There are tons of canon events for college students, from locking yourself out of your dorm building in the middle of the night to pulling your first late-night study session before your 8:00 a.m. test the next day (both of which I have done…more than once). But one that stands out in particular is finding your favorite college craving, and for me, it started and ended with Taco Bell. Every time my friends and I took the shuttle bus to the mall, it was guaranteed that when we hit the food court, I’d head to Taco Bell. Something about the consistency of its menu brings me peace, and although I would occasionally branch out and try new menu items, I always stuck to my go-to, two soft taco supremes and one hard taco supreme with a Mountain Dew Baja Blast.
That ends today.
With the release of Taco Bell’s summer menu, there comes a buffet of new items to try, and so I threw caution to the wind (and silently mourned my taco order) and ordered some of their limited-edition summer menu items to eat and review. I chose four of their newest items, the Mountain Dew Baja Blast Midnight dirty soda, the Cantina chicken rolled quesadilla, the Enchirito, and the cinnamon sugar churros. I should tell you that the Enchirito isn’t technically new. It was first released in 1970 before being removed and re-added to the menu throughout the years. The last time it was back was in 2023. Just like then, this dish is only available through online orders or the Taco Bell app, and is here until July 22, so if you want to try it, you have to act fast.
I’m a huge fan of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, so you know my obsession with dirty soda is strong. I’ll admit, because the Midnight Baja Blast has a tropical fruit flavor (despite its purple color, the soda is actually passionfruit, not grape), I was a little skeptical that I would enjoy a dirty soda version of this soft drink, but I was pleasantly surprised. The tropical and vanilla cream combo reminded me of a lightly fruity ice cream, and I could definitely see the frozen version (which was sadly unavailable at my location) giving virgin Piña Colada vibes.
Next was the Enchirito, which is essentially Taco Bell’s version of the classic enchilada. The beef and refried bean filling was delicious, but the red sauce left quite a bit to be desired. I prefer my enchilada sauce to have a bit more flavor to it, and Taco Bell’s version leans a bit bland. The addition of onions to the filling gave a good crunch, though, so overall I’m not mad about it.
The minute I bit into my next item, the Cantina chicken rolled quesadilla, I knew I had found my favorite bite. The cheese to chicken ratio was perfect, and unlike the Enchirito, the chicken was well-seasoned and had the perfect amount of spice and salt. Out of all the food I tried, the rolled quesadilla is the one I recommend checking out before summer ends.
Finally it was time to try the churros. Churros are another one of my favorites, and I will always try anything cinnamon flavored. The Taco Bell churros aren’t bad, and I really enjoyed how much cinnamon sugar they put on the churros. The filling was also sweet without being too much, and my only complaint was that I wish they came with more than three.
Of all the new summer menus that have come out so far, Taco Bell’s ranks quite high for me, and with an endless amount of combos to sample, I highly recommend getting in line, especially for that quesadilla.