"Sorry, we're not getting them in until Wednesday."
That was my answer at the first Taco Bell I drove through yesterday afternoon.
Even though the Mexican-ish fast-food company had moved up the release of the new Fiery Doritos Locos Tacos from the original August 22 launch date to August 19, apparently some locations didn't get the memo -- or the taco shells.
See also: Taco Bell's New Fiery Doritos Locos Taco Launches Today
This happened at the Taco Bell in Coconut Grove, where the day before I had driven through in the hope that the new hard taco would be having a "soft launch." "Come back tonight at midnight and we'll have it then," the faceless voice over the loudspeaker told us.
Undeterred, I then drove to another Taco Bell down the road, expecting to be shot down once more. I asked if they had the elusive Fiery DLT. "Yup. You're going to try it?" was the reply before my order-taker added, "We're only taking cash right now." After scrounging for actual dollars and cents in the recesses of my tote bag, I ordered a regular and a supreme and drove to the pick-up window.
"You're really trying them," the gal at the window said in disbelief, adding "You're, like, the first." She said she'd been meaning to have one all day, saying, "I hear they're spicy."
The first thing I noticed while taking the tacos out of the bag was the bright red shell. It looked like the chain's volcano taco. I broke off a little of the shell to try by itself. It was sweet at first, with a hint of lime -- then spicy.
When eaten as part of the taco, the shell held its own. The taco supreme was the superior of the two, mainly because the creaminess of the sour cream and the guacamole foiled the spice of the shell.
In conclusion, the Fiery Doritos Locos Taco are the third in the series and the most flavorful. It's a safe assumption that they will be a hit with Taco Bell's core following. In fact, there are already fan videos, such as this one:
And this most excellent selection:
If Taco Bell could sell 600 million of the Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch varieties in about a year, it's conceivable that number could triple by the end of 2013, catapulting Taco Bell to the top of the fast-food chain. We can only guess what Taco Bell will do to top the Fiery Doritos Locos Taco, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for a Wasabi DLT!
The new Fiery Doritos Locos Taco costs $1.39 for a regular and contains 170 calories and 10 grams of fat. A DLT supreme costs $1.69 and contains 200 calories and 12 grams of fat.
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