Fast-food customers are by and large very loyal people -- any menu change is going to be met at least some skepticism and "that's not right."
There was the recent outcry over what many called the "not really Mexican" Mexican Original Chicken Sandwich from Restaurant Brands International (QSR)'s Burger King and the internet pressure that caused Yum! Brands (YUM)-owned Taco Bell to commit to making Mexican Pizza a permanent menu item.
Taco Bell is, in general, a brand that tinkers with what it sells consumers often. While it has a core menu of things like the Burrito Supreme and Nachos BellGrande, the chain will regularly launch promotions, remove old items and then bring them back after enough time has passed for them to be missed.
What's This About The Non-Burrito Burrito?
The latest internet outcry is the result of Taco Bell's new series of burritos -- the chain has been testing its Chicken Enchilada Burrito, Chicken Poblano Caesar Burrito, and Cheesy Chipotle Chicken Burrito at some North Carolina locations through the end of December and start of January.
The major draw is that the each of these costs only $2 -- each includes chicken, lettuce, rice (or tortilla chips in the case of the Caesar) and different sauces. All are being presented by Taco Bell as a filling cheap eat and "value craving."
But unfortunately for Taco Bell, the response to these $2 burritos has been subject to some major criticism.. A Reddit thread is currently ripping them apart for not being enough "like a burrito."
"At what point does a burrito become a wrap?" Reddit user u/FileError214 writes in the chain's upvoted comment. "This is just a salad wrapped up in a tortilla."
Image source: Taco Bell
Tex-Mex, Authentic Mexican And Fast Food's Place In It All
The exact distinction between "burrito" and "wrap" is murky at best but, to many on the internet, the former needs to have more filling and distinctly Mexican flavors. While the last decade has brought with it an explosion of authentic restaurants to major cities across the U.S., the fast food industry's tradition of slapping some jalapeños on a dish and and calling it "Mexican" has largely persisted -- as has the wider public's conflation of Tex-Mex with authentic food from the country's 32 regions.
Still others consider the new Taco Bell product neither a wrap or a burrito but a salad with a bit of bread for carbs.
"If it's a salad then I don't know why they're selling it in the South," writes u/SnowDoom6.
But at the same time, the reception was not all bad among Taco Bell eaters in Charlotte -- at a time of rampant inflation, many were happy to see the chain experiment with a new low-price item.
The Caesar one, in particular, also tugged on the nostalgia strings of some older customers. In the summer of 2003, Taco Bell briefly had the Chicken Caesar Grilled Stuft Burrito -- a $3 wrap that, filled with chicken, romaine lettuce, and Caesar dressing and the very remotely "Mexican" twist of red tortilla chips instead of crouton, is extremely similar to the new one in both ingredients and low price.
"I used to love the old chicken Caesar burritos they had when I was in college, so I hope these make it nationwide," wrote Reddit user u/ruiner8850.
