries. I have to admit, the nacho cheese is a bit of a turn off (I’m also not a nacho cheese fan), but the seasoning on the fries, and the sweetness of the tomatoes gave this new menu item a ton of flavor.
Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Chips
The Crispy Chicken Chips are decent, but nothing special. They are similar in flavor and consistency to Carl’s Jr. Chicken Stars. It didn’t seem to have any special seasoning, yet the orange coloring made it seem like it would. The Chicken Chips come with a side of nacho cheese sauce, but I dipped them in ketchup instead.
After tasting these two products, I wasn’t overly impressed with them even though I love chicken nuggets and am a French fries fan. It’s nice to see that Taco Bell is trying to appeal to customers that aren’t just looking for Mexican food and I’m glad Taco Bell added these items to its menu with the possibility that it will be available nationwide in the future. Now I can satisfy those late-night French fry cravings.