As an owner of a Chihuahua in the 90s I can't tell you how many times people would come up to me and say "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" despite there not even being a taco Bell where I lived at the time
I got a buddy who had the friggin Yo Quiero Taco Bell t-shirt back in middle school, I think the ad really was at least equally popular on its own merit to the restaurant
I went through something similar as a 90's kid named Amanda. The show All That from Nickelodeon was extremely popular with Amanda Bynes' segment being pretty big. And when kids realized my name was also Amanda, inevitably they would say "Amanda, please!" in a nasally voice or quote the opening, which is just repeating the name Amanda a thousand times. You want to know what slowly dying inside looks like, that was it 😅 Having gotten away from it though for some years, it's now a nice surprise when I cross another adult who remembers the show. So long as I'm not in a group setting and everyone begins to do it, lol.
I've always said this and I'll continue to say it: People do not go to Taco Bell because they want good authentic Mexican food.. people go to Taco Bell because they want Taco Bell lol. Love 'em or hate 'em, they've successfully carved out their own little unique corner of US cuisine.
True. I have access to authentic Mexican tacos, but I'll still want Taco Bell seemingly on a weekly / bi-weekly basis. It's not authentic Mexican, it's something all it's own. Plus, nothing beats showing up to a party with a couple Taco Party Packs: you're instantly the man after a few beer pong matches and you show up / Door Dash Taco Bell. If not that, then everyone loves a good Taco Bell run during / after a night of partying.
Quite literally, with just a tortilla shell, meat, cheese, and a few other toppings, you can make easily a dozen different meals. It also saves a lot of space in the kitchen
my family would go to taco bell every single sunday after church when I was a kid. I remember my grandma handing my mom a $20, and with that, all 7 of us would eat our sunday lunch at taco bell. I had also figured out the technique to those plastic spinny things that they had at the counter, where you could win free nachos or cinnamon twists if you got the nickel to land on the yellow peg. I would save all my change for those sundays, lol
Yoo! to add some context for people who might not know, there would be this like aquarium-like game at the counter. It was filled with water and you would drop in a coin ("for charity" who knows what the franchisees did with the extra money lol) there was air that would blow up from underneath. You would drop the coin in and have control of this spinning rod on the top. Inside the tank was a plastic spinning contraption that you wanted to line up and have the coin land on tiny little landing bases. You could rotate it to A) block the air bubbles and B) slowly try to move under the coin for it to land on. All you could do was turn the contraption part, and that also changed the flow of the water and air bubbles. It was impossible for me, but my parents always handed me the change to give it a shot! If you miraculously got the coin to land on the platform (the size of a quarter, so nickels were best for density/size.. dimes would go straight to the bottom) you got a food item and if it went to the bottom you just donated the change anyway haha
Wow same memory for me, but just McDonald’s after church. McDonald was a big deal to me because my mom would never let me get happy meals. But with my grandmother she spared no expense
@@robertfrost8264 omg...they were supposed to have WATER in them?!! 😂I don't remember mine having water...no wonder I was able to win. I just had to drop it in the right spot for it to land straight on the platform hahaha
Fun fact. Hard shell tacos are an evolution of tacos dorados (which means fries or golden tacos) But the inspiration for the Taco Bell style taco came from a Mexican woman who immigrated to California in the 30s. Her restaurant Mitla Cafe is still operating in San Bernardino! The difference between tacos dorados she made in Mexico and the ones she made in California was just availability of ingredients in the region. Pretty cool stuff!
I can’t believe you didn’t mentioned the “Ronald McDonald loves Taco Bell Breakfast” commercial where they found real people named “Ronald McDonald” to try their Taco Bell breakfast. It’s petty it’s clever and I loved it
So like many college kids I was very broke. My campus had a Taco bell that was not only the cheapest food option, but also took our student meal plan. Before college I had never been to one because there were jokes about it being gross. Since I could get a full decent meal for a fraction of the cost of every where else I went there. Now like 5 years out of college I am making 6 figures, no longer broke, and I still eat Taco Bell on the reg because it is good.
Well they did have in the 90's i think for a short while. BUT they were smart, lowered their sodium and after that they really stepped up their game in the 2000's. I mean people would go there just to get baja blast. that's impressive
Only people who say taco bell is gross are the all organic Boujee people in the world who will not eat anything unless they literally pay for it 😂. $20+ dollar meals everytime. Taco bell got me through college as well. I was working part time all different places as an intern between my classwork.
I always thought of Taco Bell as very low quality food until I worked there for a few months in 2017. I was really impressed with how seriously they took things like food quality, customer satisfaction, and efficient management. Maybe it was just that one store, but I've always loved it and working there just made me love it more.
That would have irritated the fuck out of me when I worked there at 16 in the 2000s. We served trash food in a shit building located in the worst part of town, and we acted like it. One might even say we flirted with, and pulled up just short of, being proud of that fact. But since being proud of something is indicative of caring about it, I wouldn't go that far. The food is great even if it's slopped on a tortilla and tossed angrily into the bag, which is why we did bumper business. Probably still goin strong over there.
What got me hooked on Taco Bell was the .59, .79, .99 cent menu. Not so much the marketing of it but the pricing. I knew for only a few bucks I could order two or three things. When you're strapped for cash that's a great selling point.
The marketing for the 59¢, 79¢ and 99¢ menu was kind of catchy though. If you were not somehow already aware of this menu, that is likely how you discovered it. th-cam.com/video/_hkV9E2oNYI/w-d-xo.html Inflation happens, and we will likely never see options below $1 anymore.
I’d say that another successful part of taco bell is how customizable every single menu item is, I would regard it as the most vegetarian and vegan friendly fast food place because of that which impacts a huge market
I agree. I'm vegetarian, and other than pizza places, it's the only fast food restaurant that I'd say that I somewhat regularly eat at. I mean there's only so many impossible whoppers or salads that you can eat before it gets tiresome, and I'd be lying if I said that I go to fast food places for the salads, even if there are some decent offerings.
@@onebackzach The impossible burgers are even sillier for those that were always vegetarian and never had the taste for meat. Why would I want to have the taste of something I don't like the taste of. I just wish canada had more taco bell locations, but Canadian just don't like spicy food it seems.
Yeah also a Hindu vegetarian and when driving from Toronto to Florida our pit stops would be based on one criteria: where’s Taco Bell? Gas you can get anywhere but cheap, quick, and vegetarian food? Only Taco Bell did it
Unlike most other fast food restaurants nowadays, Taco Bell offers a fairly diverse $1 menu. A grown man getting full on $3.21 worth of food? Now that's value!
I always found it interesting, like even back to the early nineties, they have been by far the most vegetarian friendly fast food place, they have been the savior at many a drive thru on long road trips. Its a niche market, but they could capture it as their menu is just recombining base ingredients in different combinations so it didnt cost much to do so.
My papa passed away not too long ago but a Taco Bell recently came into his small town that 7 generations of his family has lived there and man he talked about it for weeks and had a weekly routine to go get some tacos for him and a salad for my granny. He’s had tacos before but the nearest Taco Bell was like 35 mins away so an hour there and back. So when you talked about those old world war 2 era people trying Taco Bell for the first time reminded me of him. They finally just put in high speed internet so he didn’t get to experience that but I bet he woulda chose Taco Bell over fast internet haha
The thing I like the least is actually one of the points you said, their ever changing menu. Finding my favourite menu item and then finding out its only around or like a month or two kinda sucks. Other than that, I do love me some Taco Bell.
When I was in college, I loved the Volcano taco. Now, I go there, because it is close to my work, with a drive thru; it's fast so I don't spend most of my lunch hour waiting for my food. It tastes good, and the cinnamon iced coffee is so underrated. It tastes just like a starbucks cinnamon dolce iced coffee, for half the price.
Adding to them "catering to their audience", they have always catered to stoners as well. I think the "Fourthmeal" is a great example of that. In my younger days, my friends and I would hit up Taco Bell stoned as all get-out and these sweet sweet drive thru workers would actually give us extra food. Taco Bell has always been kind to stoners.
in my experience, Taco Bell employees are the most generous fast food workers by far when it comes to just giving free food for no reason. show up blazed and they make sure you're taken care of lol
The .59, .79, and .99 menu got me and my friends through high school in the 90s. Four of us could pool our money together and eat way too much for less than $10.
A quote from my friend after having Taco Bell for the first time perfectly encapsulates Taco Bell, and I guess fast food in general: "I've never had something so mediocre but so good at the same time."
one of my friends is vegetarian and she always comments on how veggie friendly the Taco Bell menu is compared to other fast food places, which I think is a valid point
Absolutely. I was vegetarian in Texas in the 80s and 90s... For a long time Taco Bell was about the only fast food option. They have been vegetarian friendly for a long time! 😎
Yes I used to work at Taco Bell and we’d often have people order who were vegetarian. You have the option to fully customize any menu item. Oftentimes people would get beans or rice in place of beef, most other places don’t even have those as an option, so it’s nice that Taco Bell does!
I used to work for Taco Bell back in the 1970s when I was in college. The great employee feature it has is the time was you would eat free at Taco Bell, provided you or another one of the counter people made the it. We had a lot of fun coming up with our own crazy recipes, and there's a rumor that some of them even ended up on the menu.
To me, Chipotle and Taco Bell are two different things for two different moods. I don’t decide between them like I would, say, McDonald’s and Burger King.
@@JoelMurphy77 True. Closest Del Taco is an hour away from me. If they had more locations, they'd be more competitive. Same thing for Chipotle- Moe's and Qdoba are closer competitors but smaller
My quintessential Taco Bell moment is - one morning I woke up at home from a night of drinking, fully clothed, reached into my pocket, and pulled out a receipt from Taco Bell for a quesorito. I had never heard of a quesorito before that moment. I had never ordered one before.
Taco Bell always hits the spot. They're probably what you'd call a "lower tier" fast food chain in terms of quality, but for the price you pay and what you get it's great.
all fast food places are low tier you can out do them easily but most don't cause lazy then love to go karen mode when their order is wrong isn't that funny.
At least in my area, they are still the cheapest fast food option, and I already preferred them to begin with. Their ever rotating box meals around $5 are pretty solid, and still cheaper than the cheapest burger with fries and a drink at the other options here.
Yeah. I'm surprised this list doesn't include that it's super cheap ingredients as a point. Like, didn't they even face a lawsuit recently about their "meat" not having any meat in it?
Really can’t stress just how insane the hype around the Doritos Locos Taco was. I remember waiting in LINE to pick up a bunch for my friends and myself when they first came out. It was the THING when it arrived, I can’t remember a bigger hype for a fast-food release except maybe the Szechuan sauce at McD’s post Rick-and-morty-joke. Maybe the shamrock shake….but that’s it
Yeah I don't know what they were thinking. Fast food isn't as cheap for Mexicans as it is for Americans compared to their income, so it's easier to get much higher quality food for cheaper there. They really didn't do any market research at all
@@trevorgolnick5066 Just when you thought their corporate couldn't do anything more stupid . . They make tons of mistakes. It's AMAZING they're so successful.
@@trevorgolnick5066 Fast food isnt as cheap? In Mexico you can get street tacos for $1 USD. $10 for whole pizza oven fresh. Fast food is very cheap. Also its definitely not higher quality. You can easily get sick eating street food in Mexico as in the USA. If you want restaurant food in Mexico you are paying almost same prices as the USA. Alot of people have misconception of Mexico without realizing that just like in the USA there are poor quality "street food" as well as high quality high priced restaurants that can even be a total rip off to foreigners.
@@zlonewolf When I said fast food I mean conventional Fast Food like you get in the states, McDonalds etc. Yes street food and food you can get at the markets in Mexico is cheap, that's why taco bell (mcdonalds of tacos) didn't succeed there, it's expensive by comparison and is not what they are used to. Why do you just assume I'm completely ignorant?
You didn't mention that Glen had to manufacture most of his equipment, by altering existing fast food equipment. At the time it was all made for burgers. He had to buy a French Fryer and make his own baskets for the tortillas.
wow, what a genius. clearly he was a mastermind way ahead of his time... he bought a french fryer... and made his own baskets... wow, what a supreme genius
Taco Bell used to have a decent affordable taco salad- when they gave that up it was the final straw- I just go to either a street taco truck or del Rey now. They also used to have hard shell tacos that the shell wasn’t melting by the time you got them home. And they used to be the more affordable ff chain as well.
I work there so im kind of biased but honestly taco bell is the most creative while remaining having the like same 3 core ingredients with just adding something else and making it taste good simple but genius their work environment is also very employee oriented from my experience
Yes... ive worked at Wendy's and mcdonalds before starting a career as a electrician. Anyways my impression of taco bell is that they do put effort into ordering reasonably good products. So I'll give them a pass it taste good generally. Really good value overall. Simular to wendys. Where as in my experience took much more time cleanness and good produce and product then let's say mcdonalds in my experience was way more focused on pushing out sales then good product.
I can't believe how much information you delivered in 12 minutes. I felt like I watched a half hour long documentary, only to realize it was 12 minutes when I snapped out of it. I mean that as a compliment.
"Can you believe that it was his fifth attempt at a restaurant after 14 years of trying?" Yes, I can believe that. It's not like Glen was from the future and went back in time to create the Taco Bell we all know and love today. He was just a guy with a lot of passion and fervor.
Sadly, my favorite things at Taco Bell are all gone: the meximelt, the Mexican pizza, the chilito (later called the chili cheese burrito), the tostada, green onions, and verde salsa (which was around long before the packets) were a few of them. Then, there was the grilled stuft burrito (GSB). Not only did I love the original product but they had some limited time versions such as the chicken enchilada GSB and the chicken ceasar salad GSB. I never much liked the XXL GSB because of that green-flavored stuff they included that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike guacamole.
You just named almost every single one of my favorite items from them as well. The bacon club chalupa was very high on my list too. I have always had issues with KFC doing the same thing, imagine my lack of surprise when I found out they were owned by the same brand. :(
My mom worked at Taco Bell when I was a kid so she would bring me promotional food whenever they had it. I remember when they first partnered with Doritos, I was so excited. My favorite thing would have to be a chalupa or a crunch wrap.
Speaking of Geico I would love to see a video covering the various Geico marketing strategies they've taken over the years through their wildly different advertising strategies and seeing how successful each of them were in comparison to each other Also I live for the bell
Taco Bell reminds me of my childhood and my grandma bringing me home bean and cheese burritos. I’m in my 30’s now and I get nostalgic whenever I eat one these days. Love Taco Bell!
@@SimuLord Ephesians 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 *not by works, so that no one can boast.* Romans 3:19-23 19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, *and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.* Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, *and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;* and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. While I highly doubt there will be chili cheese burritos (which some Taco Bells do still make if you ask them to) or McRibs in heaven, you should know that "living a moral life" isn't enough to save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ will grant you entrance into kingdom of God, but the works you have done in faith will be rewarded. (If you do good for selfish reasons, or thinking they are going to grant you an entrance into the kingdom of God, they will not be counted. There are two commandments to follow: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Anything "moral" you have done outside of loving God and others will not count towards your reward.)
Even as a Mexican who doesn’t see this as Mexican food I still really like it. My main two things are the steak quesadilla and the beefy 5 layer burrito.
haha that's the thing, I'm surprised he didn't mention that they had to stop calling it "beef" in the mid 20-teens. They can only legally say "beefy" now because it's only 88% beef and 12% reconstituted dry ingredients. It can't legally be called meat anymore hahah
@@entrepreneurking8162 It's not banned, but it just won't ever suceed in México. Why go to the cheap knockoff when you've got the real good stuff here? (Which mind you, is pretty hard to top off)
I've been watching this channel for years and it inspired me to become a Data Analyst. You use data to tell a story and you include charts and graphs to visualize your data. Thank you for such a unique and fun channel!
On Main St in Green Bay, there's a bar that's in an old Taco Bell. Like, one of the old ones from the '80s. I used to hang out there and on really hot and humid nights, you can smell all of the tacos of the past. It's still open if you want to visit.
They almost always have a ‘limited time’ combo/meal that include some new item they are pushing. Usually the price for this meal is just $5, an incredible deal. This is almost always what I get when I go there, which is 6-8 times a month.
I love your documentaries. Learning about the history and methods of these companies is super fascinating, and you do a great job researching and presenting the information.
I love Taco Bell, I grew up on it. Once a week on the weekends when my mom took a break from cooking all week she would give me 6 or 7 bucks for Taco Bell. My favorite all time menu item is the cheesy gordita crunch and thank god it’s still around! Sadly they’ve gotten rid of tons menu items over the years but especially recently. They don’t even have shredded chicken anymore. Tragic.
dude no one cares... why you out here telling everyone your life story bro... you really think hes going to pin your comment, or your going to get 1000's of likes? good luck with that bruh
I feel like you could probably do a "bigger than you know" of Yum foods. I remember when I was younger being surprised by reading all the different restaurants under that brand
A big thing for my family, and the reason it's pretty much been the only fast food restaurant we go to (not that we go very often anyway), is that it's always had the best vegetarian options over all other fast food places. Not a salad from McDonalds or something pitiful like that, an actual filling vegetarian meal from a fast food place.
I’m surprised he didn’t mention it. Here in Spain, Burger King is the only other big fast food chain that has veggie protein options, apart from pizza chains. But still Taco Bell I think has a wider range of veggie options, with the “fake” mince as an option in every item. I can imagine Taco Bell is not only quite popular with the vegetarian crowd but also flexitarians nowadays
@@jncssl I didn't know Taco Bell actually had vegetarian "ground beef" (I'm guessing that's what you mean by "mince"), I don't think I've seen that in the Taco Bell near me but that's pretty cool. I've just always asked them to replace any meat in something with beans and that works great. Not that you even *need* to a lot of the time, they have plenty of dishes that don't contain meat at all.
I consider Taco Bell to be fusion food: combining/altering traditional foods to suit the taste of a broader group of people. You see this with a lot of ethnic foods like Chinese versus the takeout variety. It isn't necessarily inferior, just different. For the longest time my favorite Taco Bell item was the Meximelt which has sadly been discontinued. My runner-up would be the Taco Supreme which originally also had larger shells too.
@@Vanished_Mostly olives get pricey and people LOVE black olives. I learned that working at subway. The recipe for their sandwiches was 6 olives. I never could put enough olives on a sandwich. I thought I was being funny when I put a comical large mound of olives for a customer who wanted extra olives. The amount of joy that rushed through them I was not prepared for.
This dude loves Taco Bell. Just like me. Takes one to know one and I know exactly what you mean. Think Outside the Bun was the greatest fast food slogan. So much with so little, it still remains fresh in my mind decades later.
The Quesolupa is probably my favorite item, wish it was permanent, I was so happy when they brought it back in 2021, tried going at least once a week so I could get it while I could. The new Steak and Fries Burrito is a sleeper hit I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I do, honestly might be up there. On the full time menu the Cheesey Gordita crunch has my heart.
Big fan of the Spicy Potato Soft Taco + Steak and the (seasonal) Rolled Chicken Taco. I'd love for them to bring back the Steak Stack one day. Sadly, it seems like the quality has kind of declined since covid, like most restaurants, they realized they can cut corners.
The baseline of taco ingredients (ground beef, lettuce and cheese) has become so iconic that some taco places that try to be more authentic offer tacos “gringo style” as an option alongside tacos topped with pico de gallo etc.
Demolition Man is fantastic - Taco Bell won/survived the "franchise wars" - now all restaurants are TACO BELL. Also the interesting fact - international release, Pizza Hut was used instead of Taco Bell
Absolutely true that they used Pizza Hut instead of Taco Bell for the international release. I almost mentioned that as further evidence for their lack of presence outside of the U.S.
Thanks for posting this. I thought I was having the Mandela effect for years cause I remembered watching the movie as a kid in the states then when I watched it again as an adult many years later in Europe I was confused cause I clearly remembered Taco Bell from childhood yet it was Pizza Hut in the European version of the movie. So salute thanks for clearing that up.
Was that true in the UK? As a kid, that's where I watched this movie many times and it was Taco Bell they said. I remember because I had never heard of it
What's funny is I knew part of this story from my Driver's Ed teacher back in 1999. He was living in California back in the early 60s when Glenn Bell was selling stocks for cheap to invest in his new locations. My teacher decided not to invest because he didn't think tacos were going to become popular outside of Southern Cali. He was still kicking himself in the ass for not investing. Taco Bell took the 7-layer burrito off the menu a few years ago. Since then I've only been there a couple times. It had been my favorite from the moment it was introduced to the menu. Hopefully they bring it back.
9:10 THANK YOU!!!! I swear to god nobody else in my family remembered getting taco bell for 0.59, 0.79 and 0.99 cents in the 90's but I remembered those prices as a kid for whatever reason. I feel vindicated lol
I pretty much always order a number 6 (2 chicken chalupas, a hard shell taco, and a large Baja Blast) but they've had a lot of different menu items that I've enjoyed over the years. Especially those Doritos Locos tacos you mentioned. Something I really like about Taco Bell is that they make it really easy for you to customize the menu items. I had a friend who worked there in high school, and they explained that the software used for order taking made order changes easy for whoever was on drive thru. It's a very simple development step that many other restaurants don't seem to have for their system. Makes it much easier for people with dietary restrictions or those who are super picky, and encourages customers to order what they want, how they want it, without judgement.
Also, Tex-Mex is a distinct style that exists all over Texas. Taco Bell is not Tex-Mex, but I think that is the closest thing that you could compare to Taco Bell.
Best items they ever had was the "Big Bell Value Menu" introduced in 2003. Unfortunately the original menu was very short lived, and they quickly phased out the items in the menu. Best seasonal item that is also no longer around was the club chalupa, the bacon and club sauce was great.
I miss the better food they used to sell. I ate Taco Bell during the 59, 79, 99 era and it simply was better quality than it is today. It feels like they took everything out of it to hit a price point. It's hardly food anymore.
I payed 30$ for 6 taco supremes with steak instead of beef. Got home and there were maybe 4-5 pieces of something I could identify as possibly being steak. THIRTY FREAKIN DOLLARS!
It was the push to establish themselves as the healthier fast food option. Salt and fat content went down across the board for all the classic menu items. The stuff they seem to rotate through every month are all super unhealthy, the base menu is about as good as it gets from a drive thru. That big push meant everything changed. The McDonald classic hamburger is unchanged in any real substantive way since forever. The Taco Bell taco isn't the same thing at all. It wasn't price cuts that pushed it, it was figuring out a market position no other fast food place could fill and retooling the entire business to do it.
It is pretty low quality today, but it's still tasty. 90s and early 2000s had much more quality food. The taco shells were crunchier, the meat was actually meat, etc. But they still somehow make low quality food taste really good today.
I remember hanging out with my friends in High School, and on the weekends, we would do the 2am Taco Bell run. It was like a ritual. (and we weren't the only ones, the drive thru was always packed! Taco Bell is always a weird craving for me. I can go months without thinking it, then one day It's all I can think of. My favourite thing to order these days is the Dorito's del locos tacos.
When I was low on funds and didn’t have a whole lot of time Taco Bell was always there to help me out, It’s been my family’s favorite go to fast food since I was born, I do miss the enchirito and smothered burrito and hope they make a come back at some point
Taco Bell is supposedly bringing the Enchirito back, soon. They recently did a vote between that and the Double Decker as to what TB fans more wanted to see return to the menu(on the TB app), and the Enchirito won that vote. I forget when TB will officially be bringing this back, to all locations.
Why tacobell is so good for me is its actually healthy(relatively) there is only like 4 items on their menu over 500 calories and the rest hover around 200-300 so you can actually eat till you're full there even on a diet. When i lost 67 pounds a few years ago tacobell was a place i ate at at least twice a week and it never hindered my weight loss and eating it kept my cravings for junk food down
The only down side to it in terms of healthiness, is that while a lot of items aren't too high on calories, they're almost just all pure fat. Not very much protein in their food if you're trying to balance your macros. And very high in sodium (which all fast food is)
@@FuegoSavvy i said relatively, at least conpared to other fast food options, its high in fiber and relatively low calories its actually a good weight loss food if you know how to manage it that is
Favourite would be Crunch Wrap Supreme! Also love their Fries Supreme (Canadian Item). I was so shocked when living in The States and y’all didn’t have them- missing out for sure.
You missed their menu's ingredient consolidation as being one of their keys to success. From very few ingredients they make most of the menu which is an amazing boon for a restaurant. Just watch Gordon Ramsey fix a failing restaurant a couple times to catch on about how critical that really is.
When I was in high school, college, and even grad school (late 80's all the way through the 90's) Taco Bell was always the place to go. At first we went there because it was cheap. If you found some change in the cushions of your couch then you went to Taco Bell. It was the perfect place for a hungry teenager that wanted something that tasted good but didn't have much money. Then they were the first restaurant that I remember to have free refills. That wasn't a thing in the 80's like it is now. You could buy a small soda and then refill it at the machine (which the customer had access to) as many times as you wanted. It blew our minds. Then they just kept releasing interesting things all of the time. To this day Taco Bell remains one of my favorite places to go. And most of their cool and interesting food all use the same basic ingredients. It is amazing!
I will say that I think a big reason that Taco Bell has lasted so long, is that it goes to such great lengths to re-invent its image so often. I keeps a bit of the old self, while also updating everything to appeal to new consumers. Lots of fast food places don't keep up and get stagnant, whereas Taco Bell has been the one to push the marketing campaigns.
Taco Bell expanded to multiple locations in our state. I loved that dog, even though the mascot wasn’t as popular enough for Taco Bell, I still think was a better mascot than those cringey ads with celebrities and the party animals they’re marketing to!
My favorite memory was during the late 90's as a kid seeing this huge poster of the 3-D rendered of super Mario advertising the N64. I loved that console, the green and purple setting of Taco Bell, and that Chihuahua. The Nostalgia at 9:34 hit HARD
I'm a vegetarian, so I was glad when they brought back the spicy potato soft tacos. Those things are my favorite. It's amazing that you can get a full meal for around $3 this day and age.
I absolutely LOVE their spicy potato soft taco. I was so sad when it was gone but once I realized it was back I order 4 of them and almost inhaled them all at once!
Taco Bell might not have been very successful in Mexico, but their style of Mexican food is becoming more popular in Mexico than it used to be. More and more restaurants there are starting to have items similar to ones at Taco Bell.
A lot of people (even picky eaters) love to get the Party Packs - just a big box of tacos. Personally the crunchwrap supreme is one of the best food innovations ever.
Cheap, fast, and good (good enough, anyway!) food. A college-student's and/or stoner's best friend. I don't go often anymore, but when I'm in the mood, I always just get a taco 12-pack (six crunchy, six soft), and a ton of hot sauce, and pig out with no cares in the world.
I'm surprised police don't set up a DUI checkpoint near a Taco Bell or Krystal's drive thru. After 1 AM at least a third of the people in line are probably too drunk or high to be driving.
I love going to the combined restaurants. I’m watching this while eating Taco Bell and KFC from one lol. You can really do a fun mix and match dinner. I’m so glad they brought back the Mexican pizza, my other favorite is the grilled cheese burrito and nacho fries. All of those are the promotions now, so I’m happy.
I used to love Taco Bell up until a few years ago when they changed the menu and removed some of my favorite items. I know I'm not the only one to feel that way because I used to wait in long drive-thru lines but now it's mostly empty. They should bring back the classic menu.
I remember as kid I didn't like Taco Bell. It was in my teen years that I developed a taste for it. I love how half of their foods are not so greasy. If I had to pick any favorite items from Taco Bell, it'd have to be the quessadillas and the Dorito tacos.
Thanks for your awesome videos! My husband and I are thinking about potentially making a business ourselves and the lessons I’ve learned from you when you teach about these big companies are really fascinating and rather valuable. You’re one of my favorite channels out there, and I really enjoy your stuff. Keep up the awesome work!
I just got one of their targeted ads. It was amazing. It was like a movie trailer, but better than trailers for the latest blockbusters Taco Bell is pretty good, and there's reports that it's one of the cleanest fast food restaurants out there
Not even 2 minutes in and I just wanted to comment, as of 9/28/2022 there are at LEAST two Whataburgers in Southaven, Mississippi - just outside Memphis TN. Extremely popular, great food, amazing customer service. Love it!
"Daddy, does Taco Bell just sell lots of cheese inside of tortillas in lots of different ways?" -My 6 year old summing up our favorite fast food restaurant perfectly.
As a 70 year-old, I appreciate that I can get two tacos and a senior diet Pepsi for under five dollars. Little known fact: senior Pepsi drinks are free at most Taco Bells! And it taste good. And I love the Diablo sauce!!😊
My first taco, indeed my first "ethnic" food of any kind, was a taco at a Taco Bell when I was a kid in the 70s. It may not be authentic but it certainly introduced Mexican food to a wider audience.
My ex loves chihuahuas, and I love to punt them like a football. We broke up over something else, but it could have been the dog. I used to work for a Taco Bell / KFC hybrid. The idea is to save space, and it kind of worked. Some utensils were shared like the drinks, microwave, dish-washing sinks, etc.
I work for Hobart and I remember getting work orders from KFC/Taco Bell and it was kind of confusing. Because the restaurants would show up on our workday with two addresses, but one piece of equipment. We hated working on KFC Pot washers because staff wouldn’t pre-rinse the pots before putting them in the pot washers which clogged up the drains. And we always had issues with KFC/Taco Bell’s ice machines, it got so bad that our corporate office in Troy,Ohio forbidden us from working on their ice machine machines especially the drive through ice machines
if i were a person that got fast food frequently, taco bell would probably be the only one i went consistently. it’s the only place that i can stand eating at more than once in a month
@@CasperInkyMagoo I do live in a place with good authentic Mexican food and that authentic Mexican food is better. Taco Bell though isn't authentic Mexican food no one thinks that it's just stupid American food trying to be Mexican food and it's great. No Mexican place has a crunch wrap supreme or grilled cheese burrito. And those are delicious. Even though those Mexican places exist taco bell is so unique that it holds up against those places imo. When I die I want to be buried with a crunch wrap supreme dawg. I love taco bell
I worked at a local Taco Bell back in the early 2000's while going to college. Good experiences. I was around for the release of Baja Blast and the potatoes, and those apple pies. Man were they good. Good company to work for, at least in the area. Always had new items every few weeks it felt like.
I remember that .59 .79 .99 menu. My little brother and 2 of his friends while all seniors in high school once ordered 1 of everything on the menu just to see if they could finish them off and they did. I miss the 7 layer burrito and the Taco Salad. I remember when for a little while (who knows how long it actually was) they had a Taco Salad combo which was the salad and a drink. I remember a couple years ago they had a 2 bean burrito 2 taco and a drink combo. That must not've been too popular it didn't last long. Who can eat that much food? I can't anymore.
I’m a big Taco Bell fan. I only go there every few months to keep the experience fresh, but each can time I’ll get the loaded fries, Baja Blast, and whatever the newest menu item is
You forgot to mention how Glen Bell stole the idea of a hard shell taco from a Mexican restaurant across the street from his hamburger and hot dog restaurant in San Bernardino called, The Mitla. The Mitla still exists today and you can still buy hard shell tacos there. Mark Weins ate there and made a blog about it if you are curious to see what they look like.
as a very proud member of the taco bell taco lovers pass, i enjoyed this. i have never had a single thing at taco bell that wasn’t good. i enjoy how things change so fast and how it’s not boring! i look forward every couple months to the new freeze flavor, and to what new food item they will dream up
me and my bro found hairs in our food, none of the workers wore any hair nets. got up, spit it out, showed the manager and stormed out while my brother calmly got our money back. that ish was nasty. globs of hair.
As an owner of a Chihuahua in the 90s I can't tell you how many times people would come up to me and say "Yo Quiero Taco Bell" despite there not even being a taco Bell where I lived at the time
Why are they successful? Because it's the last place where you can still get gas for under a dollar!
(they sell .99C burritos)
I got a buddy who had the friggin Yo Quiero Taco Bell t-shirt back in middle school, I think the ad really was at least equally popular on its own merit to the restaurant
I went through something similar as a 90's kid named Amanda. The show All That from Nickelodeon was extremely popular with Amanda Bynes' segment being pretty big. And when kids realized my name was also Amanda, inevitably they would say "Amanda, please!" in a nasally voice or quote the opening, which is just repeating the name Amanda a thousand times. You want to know what slowly dying inside looks like, that was it 😅
Having gotten away from it though for some years, it's now a nice surprise when I cross another adult who remembers the show. So long as I'm not in a group setting and everyone begins to do it, lol.
@@theta799 first comment didn't get enough likes? Had to post it twice?
I liked the campaign where the chihuahua, Col. Sanders, and a Pizza Hut delivery girl got involved in Star Wars.
I've always said this and I'll continue to say it: People do not go to Taco Bell because they want good authentic Mexican food.. people go to Taco Bell because they want Taco Bell lol.
Love 'em or hate 'em, they've successfully carved out their own little unique corner of US cuisine.
very true ... and i say this as there is at least... 10 Mexican food trucks in my town ..and still taco bell has a line every day ..... :)
True. I have access to authentic Mexican tacos, but I'll still want Taco Bell seemingly on a weekly / bi-weekly basis. It's not authentic Mexican, it's something all it's own. Plus, nothing beats showing up to a party with a couple Taco Party Packs: you're instantly the man after a few beer pong matches and you show up / Door Dash Taco Bell. If not that, then everyone loves a good Taco Bell run during / after a night of partying.
The magic of Taco Bell is found when you're drunk or high. Goddamn
@@winlover37 or constipated
One of the other secrets of taco bell is making all of their menu items with like 10 ingredients. This helps significantly reduce inventory and waste.
Quite literally, with just a tortilla shell, meat, cheese, and a few other toppings, you can make easily a dozen different meals. It also saves a lot of space in the kitchen
By the way, the Mexican restaurant across the street that inspired Glen Bell is called Mitla cafe. You can still go there and eat.
+
Great place to go, still ran by the same family that taught Bell how to make its original taco. A national treasure!
Lol inspired
That's funny. Word "mitla" in russian means "broom"
@@-SundayWolf Leave the chat, comrade.
my family would go to taco bell every single sunday after church when I was a kid. I remember my grandma handing my mom a $20, and with that, all 7 of us would eat our sunday lunch at taco bell. I had also figured out the technique to those plastic spinny things that they had at the counter, where you could win free nachos or cinnamon twists if you got the nickel to land on the yellow peg. I would save all my change for those sundays, lol
Yoo! to add some context for people who might not know, there would be this like aquarium-like game at the counter. It was filled with water and you would drop in a coin ("for charity" who knows what the franchisees did with the extra money lol) there was air that would blow up from underneath. You would drop the coin in and have control of this spinning rod on the top. Inside the tank was a plastic spinning contraption that you wanted to line up and have the coin land on tiny little landing bases. You could rotate it to A) block the air bubbles and B) slowly try to move under the coin for it to land on.
All you could do was turn the contraption part, and that also changed the flow of the water and air bubbles. It was impossible for me, but my parents always handed me the change to give it a shot! If you miraculously got the coin to land on the platform (the size of a quarter, so nickels were best for density/size.. dimes would go straight to the bottom) you got a food item and if it went to the bottom you just donated the change anyway haha
Wow same memory for me, but just McDonald’s after church. McDonald was a big deal to me because my mom would never let me get happy meals. But with my grandmother she spared no expense
Remember the Eyeball straws? I used to love those things!
for 20 dollars at Taco Bell you could cater a family reunion at taco bell.
@@robertfrost8264 omg...they were supposed to have WATER in them?!! 😂I don't remember mine having water...no wonder I was able to win. I just had to drop it in the right spot for it to land straight on the platform hahaha
Fun fact. Hard shell tacos are an evolution of tacos dorados (which means fries or golden tacos)
But the inspiration for the Taco Bell style taco came from a Mexican woman who immigrated to California in the 30s. Her restaurant Mitla Cafe is still operating in San Bernardino!
The difference between tacos dorados she made in Mexico and the ones she made in California was just availability of ingredients in the region. Pretty cool stuff!
I can’t believe you didn’t mentioned the “Ronald McDonald loves Taco Bell Breakfast” commercial where they found real people named “Ronald McDonald” to try their Taco Bell breakfast. It’s petty it’s clever and I loved it
That must've been hard to do to find them, unless they used dmv records.
@@morganrussman Just go down south there is a lot of Irish dependents down there.
@@novastarguild2892 hmm, ok.
@@morganrussman most Irish Americans have a Mc before their last name like Mcolary or McCain even McDonald..
😂 I had forgotten that campaign. It was definitely clever.
So like many college kids I was very broke. My campus had a Taco bell that was not only the cheapest food option, but also took our student meal plan. Before college I had never been to one because there were jokes about it being gross. Since I could get a full decent meal for a fraction of the cost of every where else I went there. Now like 5 years out of college I am making 6 figures, no longer broke, and I still eat Taco Bell on the reg because it is good.
Amen brother best menu item was the naked chicken chalupa
Well they did have in the 90's i think for a short while. BUT they were smart, lowered their sodium and after that they really stepped up their game in the 2000's. I mean people would go there just to get baja blast. that's impressive
Okay fergie!
Only people who say taco bell is gross are the all organic Boujee people in the world who will not eat anything unless they literally pay for it 😂. $20+ dollar meals everytime.
Taco bell got me through college as well. I was working part time all different places as an intern between my classwork.
@@JQ_Unity fact
I always thought of Taco Bell as very low quality food until I worked there for a few months in 2017. I was really impressed with how seriously they took things like food quality, customer satisfaction, and efficient management. Maybe it was just that one store, but I've always loved it and working there just made me love it more.
Taco bell is low quality food at best
Lol
That would have irritated the fuck out of me when I worked there at 16 in the 2000s. We served trash food in a shit building located in the worst part of town, and we acted like it. One might even say we flirted with, and pulled up just short of, being proud of that fact. But since being proud of something is indicative of caring about it, I wouldn't go that far. The food is great even if it's slopped on a tortilla and tossed angrily into the bag, which is why we did bumper business. Probably still goin strong over there.
What got me hooked on Taco Bell was the .59, .79, .99 cent menu. Not so much the marketing of it but the pricing. I knew for only a few bucks I could order two or three things. When you're strapped for cash that's a great selling point.
The marketing for the 59¢, 79¢ and 99¢ menu was kind of catchy though. If you were not somehow already aware of this menu, that is likely how you discovered it. th-cam.com/video/_hkV9E2oNYI/w-d-xo.html Inflation happens, and we will likely never see options below $1 anymore.
I’d say that another successful part of taco bell is how customizable every single menu item is, I would regard it as the most vegetarian and vegan friendly fast food place because of that which impacts a huge market
@@fireflocs central jersey?
I agree. I'm vegetarian, and other than pizza places, it's the only fast food restaurant that I'd say that I somewhat regularly eat at. I mean there's only so many impossible whoppers or salads that you can eat before it gets tiresome, and I'd be lying if I said that I go to fast food places for the salads, even if there are some decent offerings.
@@onebackzach The impossible burgers are even sillier for those that were always vegetarian and never had the taste for meat. Why would I want to have the taste of something I don't like the taste of. I just wish canada had more taco bell locations, but Canadian just don't like spicy food it seems.
Yeah also a Hindu vegetarian and when driving from Toronto to Florida our pit stops would be based on one criteria: where’s Taco Bell? Gas you can get anywhere but cheap, quick, and vegetarian food? Only Taco Bell did it
Vegan and can confirm, Taco Bell is where I eat 98% of the time if I’m eating fast food
I don't consider Taco Bell authentic by any means, but I love the hell outta them tacos and chalupas.
Unlike most other fast food restaurants nowadays, Taco Bell offers a fairly diverse $1 menu. A grown man getting full on $3.21 worth of food? Now that's value!
But on the downside they ask is Pepsi ok?
I don't usually drink soda, but when I do...I prefer Baja Blast.
@@andtails Baja blast your mom
@@paxtoncargill4661 OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH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Fast and cheap is good but if you really wanna save money then make your self it cost time but atleast your wallet will be happy
I always found it interesting, like even back to the early nineties, they have been by far the most vegetarian friendly fast food place, they have been the savior at many a drive thru on long road trips. Its a niche market, but they could capture it as their menu is just recombining base ingredients in different combinations so it didnt cost much to do so.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat beef. I love that you can get beans instead of beef for free in pretty much any menu item.
Glen Bell is a true hero
My papa passed away not too long ago but a Taco Bell recently came into his small town that 7 generations of his family has lived there and man he talked about it for weeks and had a weekly routine to go get some tacos for him and a salad for my granny. He’s had tacos before but the nearest Taco Bell was like 35 mins away so an hour there and back. So when you talked about those old world war 2 era people trying Taco Bell for the first time reminded me of him. They finally just put in high speed internet so he didn’t get to experience that but I bet he woulda chose Taco Bell over fast internet haha
Sorry to hear about the passing. Glad y’all got to share a memory together!
I hope he’s eating some tacos in heaven, he’d deserve it
The thing I like the least is actually one of the points you said, their ever changing menu. Finding my favourite menu item and then finding out its only around or like a month or two kinda sucks. Other than that, I do love me some Taco Bell.
I will never forgive TB for discontinuing the flamin hot DLT, grilled stuft nacho, or any volcano menu items.
@@Yackass Smothered burrito is mine :(
Why are they successful? Because it's the last place where you can still get gas for under a dollar!
(they sell .99C burritos)
I was super excited for the Quesalupa to come back but literally every location I went to didn't have the stuff to make them. I was so disappointed
My rolled chicken tacos..
When I was in college, I loved the Volcano taco. Now, I go there, because it is close to my work, with a drive thru; it's fast so I don't spend most of my lunch hour waiting for my food. It tastes good, and the cinnamon iced coffee is so underrated. It tastes just like a starbucks cinnamon dolce iced coffee, for half the price.
Why don’t you go to the gym instead
@@xro1983 😂😂😂
@@xro1983why would they go to the gym for their LUNCH HOUR?
You should talk about CrunchyRoll, especially now that they absorbed Funimation. How often does a pirate site become this successful (in a legal way)?
Fuck Crunchyroll!
Pretty sure its not a pirate site........
@@mr_indie_fan it started as one which is what danyalillo is referring to.
"CrunchyRoll: Why they're hated"
@@ZontarDow 100% this!
Adding to them "catering to their audience", they have always catered to stoners as well. I think the "Fourthmeal" is a great example of that. In my younger days, my friends and I would hit up Taco Bell stoned as all get-out and these sweet sweet drive thru workers would actually give us extra food. Taco Bell has always been kind to stoners.
...Yep.
Crunchy, salty, meat, cheesey, hot sauce. Yeah, that does complete the checklist.
@@Supperdude9 yet flavorless
'Groovy' or something. lmao.
in my experience, Taco Bell employees are the most generous fast food workers by far when it comes to just giving free food for no reason. show up blazed and they make sure you're taken care of lol
The .59, .79, and .99 menu got me and my friends through high school in the 90s. Four of us could pool our money together and eat way too much for less than $10.
Oooh i forgot about this! Taco Bell was a hero to many a broke teenager.
A quote from my friend after having Taco Bell for the first time perfectly encapsulates Taco Bell, and I guess fast food in general: "I've never had something so mediocre but so good at the same time."
Truth
one of my friends is vegetarian and she always comments on how veggie friendly the Taco Bell menu is compared to other fast food places, which I think is a valid point
Countries other than the USA have way more vegetarian items (especially on dwali in Hindu countries)
Absolutely. I was vegetarian in Texas in the 80s and 90s... For a long time Taco Bell was about the only fast food option. They have been vegetarian friendly for a long time! 😎
Yes I used to work at Taco Bell and we’d often have people order who were vegetarian. You have the option to fully customize any menu item. Oftentimes people would get beans or rice in place of beef, most other places don’t even have those as an option, so it’s nice that Taco Bell does!
Wow you actually managed to find a major flaw, good to know I should avoid taco bell from now on.
@@logvoid1559 what flaw is that?
I used to work for Taco Bell back in the 1970s when I was in college. The great employee feature it has is the time was you would eat free at Taco Bell, provided you or another one of the counter people made the it. We had a lot of fun coming up with our own crazy recipes, and there's a rumor that some of them even ended up on the menu.
Do you remember any of those recipes?
I saw a Taco Bell during a visit to Mexico city in 1995... As a Mexican, it made as much sense to me as trying to sell ice to Eskimos....
I believe in Mexico it was marketed as American food.
As a Mexican, sometimes I prefer authentic Mexican food, and sometimes I want Taco Bell.
Naahh - It would be like selling a weird picture of something that looks like ice to an Eskimo -
To me, Chipotle and Taco Bell are two different things for two different moods. I don’t decide between them like I would, say, McDonald’s and Burger King.
Mcdonalds serves fake food. It literally doesnt mold
@@mr_indie_fan I’ll still eat it though
Agreed. Both delicious in own ways imo but yeah should basically been entirely different cuisines lol.
Excellent point. I think Del Taco would be a closer comparison but they're too small to be a viable competitor.
@@JoelMurphy77 True. Closest Del Taco is an hour away from me. If they had more locations, they'd be more competitive. Same thing for Chipotle- Moe's and Qdoba are closer competitors but smaller
My quintessential Taco Bell moment is - one morning I woke up at home from a night of drinking, fully clothed, reached into my pocket, and pulled out a receipt from Taco Bell for a quesorito. I had never heard of a quesorito before that moment. I had never ordered one before.
But it's the best item they have
Lmaooooo
How it got here I haven't a clue.
Taco Bell always hits the spot. They're probably what you'd call a "lower tier" fast food chain in terms of quality, but for the price you pay and what you get it's great.
The toilet visit the next day is also expected.
all fast food places are low tier you can out do them easily but most don't cause lazy then love to go karen mode when their order is wrong isn't that funny.
@@omnientertainment5852 Old joke, and misconceived in my mind.
I've never gotten the runs from eating Taco Bell.
Never.
McDonald's however...🤷♂️
@@BoricuaBoy88 fr the mxds and burgerkings put some wierd shit in their food every single time i ate any burgers from them I got the shits
@@omnientertainment5852 So just like when you eat literally anything
At least in my area, they are still the cheapest fast food option, and I already preferred them to begin with. Their ever rotating box meals around $5 are pretty solid, and still cheaper than the cheapest burger with fries and a drink at the other options here.
the 5 dollar box meals such as the nacho fries are great deals
Taco Bell was already my favorite but recently I noticed they were also the cheapest in my area as well.
Yeah. I'm surprised this list doesn't include that it's super cheap ingredients as a point. Like, didn't they even face a lawsuit recently about their "meat" not having any meat in it?
Idk in my area the nachos are $9
True. The $5 boxes are great value for the money.
Really can’t stress just how insane the hype around the Doritos Locos Taco was. I remember waiting in LINE to pick up a bunch for my friends and myself when they first came out. It was the THING when it arrived, I can’t remember a bigger hype for a fast-food release except maybe the Szechuan sauce at McD’s post Rick-and-morty-joke. Maybe the shamrock shake….but that’s it
The Popeyes chicken sandwich!
I love Taco Bell but I'm DYING at the fact that they actually tried to run one in Mexico 💀
Yeah I don't know what they were thinking. Fast food isn't as cheap for Mexicans as it is for Americans compared to their income, so it's easier to get much higher quality food for cheaper there. They really didn't do any market research at all
@@trevorgolnick5066 that's not the issue. There's no reason Mexicans would want to eat fake Mexican food.
@@trevorgolnick5066 Just when you thought their corporate couldn't do anything more stupid . .
They make tons of mistakes.
It's AMAZING they're so successful.
@@trevorgolnick5066 Fast food isnt as cheap? In Mexico you can get street tacos for $1 USD. $10 for whole pizza oven fresh. Fast food is very cheap. Also its definitely not higher quality. You can easily get sick eating street food in Mexico as in the USA. If you want restaurant food in Mexico you are paying almost same prices as the USA. Alot of people have misconception of Mexico without realizing that just like in the USA there are poor quality "street food" as well as high quality high priced restaurants that can even be a total rip off to foreigners.
@@zlonewolf When I said fast food I mean conventional Fast Food like you get in the states, McDonalds etc. Yes street food and food you can get at the markets in Mexico is cheap, that's why taco bell (mcdonalds of tacos) didn't succeed there, it's expensive by comparison and is not what they are used to. Why do you just assume I'm completely ignorant?
You didn't mention that Glen had to manufacture most of his equipment, by altering existing fast food equipment. At the time it was all made for burgers. He had to buy a French Fryer and make his own baskets for the tortillas.
wow, what a genius. clearly he was a mastermind way ahead of his time... he bought a french fryer... and made his own baskets... wow, what a supreme genius
@@nickclark18 It was just one example, chillax
@@punie6456 nigga, where your fry baskets at!?
@@punie6456 dude no it was more than one example. YOU chillax
@@nickclark18 there was literally one example of him being "ahead of his time"... chill bro
Taco Bell used to have a decent affordable taco salad- when they gave that up it was the final straw- I just go to either a street taco truck or del Rey now.
They also used to have hard shell tacos that the shell wasn’t melting by the time you got them home. And they used to be the more affordable ff chain as well.
I work there so im kind of biased but honestly taco bell is the most creative while remaining having the like same 3 core ingredients with just adding something else and making it taste good simple but genius their work environment is also very employee oriented from my experience
Yes... ive worked at Wendy's and mcdonalds before starting a career as a electrician. Anyways my impression of taco bell is that they do put effort into ordering reasonably good products. So I'll give them a pass it taste good generally. Really good value overall. Simular to wendys. Where as in my experience took much more time cleanness and good produce and product then let's say mcdonalds in my experience was way more focused on pushing out sales then good product.
I can't believe how much information you delivered in 12 minutes. I felt like I watched a half hour long documentary, only to realize it was 12 minutes when I snapped out of it. I mean that as a compliment.
"Can you believe that it was his fifth attempt at a restaurant after 14 years of trying?"
Yes, I can believe that.
It's not like Glen was from the future and went back in time to create the Taco Bell we all know and love today.
He was just a guy with a lot of passion and fervor.
Sadly, my favorite things at Taco Bell are all gone: the meximelt, the Mexican pizza, the chilito (later called the chili cheese burrito), the tostada, green onions, and verde salsa (which was around long before the packets) were a few of them. Then, there was the grilled stuft burrito (GSB). Not only did I love the original product but they had some limited time versions such as the chicken enchilada GSB and the chicken ceasar salad GSB. I never much liked the XXL GSB because of that green-flavored stuff they included that was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike guacamole.
I still cant get over them eliminating double decker tacos such a nostalgia thing
@@commonsense2156 Loved me a double-decker.
You just named almost every single one of my favorite items from them as well. The bacon club chalupa was very high on my list too. I have always had issues with KFC doing the same thing, imagine my lack of surprise when I found out they were owned by the same brand. :(
I wish they would just keep the nacho fries and bring back the crispy chicken quesadillas. I'm simple, i dont need much
The green sauce still exists on the west coast, I got it on a burrito last week.
My mom worked at Taco Bell when I was a kid so she would bring me promotional food whenever they had it. I remember when they first partnered with Doritos, I was so excited. My favorite thing would have to be a chalupa or a crunch wrap.
His persentence (5 tries and 14 years) is so inspiring! He stuck with it and so much happened within those first two years of getting it right!
Speaking of Geico I would love to see a video covering the various Geico marketing strategies they've taken over the years through their wildly different advertising strategies and seeing how successful each of them were in comparison to each other
Also I live for the bell
As a marketer, YES. I'd love to see a BTS on their marketing and advertising.
I feel like this could be tied into a "mega video" just about Warren Buffett as a whole.
He already did a video on them a while ago.
I've done something similar to that.
Taco Bell reminds me of my childhood and my grandma bringing me home bean and cheese burritos. I’m in my 30’s now and I get nostalgic whenever I eat one these days. Love Taco Bell!
I remember the Chilito burrito back in the 90’s. They need to bring that back. Also their sauce packets are always worth noting
YASSSSS!!! ermergerd!!! The chilito was on point!
That was bomb!
@@SimuLord
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 *not by works, so that no one can boast.*
Romans 3:19-23
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
James 2:10
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, *and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.*
Isaiah 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, *and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;* and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
While I highly doubt there will be chili cheese burritos (which some Taco Bells do still make if you ask them to) or McRibs in heaven, you should know that "living a moral life" isn't enough to save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ will grant you entrance into kingdom of God, but the works you have done in faith will be rewarded. (If you do good for selfish reasons, or thinking they are going to grant you an entrance into the kingdom of God, they will not be counted. There are two commandments to follow: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Anything "moral" you have done outside of loving God and others will not count towards your reward.)
Even as a Mexican who doesn’t see this as Mexican food I still really like it. My main two things are the steak quesadilla and the beefy 5 layer burrito.
That 5 layer burrito is great, get like 2 of those babies and you're full for under $5.
Exactly it's not authentic Mexican food it's banned in Mexico
haha that's the thing, I'm surprised he didn't mention that they had to stop calling it "beef" in the mid 20-teens. They can only legally say "beefy" now because it's only 88% beef and 12% reconstituted dry ingredients. It can't legally be called meat anymore hahah
@@entrepreneurking8162 It's not banned, but it just won't ever suceed in México.
Why go to the cheap knockoff when you've got the real good stuff here? (Which mind you, is pretty hard to top off)
@@robertfrost8264 ok, and? Who the fuck cares
I've been watching this channel for years and it inspired me to become a Data Analyst. You use data to tell a story and you include charts and graphs to visualize your data. Thank you for such a unique and fun channel!
Taco doesn't get old. No matter how old I get it just keeps getting better.
On Main St in Green Bay, there's a bar that's in an old Taco Bell. Like, one of the old ones from the '80s. I used to hang out there and on really hot and humid nights, you can smell all of the tacos of the past. It's still open if you want to visit.
They almost always have a ‘limited time’ combo/meal that include some new item they are pushing. Usually the price for this meal is just $5, an incredible deal. This is almost always what I get when I go there, which is 6-8 times a month.
Lol yup love those 5 dollar boxes although where I’m at taxes bring the price to $6 or so
6-8 times a month to a fast-food chain? Jesus... don't you have any family-owned restaurants in your area?
I love your documentaries. Learning about the history and methods of these companies is super fascinating, and you do a great job researching and presenting the information.
I love Taco Bell, I grew up on it. Once a week on the weekends when my mom took a break from cooking all week she would give me 6 or 7 bucks for Taco Bell. My favorite all time menu item is the cheesy gordita crunch and thank god it’s still around! Sadly they’ve gotten rid of tons menu items over the years but especially recently. They don’t even have shredded chicken anymore. Tragic.
dude no one cares... why you out here telling everyone your life story bro... you really think hes going to pin your comment, or your going to get 1000's of likes? good luck with that bruh
I feel like you could probably do a "bigger than you know" of Yum foods. I remember when I was younger being surprised by reading all the different restaurants under that brand
Too bad Yum Brands has ruined Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. All of it tastes like hot garbage today.
@@BronchoKyle beefy melt burrito is pretty good and only $2
@@BronchoKyle but has increased profits for Pepsi
A big thing for my family, and the reason it's pretty much been the only fast food restaurant we go to (not that we go very often anyway), is that it's always had the best vegetarian options over all other fast food places. Not a salad from McDonalds or something pitiful like that, an actual filling vegetarian meal from a fast food place.
I was born with a meat sensitivity and Taco Bell is the only fast food I get excited about
I’m surprised he didn’t mention it. Here in Spain, Burger King is the only other big fast food chain that has veggie protein options, apart from pizza chains.
But still Taco Bell I think has a wider range of veggie options, with the “fake” mince as an option in every item.
I can imagine Taco Bell is not only quite popular with the vegetarian crowd but also flexitarians nowadays
@@jncssl I didn't know Taco Bell actually had vegetarian "ground beef" (I'm guessing that's what you mean by "mince"), I don't think I've seen that in the Taco Bell near me but that's pretty cool. I've just always asked them to replace any meat in something with beans and that works great. Not that you even *need* to a lot of the time, they have plenty of dishes that don't contain meat at all.
The potato tacos & black bean gorditas 👍🏻
Its cause they dont use real meat
I consider Taco Bell to be fusion food: combining/altering traditional foods to suit the taste of a broader group of people. You see this with a lot of ethnic foods like Chinese versus the takeout variety. It isn't necessarily inferior, just different.
For the longest time my favorite Taco Bell item was the Meximelt which has sadly been discontinued. My runner-up would be the Taco Supreme which originally also had larger shells too.
Order a cheese roll, add beef and pico de gialo. That’s all there is to it, fun fact it was cheaper to order it that way than to order a meximelt.
Back in the 80's and 90's when I was a teenager Taco Bell had black olives, don't know why they got rid of them🤔
The Chinese food comparison is pretty perfect.
Yeah he called it a Mexican restaurant in the video and I was thinking "man it's almost a stretch to even call it tex-mex" 🤣
@@Vanished_Mostly olives get pricey and people LOVE black olives.
I learned that working at subway. The recipe for their sandwiches was 6 olives. I never could put enough olives on a sandwich. I thought I was being funny when I put a comical large mound of olives for a customer who wanted extra olives. The amount of joy that rushed through them I was not prepared for.
now I want taco bell
This dude loves Taco Bell. Just like me. Takes one to know one and I know exactly what you mean. Think Outside the Bun was the greatest fast food slogan. So much with so little, it still remains fresh in my mind decades later.
The Quesolupa is probably my favorite item, wish it was permanent, I was so happy when they brought it back in 2021, tried going at least once a week so I could get it while I could. The new Steak and Fries Burrito is a sleeper hit I wasn’t expecting to love as much as I do, honestly might be up there. On the full time menu the Cheesey Gordita crunch has my heart.
Big fan of the Spicy Potato Soft Taco + Steak and the (seasonal) Rolled Chicken Taco. I'd love for them to bring back the Steak Stack one day.
Sadly, it seems like the quality has kind of declined since covid, like most restaurants, they realized they can cut corners.
the spicy potato soft taco is my favorite item on the menu, it's absolutely bussin when I add hot sauce inside
@@kri5hieYummy!
The baseline of taco ingredients (ground beef, lettuce and cheese) has become so iconic that some taco places that try to be more authentic offer tacos “gringo style” as an option alongside tacos topped with pico de gallo etc.
It's laughable to suggest there's such a thing as a "baseline of taco ingredients". Ground beef is the most pleb of a taco ingredient.
Chicken is also an alternative. Refried beans and spices give the meat fillings and layering such a beautiful flavour.
Demolition Man is fantastic - Taco Bell won/survived the "franchise wars" - now all restaurants are TACO BELL. Also the interesting fact - international release, Pizza Hut was used instead of Taco Bell
Absolutely true that they used Pizza Hut instead of Taco Bell for the international release. I almost mentioned that as further evidence for their lack of presence outside of the U.S.
I knew this comment was in here somewhere.
Thanks for posting this. I thought I was having the Mandela effect for years cause I remembered watching the movie as a kid in the states then when I watched it again as an adult many years later in Europe I was confused cause I clearly remembered Taco Bell from childhood yet it was Pizza Hut in the European version of the movie. So salute thanks for clearing that up.
Was that true in the UK? As a kid, that's where I watched this movie many times and it was Taco Bell they said. I remember because I had never heard of it
What's funny is I knew part of this story from my Driver's Ed teacher back in 1999. He was living in California back in the early 60s when Glenn Bell was selling stocks for cheap to invest in his new locations. My teacher decided not to invest because he didn't think tacos were going to become popular outside of Southern Cali. He was still kicking himself in the ass for not investing.
Taco Bell took the 7-layer burrito off the menu a few years ago. Since then I've only been there a couple times. It had been my favorite from the moment it was introduced to the menu. Hopefully they bring it back.
9:10 THANK YOU!!!! I swear to god nobody else in my family remembered getting taco bell for 0.59, 0.79 and 0.99 cents in the 90's but I remembered those prices as a kid for whatever reason. I feel vindicated lol
I pretty much always order a number 6 (2 chicken chalupas, a hard shell taco, and a large Baja Blast) but they've had a lot of different menu items that I've enjoyed over the years. Especially those Doritos Locos tacos you mentioned.
Something I really like about Taco Bell is that they make it really easy for you to customize the menu items. I had a friend who worked there in high school, and they explained that the software used for order taking made order changes easy for whoever was on drive thru. It's a very simple development step that many other restaurants don't seem to have for their system. Makes it much easier for people with dietary restrictions or those who are super picky, and encourages customers to order what they want, how they want it, without judgement.
Tex-mex is probably closer to reality. Its hybrid food for the melting pot of the US and like most fast food, tastes even better after a night out.
It's americanized mexican food- no such thing as melting pot except for interracial families
Also, Tex-Mex is a distinct style that exists all over Texas.
Taco Bell is not Tex-Mex, but I think that is the closest thing that you could compare to Taco Bell.
@@m.hughmungus121 haha bro what
Btw are you like 13, and you've never seen school house rock?
@@TheOneTrueAnthemis Taco Bueno
I feel like there's a difference between "Tex-Mex" and Mexican American food.
Best items they ever had was the "Big Bell Value Menu" introduced in 2003. Unfortunately the original menu was very short lived, and they quickly phased out the items in the menu. Best seasonal item that is also no longer around was the club chalupa, the bacon and club sauce was great.
I miss the better food they used to sell. I ate Taco Bell during the 59, 79, 99 era and it simply was better quality than it is today. It feels like they took everything out of it to hit a price point. It's hardly food anymore.
I payed 30$ for 6 taco supremes with steak instead of beef. Got home and there were maybe 4-5 pieces of something I could identify as possibly being steak. THIRTY FREAKIN DOLLARS!
It was the push to establish themselves as the healthier fast food option. Salt and fat content went down across the board for all the classic menu items. The stuff they seem to rotate through every month are all super unhealthy, the base menu is about as good as it gets from a drive thru. That big push meant everything changed. The McDonald classic hamburger is unchanged in any real substantive way since forever. The Taco Bell taco isn't the same thing at all. It wasn't price cuts that pushed it, it was figuring out a market position no other fast food place could fill and retooling the entire business to do it.
@@plnkfloydian7814 $30
It is pretty low quality today, but it's still tasty. 90s and early 2000s had much more quality food. The taco shells were crunchier, the meat was actually meat, etc. But they still somehow make low quality food taste really good today.
It's gross now 🤮
I remember hanging out with my friends in High School, and on the weekends, we would do the 2am Taco Bell run. It was like a ritual. (and we weren't the only ones, the drive thru was always packed!
Taco Bell is always a weird craving for me. I can go months without thinking it, then one day It's all I can think of.
My favourite thing to order these days is the Dorito's del locos tacos.
Thank you for dedicating a small portion of the video to the Chihuahua, I loved it so much as a kid
I wish they brought it back.
When I was low on funds and didn’t have a whole lot of time Taco Bell was always there to help me out, It’s been my family’s favorite go to fast food since I was born, I do miss the enchirito and smothered burrito and hope they make a come back at some point
Taco Bell is supposedly bringing the Enchirito back, soon. They recently did a vote between that and the Double Decker as to what TB fans more wanted to see return to the menu(on the TB app), and the Enchirito won that vote. I forget when TB will officially be bringing this back, to all locations.
Oh yeah! The enchirito!! Wow, this comment section is better than a regular memory lane-it’s a food memory lane!
Why tacobell is so good for me is its actually healthy(relatively) there is only like 4 items on their menu over 500 calories and the rest hover around 200-300 so you can actually eat till you're full there even on a diet. When i lost 67 pounds a few years ago tacobell was a place i ate at at least twice a week and it never hindered my weight loss and eating it kept my cravings for junk food down
The only down side to it in terms of healthiness, is that while a lot of items aren't too high on calories, they're almost just all pure fat. Not very much protein in their food if you're trying to balance your macros. And very high in sodium (which all fast food is)
taco bell is NOT healthy, what are u smoking
@@jdatda743 i never mind sodium because i walk a lot so i actually need that sodium
@@FuegoSavvy i said relatively, at least conpared to other fast food options, its high in fiber and relatively low calories its actually a good weight loss food if you know how to manage it that is
Favourite would be Crunch Wrap Supreme! Also love their Fries Supreme (Canadian Item). I was so shocked when living in The States and y’all didn’t have them- missing out for sure.
You missed their menu's ingredient consolidation as being one of their keys to success. From very few ingredients they make most of the menu which is an amazing boon for a restaurant. Just watch Gordon Ramsey fix a failing restaurant a couple times to catch on about how critical that really is.
When I was in high school, college, and even grad school (late 80's all the way through the 90's) Taco Bell was always the place to go. At first we went there because it was cheap. If you found some change in the cushions of your couch then you went to Taco Bell. It was the perfect place for a hungry teenager that wanted something that tasted good but didn't have much money. Then they were the first restaurant that I remember to have free refills. That wasn't a thing in the 80's like it is now. You could buy a small soda and then refill it at the machine (which the customer had access to) as many times as you wanted. It blew our minds. Then they just kept releasing interesting things all of the time. To this day Taco Bell remains one of my favorite places to go. And most of their cool and interesting food all use the same basic ingredients. It is amazing!
It is not that amazing.
you nailed the list of reasons! The chalupa is my go to food and the cinnamon twists... so crunchie.
I will say that I think a big reason that Taco Bell has lasted so long, is that it goes to such great lengths to re-invent its image so often. I keeps a bit of the old self, while also updating everything to appeal to new consumers. Lots of fast food places don't keep up and get stagnant, whereas Taco Bell has been the one to push the marketing campaigns.
I still hate they remove the foritio burrito
Taco Bell expanded to multiple locations in our state. I loved that dog, even though the mascot wasn’t as popular enough for Taco Bell, I still think was a better mascot than those cringey ads with celebrities and the party animals they’re marketing to!
My favorite memory was during the late 90's as a kid seeing this huge poster of the 3-D rendered of super Mario advertising the N64. I loved that console, the green and purple setting of Taco Bell, and that Chihuahua. The Nostalgia at 9:34 hit HARD
I'm a vegetarian, so I was glad when they brought back the spicy potato soft tacos. Those things are my favorite. It's amazing that you can get a full meal for around $3 this day and age.
I absolutely LOVE their spicy potato soft taco. I was so sad when it was gone but once I realized it was back I order 4 of them and almost inhaled them all at once!
Every time I go to taco bell i try to get something different but I always get some spicy potato soft tacos
I'm not even a vegetarian but those are my favorites
How do you know if someone is vegan? Don’t worry they’ll tell you. Again you prove that sentiment true.
@@Arbbal it’s relevant to the conversation bruh. Also, he said he’s vegetarian NOT vegan. Btw I’m vegan 🙃
Taco Bell might not have been very successful in Mexico, but their style of Mexican food is becoming more popular in Mexico than it used to be. More and more restaurants there are starting to have items similar to ones at Taco Bell.
A lot of people (even picky eaters) love to get the Party Packs - just a big box of tacos. Personally the crunchwrap supreme is one of the best food innovations ever.
Cheap, fast, and good (good enough, anyway!) food. A college-student's and/or stoner's best friend. I don't go often anymore, but when I'm in the mood, I always just get a taco 12-pack (six crunchy, six soft), and a ton of hot sauce, and pig out with no cares in the world.
I'm surprised police don't set up a DUI checkpoint near a Taco Bell or Krystal's drive thru. After 1 AM at least a third of the people in line are probably too drunk or high to be driving.
@@christopherconard2831 They did just that quite frequently where I used to live. Right outside of White Castle and occasionally Taco Bell.
I worked at Taco Bell for 2 years and it was actually a pretty fun place to work.
I love going to the combined restaurants. I’m watching this while eating Taco Bell and KFC from one lol. You can really do a fun mix and match dinner. I’m so glad they brought back the Mexican pizza, my other favorite is the grilled cheese burrito and nacho fries. All of those are the promotions now, so I’m happy.
Being irish and only being in the US 6 times, Taco Bell was a nice experience, the hard taco shells were muck but the soft tortillas were class
I used to love Taco Bell up until a few years ago when they changed the menu and removed some of my favorite items. I know I'm not the only one to feel that way because I used to wait in long drive-thru lines but now it's mostly empty. They should bring back the classic menu.
I remember as kid I didn't like Taco Bell. It was in my teen years that I developed a taste for it. I love how half of their foods are not so greasy. If I had to pick any favorite items from Taco Bell, it'd have to be the quessadillas and the Dorito tacos.
Thanks for your awesome videos! My husband and I are thinking about potentially making a business ourselves and the lessons I’ve learned from you when you teach about these big companies are really fascinating and rather valuable. You’re one of my favorite channels out there, and I really enjoy your stuff. Keep up the awesome work!
Good luck!
@@mctx2020 Thank you!
I just got one of their targeted ads. It was amazing. It was like a movie trailer, but better than trailers for the latest blockbusters
Taco Bell is pretty good, and there's reports that it's one of the cleanest fast food restaurants out there
Not even 2 minutes in and I just wanted to comment, as of 9/28/2022 there are at LEAST two Whataburgers in Southaven, Mississippi - just outside Memphis TN. Extremely popular, great food, amazing customer service. Love it!
"Daddy, does Taco Bell just sell lots of cheese inside of tortillas in lots of different ways?"
-My 6 year old summing up our favorite fast food restaurant perfectly.
Aww that’s cute 🥰
Back during my five-year stint in Community, I would get 2 beefy five-layer burritos on the way home from classes. That was when they were 89 cents.
As a 70 year-old, I appreciate that I can get two tacos and a senior diet Pepsi for under five dollars. Little known fact: senior Pepsi drinks are free at most Taco Bells! And it taste good. And I love the Diablo sauce!!😊
My first taco, indeed my first "ethnic" food of any kind, was a taco at a Taco Bell when I was a kid in the 70s. It may not be authentic but it certainly introduced Mexican food to a wider audience.
"ethnic food"?
My friend Eddie Deezen was the voice of Nacho in their kids meal commercials. He told me they paid him in tacos for his voice work.
Lol better be at least 1000 tacos
Awesome! How’s Eddie doing? I know he had a heart transplant, and then had some legal issues last year.
@@gitgeronimo9375 He’s doing better. Slowly getting his life back together.
My ex loves chihuahuas, and I love to punt them like a football. We broke up over something else, but it could have been the dog.
I used to work for a Taco Bell / KFC hybrid. The idea is to save space, and it kind of worked. Some utensils were shared like the drinks, microwave, dish-washing sinks, etc.
I work for Hobart and I remember getting work orders from KFC/Taco Bell and it was kind of confusing. Because the restaurants would show up on our workday with two addresses, but one piece of equipment. We hated working on KFC Pot washers because staff wouldn’t pre-rinse the pots before putting them in the pot washers which clogged up the drains. And we always had issues with KFC/Taco Bell’s ice machines, it got so bad that our corporate office in Troy,Ohio forbidden us from working on their ice machine machines especially the drive through ice machines
Taco Bell is honestly better than alot of restaurants. It's just so good. Taco Bell is amazing.
if i were a person that got fast food frequently, taco bell would probably be the only one i went consistently. it’s the only place that i can stand eating at more than once in a month
@@goeatsanta5600 They also have some options that are actually pretty healthy, unlike a McDonald's salad that's still like 700+ Cals
It’s impossible to like if you live in a place where good, authentic Mexican food is available.
Wow the food in your area really that bad?
@@CasperInkyMagoo I do live in a place with good authentic Mexican food and that authentic Mexican food is better. Taco Bell though isn't authentic Mexican food no one thinks that it's just stupid American food trying to be Mexican food and it's great. No Mexican place has a crunch wrap supreme or grilled cheese burrito. And those are delicious. Even though those Mexican places exist taco bell is so unique that it holds up against those places imo.
When I die I want to be buried with a crunch wrap supreme dawg. I love taco bell
I worked at a local Taco Bell back in the early 2000's while going to college. Good experiences. I was around for the release of Baja Blast and the potatoes, and those apple pies. Man were they good. Good company to work for, at least in the area. Always had new items every few weeks it felt like.
BAJA BLAST 💙💥 💚!!! (Dang, why isn’t there a proper turquoise heart to accurately represent my favorite special sodypop?!?)
I remember that .59 .79 .99 menu. My little brother and 2 of his friends while all seniors in high school once ordered 1 of everything on the menu just to see if they could finish them off and they did. I miss the 7 layer burrito and the Taco Salad. I remember when for a little while (who knows how long it actually was) they had a Taco Salad combo which was the salad and a drink. I remember a couple years ago they had a 2 bean burrito 2 taco and a drink combo. That must not've been too popular it didn't last long. Who can eat that much food? I can't anymore.
I’m a big Taco Bell fan. I only go there every few months to keep the experience fresh, but each can time I’ll get the loaded fries, Baja Blast, and whatever the newest menu item is
Because they're yummy
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Yup. Got the deluxe cravings box yesterday. Delicious. Taco bell has remained consistently great throughout the years and very affordable
not in my town, i’ve had 0 good experiences with them. they used to be good, but once i moved to this town it has been horrible.
Yummers
Oh my god its jona hill
You forgot to mention how Glen Bell stole the idea of a hard shell taco from a Mexican restaurant across the street from his hamburger and hot dog restaurant in San Bernardino called, The Mitla. The Mitla still exists today and you can still buy hard shell tacos there. Mark Weins ate there and made a blog about it if you are curious to see what they look like.
Thank you. What I got from this video is white guy tries to sell tacos as some new, unique and 'exotic' food when Mexico is right there.
as a very proud member of the taco bell taco lovers pass, i enjoyed this.
i have never had a single thing at taco bell that wasn’t good. i enjoy how things change so fast and how it’s not boring!
i look forward every couple months to the new freeze flavor, and to what new food item they will dream up
me and my bro found hairs in our food, none of the workers wore any hair nets. got up, spit it out, showed the manager and stormed out while my brother calmly got our money back. that ish was nasty. globs of hair.