Double Decker Taco from Taco Bell
It seems that Taco Bell is the subject of many jokes and insults relating to fast food, but my own experience has been mostly positive. I’ve never gotten sick from eating there, and had no more problems with food quality or service than any other large chain. That being said, I also avoid certain things when eating out. For instance, any type of cheese “sauce” or liquid-cheese is something that sends up a red flag.
Everybody loves melting cheese, but when the cheese is already in liquid-form before you see it, before it hits your food — watch out. Like many people I’ve had some bad experiences when eating those type substances, and that goes for anywhere in the fast food world, not just Taco Bell. One of the few exceptions is Arby’s, who has a cheddar cheese sauce that is thick and tasty with identifiable real-cheese content, unlike the thin yellow oily goop found at many restaurants. Enough of my cheese rant.
There is no liquid cheese on the item I’m reviewing today, the Double Decker Taco. Why is it called double decker? Because it’s a soft flour tortilla that’s spread with a thin layer of refried beans, then wrapped around a regular crunchy corn tortilla, creating a second outer-level. It’s almost like a taco inside a taco, and it looks rather odd.
The result of the extra outer-layer is positive in two different ways. First, it adds more taste and texture to the taco. Second, it helps hold the crunchy inner-shell in place. How often have you bitten a crunchy taco and had it crumble and fall apart, spilling the meat and cheese everywhere. That’s not a problem with the double decker because the soft flour tortilla and refried beans on the outside, serve as a safety-net for the crunchy corn tortilla and all the goodies packed on the inside.
The ground beef has a good meaty flavor, and there’s significantly more than in a smaller taco like the version from Jack In The Box. The seasoning is mild, and the combination of beef with a thin layer of beans is a perfect match. The shredded lettuce tastes crisp and fresh. The cheese is grated thin and just starting to melt from the heat of the beef and warm tortillas. The cheese is rather dull and doesn’t have much flavor on it’s own despite being “real cheddar” but it’s OK as part of the whole package.
Each bite starts out warm and soft with the flour tortilla and beans, followed by crunchy corn tortilla, then you hit the middle where cold lettuce and cheese mix with warm beef. It’s a very satisfying combination of flavors, temperatures and textures. And despite costing only .99 cents and coming from the largest mass producer of such items in the world, it’s a pretty darn good taco. If the flavor is not spicy enough for you, they include packets of hot sauce in your choice of intensity from “Mild” to “Fire”.
I’m sure some folks would thumb their nose at such food, and list all the things wrong with it. They wouldn’t even touch it. But those same people will go eat dinner at a fancy restaurant with enough calories, cholesterol and fat to kill a horse, and pay $50 for it. So who’s really better off? Hey, I’m just a regular guy who eats regular food, and I haven’t lived such a privileged life that I can’t appreciate a good 99 cent taco.
The Double Decker Taco from Taco Bell is a great value. There’s nothing fancy or special about it, but it tastes good, it’s decent size, satisfying and cheap. This is a fast food junkie’s dream come true. I don’t know many $1 fast food menu items that offer a better balance of taste, variety and price. Excuse me now, I’m eating another one.
Price: $.99 / Website: TacoBell.com
Fast Food Critic Score: A
Click here for rating system details.
Nutrition Facts - Taco Bell, Double Decker Taco.
Calories - 320
Calories from Fat - 120
Total Fat - 13 grams
Carbs - 38 grams
Saturated Fat - 5 grams
Trans Fat - 0.5 grams
Cholesterol - 25 milligrams
Sodium - 810 milligrams
I love taco trucks and sit down “authentic” Mexican food, but Taco Bell rocks!
I usually eat THREE of these for lunch when I’m hungry. I love taco bell dd tacos. There’s no way I could get more food for 3 dollars with meat cheese and lettuce plus hot and fresh and tastes good.
Taco Bell is my favorite fast food restaurant and I eat there 4 times a week minimum.
The Double Decker taco is one of my favorite items but I only eat them on the weekends: I try to watch my cholesterol and this is a splurge item for me, though at 25% daily saturated fat, it’s really not that bad.
Now the Cheesey-Beefy Melt- that’s a serious splurge item! So much cheese, so wonderful!
I remember when the Double Decker first came out. A local restuarant named Taco Bravo (Campbell, CA) was very bitter.
They have a similar item called a the Taco Delite (and its off-menu cousin, the Super Taco Delite). The Taco Delite was out many years, perhaps a decade, before the Double Decker came to town.
BTW, Taco Bell’s hottest sauce is Fire, not Wild. Wild sauce was a pre-cursor to Fire sauce and didn’t come in packets. It was only available on certain burritos.
I once asked them to put Wild sauce on my Taco and they said that they couldn’t. It was too dangerous. I’m still trying to figure out what they meant to this day!
For the cost of 3 dd tacos, I prefer the crunch wrap supreme. Same basic ingredients, but you get a better balance of flour tortilla to corn. But, to each his own. Their both good.
I’ve eaten several of these, they are a very good value. Some of their other products are too dense in mouth feel for me, I like my Mexican food loosy-goosey.
Like the Stuffed Burrito … It’s way TOO stuffed for my tastes, eating it feels like work.
Larry, Jason, Jeff, Geezer and Rob… Hello, I hope you are all doing well. Another new week, all kinds of stuff to eat.
Jeff, thanks for the correction on the name of the hot-sauce. I updated my post.
One of my favorite things to eat when our family goes out for fast food, and when we make tacos at home we put refried beans on them because taco bell got us hooked on the idea.