I love Mexican food. It would be more accurate to say I love both kinds of Mexican food, because there’s a big difference between the authentic stuff and what’s served at fast food restaurants. The latter being called everything from “empty and soulless” to “white-washed” by dedicated fans of the real-thing. Not everyone is so picky, or has access to eateries serving quality authentic Mexican close to home, and for those people (myself included) the Food-Gods have created Taco Bell, Taco Bueno, Taco Time and the guy named Bob who sells tacos at the corner bus-stop. Sure, I’m afraid to eat Bob’s tacos because they smell like dog-food, but then again so does Bob. Anyway, today it’s the Beef Quesadilla from Taco Bueno at a cost of $2.99.

According to Wikipedia, the Spanish word Quesadilla means “little cheesy thing”. There is much debate about what defines a real Quesadilla, but this is fast-food and we don’t have time for all that. One thing we can all agree on, it’s a tortilla of some type (corn or wheat flour) stuffed with cheese, and sometimes also includes meat. It’s usually folded in half, and then sliced up into several pieces like a pizza pie.

In today’s case, the tortilla is a soft-flour variety and lightly toasted. The cheese is a mixture of Cheddar and Pepper-Jack, and I’ve chosen to include meat in the form of ground beef. The Quesadilla comes pre-sliced into 4 pieces, but I needed to take a knife and re-trace the grooves since the slices had failed to penetrate the bottom half of the tortilla. As it turns out, the meat was by far the weakest part of the experience.

First of all, the ground beef has very little flavor. To call it bland would be a compliment. In fact, it muted the nice cheesy taste which was trying to get out. There were a few tiny specs of tomato and onions in the beef but WOW it’s BLAND. Maybe they use such a miniscule amount of seasoning in fear the meat will overpower the cheese. Whatever the reason, the end result is not good. Frankly the item would taste better without the meat. To that end, they offer a Cheese Quesadilla with no meat. They also have a Chicken version that’s much better than the Beef. Expect a review on that, soon.

The cheeses were good on their own. I could detect the 2 distinct flavors (cheddar and pepper-jack) and they combined to make the center thick and gooey, with some bites creating strands of melting cheese stretching out for inches before finally breaking off. The pepper-jack is not very spicy but it’s definitely got a little kick. Unfortunately, most of the cheese flavor is being absorbed or weakened by the super-bland beef.

The whole thing doesn’t feel right to me, having a scoop of loose-meat inside. It’s totally different than the Chicken version, or most other fast-food Quesadillas which use ‘chunks’ of chicken, beef or steak, as opposed to meat ground-up so finely.

I want to give credit to the salsa that’s included for dipping. It’s made fresh in-store daily at each Taco Bueno location. This freshness shows and it’s very good, putting the competition’s little plastic packets of sauce to shame. Unfortunately, even the tasty salsa is not enough to rescue this review from it’s inevitable conclusion.

The Beef Quesadilla from Taco Bueno is not very good. Sometimes a few simple ingredients combine to create a product that’s more delicious then ever expected. And sometimes they just create a Big Bland BLAH — which is the case here.

Price: $2.99 / Website: TacoBueno.com

Fast Food Critic Score: D

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Nutrition Facts - Taco Bueno, Beef Quesadilla.

Calories - 823
Calories from Fat - N/A.
Total Fat - 51 grams
Carbs - 49 grams
Saturated Fat - N/A.
Trans Fat - N/A.
Cholesterol - N/A.
Sodium - 1612 milligrams

N/A = The company has not made the information available.

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

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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

In my younger days, my hungry friends and I would often visit the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant following a long night of partying. A regular stop was Jack In The Box. The main attraction was not the burgers, it was the “cheap” tacos. They had a good menu in general, but they featured a promotion of 3 tacos for a dollar, that was clearly the star of the late-night show. You could spend $5 and drive away with a bag full of 15 tacos. Even as broke kids, we could usually scrape up 5 bucks between us.

Today, many years later, the same beef taco is still on the Jack In The Box menu, and it remains virtually unchanged from the good old days. About the only thing different is the price, which is now 2 tacos for a dollar. Still a good value. Though as you might have expected, they are small and very thin. You can think of them as mini-tacos.

Much of the flavor comes from the mixture of beef and spices packed inside. It’s a taste that’s unique to Jack In The Box, and so is the unusual texture. I suppose it’s because the twice-cooked, 2-part preparation method (read more below). The end result is a nice contrast for your mouth and taste buds, with the outer parts of the taco shell being crisp and crunchy, and the thicker center soft and moist.

The beef filling has a paste-like consistency, it’s smooth with just the slightest bit of graininess. The meat is ground so fine, it literally melts in your mouth. For that matter, it feels like it’s half melted already. I’m sure a beef expert could tell me why the meat has this particular trait, but for the moment here at FFC, and for this review, we’re just going to call it “soft meat”. As for toppings, there’s a small amount of shredded lettuce, and instead of using grated cheese they toss in a tiny slice that looks to be cut from the singles used on their burgers. It’s not a lot of cheese, and it quickly melts.

Compared to most fast-food tacos, the JITB taco might seem a turnoff at first, and the fact that it comes from a burger joint might have kept you from adding it to your rotation with Taco Bell, Taco Time and the other Mexican spots, but I think most people will be pleasantly surprised. It’s surely not for everyone, but generations of fast food eaters have grown up enjoying these tacos, and their popularity is still going strong.

You may not know it, but the “core” of this taco is prepared off-site, away from the restaurant, at the Jack In The Box food manufacturing plant. They grind their own beef, then cook it with a trade-secret blend of spices. Then a machine places clumps of this meat mixture on-top freshly cooked tortillas, at a rate of 60 per minute. Next the machine folds the tortillas in half, and sends them down the assembly line where employees inspect and pack them into trays. Those trays get flash-frozen and shipped to your hometown Jack In The Box restaurant. When you order a taco there, an employee just drops the pre-made “core” in the deep fryer for a minute, then tops it with a slice of cheese and a pinch of shredded lettuce.

The Beef Taco from Jack In The Box is a classic fast food icon, dating all the way back to the 1950’s. It’s a solid and consistent product. It’s tasty and it’s cheap. This is not the best taco on the market, but it scores good marks for taste and value.

Price: $1 for 2 tacos / Website: JackInTheBox.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B-

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Nutrition Facts - Jack In The Box, Beef Taco (1).
Calories - 160
Calories from Fat - 70
Total Fat - 8 grams
Carbs - 15 grams
Saturated Fat - 3 grams
Trans Fat - 1 gram
Cholesterol - 15 milligrams
Sodium - 270 milligrams