Fine Dining - How Taco Bell Became Fast Food’s Most Creative Brand

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

Taco Bell Is the Most Creative Fast Food Restaurant—But At What Cost? Taco Bell is the fast-food chain that isn’t afraid to get weird. Over the years, they’ve served up bold (and sometimes questionable) menu items like the Naked Chicken Chalupa, the Firecracker Burrito, and even a Kit Kat Quesadilla. But alongside its reputation for creativity, Taco Bell has a messy history—food recalls, bizarre marketing stunts, and legal battles that only Taco Bell could pull off. In this episode, comedian Priya Pappu joins me to unpack the history of America’s most inventive fast-food chain. We dive into how Taco Bell was founded, its strangest discontinued items, its failed upscale spin-off, and the time it got sued for serving horse meat in Europe (yikes). We also check Yelp reviews for the Taco Bell we visited—because people have some thoughts. Also, VyVy Nguyen is back and here to read a fan-submitted What's Going On Over There from the show's Discord server! "Fine" Dining is now on video! Head on over to my YouTube to WATCH this episode! IN THIS EPISODE: ✔️ Taco Bell’s Origins – Started by a guy named Bell, but not a taco in sight ✔️ The Strangest Menu Items – From Cheetos burritos to Pop Rocks-style tacos ✔️ Marketing Stunts & PR Disasters – They tried to “buy” the Liberty Bell?? ✔️ Healthier Than You Think? – The surprising facts about Taco Bell’s menu ✔️ Lawsuits & Recalls – E. coli outbreaks, metal shavings, & food safety scares ✔️ Yelp Chaos – Unhinged customer reviews of the Taco Bell we ate at 💬 Have a Taco Bell horror story or a weird order you swear by? Let me know! 📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY: 🔥 Patreon (Bonus episodes & extra Yelp reviews!): https://www.patreon.com/c/finediningpodcast 💬 Discord (Talk chain restaurants & share horror stories!): https://discord.gg/6a2YqrtWV4 🔗 All links in one place: www.linktree.com/finediningpodcast 🎙️ SUBSCRIBE & LISTEN: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts & more! Patreon Producers: Joyce Van, & Sue Ornelas

Taco Bell, a name as loaded as their nachos. On one hand, we have some of the most creative innovations in the fast food game, like the Kit Kat Quesadilla, the Cheetos Burrito, or the Jalapeno Popper Quesa Rito. But on the other hand, there have been multiple recalls due to E. coli bacteria outbreaks and other contamination concerns. But despite its risks, Taco Bell's reputation is still that of a beloved fast food institution for those who dare to dream. Even if it is a fever dream, Taco Bell has reputation is still that of a beloved fast food institution for those who dare to dream. Even if it is a fever dream, Taco Bell has had some of the more interesting marketing

attempts throughout the years, from a talking dog named Gidget who simply key-eroed Taco Bell, to pushing the Federal Reserve to print more two dollar bills in an attempt to market their two dollar meal deals. And while the brand is often an easy target for a punchline about food poisoning, it's all just so damn affordable that it's hard to stay away. And on top of that, it somehow consistently ranks above its competition in lists ranking the healthiest fast food restaurants. This week on the show, I'll be looking at how the chain got its start before growing

into the juggernaut it is today and then turning to Yelp to see what the public has to say about the one that we just went to. Stay tuned, this is the Fine Dining Podcast. You'd like to try a five Guarantee it'll be the perfect five Fine, tiny Better than you thought, worse than you hoped Fine, tiny We don't treat mediocre as a joke Breaking every single place we've been

Looking for the perfect five out of ten I did not know that about the $2 bill. Their impact. That's amazing. Look, you're a ringer. You're a total positive bias towards Taco Bell. I am. I am. So this is going to be, I don't wanna say an uphill battle

as though I have an agenda, but I am trying to get us to be as objective. As objective as possible. But we'll get into that. They impacted the treasury? They attempted to. Okay, that's amazing.

Also, I forgot about Kidget. Yeah, I had a little stuffed Kidget. Is he dead? Yeah. A dog that was alive in like 1999, 2000 is not alive today. Chihuahuas live for a long time. I don't know. Hello and welcome to the Fine Dining Podcast, the search for the most mediocre restaurant

in America. I am your host Michael Ornelas and this is the show where I dive deep into the history of our favorite chain restaurants before reviewing them. The subject of this week's episode is the history of Taco Bell, and joining me today an actress, comedian, improviser, and friend of mine who, upon inviting her onto the show, enthusiastically claimed Taco Bell as her desired destination. While I don't understand why I yes-ended her wishes, you can see her improv team's Perks and Ladies night

performing in the Los Angeles area. It's Priya Papu. Hello. Hi, Michael. Welcome. Thank you so much for having me to discuss one of my life's greatest passions, Taco Bell. That really says a lot, and I'm not sure.

I said one of, one of many. That is true. You're not a sole devotee of Taco Bell, but you are in the cult. I'm in the cult, yeah. I really do love fast food, but it's definitely my favorite one. Interesting.

It's on my, what I call trash tier restaurants. We're gonna fight. It's one of the places that I avoid genuinely. Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Subway, Papa John's, White Castle. Those are kind of my bottom five. Taco Bell is not in the same class as White Castle and Subway. I don't know. It's a reputation I've had.

I think those very, very cheap menus make me so suspicious. Every fast food place has a dollar menu though. It's true, but I think Taco Bell is kind of next level known for that very, very cheap stuff. And I'm like, well, you're making cuts to quality somewhere. But- Are they? Let's check.

We'll get into it. But before we dive into the history of Taco Bell, I wanna dive into your history of Taco Bell, I want to dive into your history of Taco Bell. Why do you have this passion for Taco Bell? What made you look at the list of places that I offered you and go, Taco Bell, what's the story here? I was thinking about this because as we were there, I was like, this feels so emotionally charged for me.

Why is that? Honestly, it felt like, this feels so emotionally charged for me. Why is that? Honestly, it felt like you were defending a child. Yeah. Like any criticisms I have, you were like, yeah, but he's sweet. Um, okay. So. Honestly, my love for Taco Bell, I think comes down to, I think the food is really delicious.

That's like really the thing. And I've always thought that like as a child, I remember like, you know, I'm dating myself here, but you used to, they used to have the two hard tacos for 89 cents, which is like, talk about a value and a delicious value. But yeah, I have a lot of memories of like going as a kid. And then I think as I got into like high school, college, it kind of just became like a great like late night spot, you kind of just became a great late night spot after a long night out. There really is a part of the market that you can corner when you decide to stay up

later than your competition. And as far as I know, Wendy's and Taco Bell were the big two that early on were like, we're staying up late. Yeah. McDonald's has since joined them. Well, yeah, because Taco Bell, some of them used to be open till 4 a.m., which is like... The one we just went to when I looked on Yelp,

it says till 3 every night. Oh, really? Good to know. Yeah, but no, like, it's, you know, when you're out at night with your friends and you're like, I really am hungry again, something about those late night tacos really hit different. So, and then even still now I'm more likely to go like the morning after a night of debauchery.

And that has also, I think saved my day a couple of times. So, yeah, it's just like, I just think the food is good. Yeah, my history with them, I do remember as a kid, I would get like the hard shell beef taco and that was in like plain, nothing else in it. No lettuce, no, don't put a vegetable near me. I'm a child at this time. And it was fine, but it was the cinnamon twists

that I really looked forward to and we'd get that. But then we moved to Texas Where they have real churros real Mexican food just in general in general like you have Tex-Mex and then now being in, California Listen, I want to be clear. Okay. Yeah It is fast food and I and I love fast food Yeah, actually, but I don't compare it to like a taco truck or like a nicer Mexican restaurant very different things I'm just saying if I'm in the mood for Mexican I'm gonna go for one of those sure so Taco Bell kind of gets brushed away and then in

Austin where I grew up and I think throughout all of Texas and I want to say it's in a few other states There may be one in New Mexico, but there's a chain called Taco Cabana. Mm-hmm that I Really really liked. And that kind of became, if I want Mexican fast food, that's where I'm going. OK. So yeah, it's been probably a decade since I last had Taco Bell. Until today. Until today, which we'll get into next week.

But that's your history with Taco Bell. Do you want to know the history of Taco Bell? I would love to. All right. We're going to jump into this week's Eat Deets. Before founding Taco Bell in 1962, Glenn Bell operated Taco Tia, selling tacos, hamburgers, and more. Seeing the popularity of tacos, he focused entirely on Mexican inspired cuisine with his new venture.

The thing that I don't like is that this is a white man. The thing that I do like is that his last name was Bell. So he truly was just like, let me take my name. I'm making tacos and my name is Bell. Well, it's like, I love it when someone's name is like, you need to be doing this thing. And I guess Taco Bell, I wouldn't have, like he could have done a lot of things

with the last name Belle, but like, that's cool. What's his name? Could have been Belle's Tacos, but yeah, Taco Bell, like a bell is not a destination other than like the Liberty Bell. And that's, so to be like, everyone come to the bell is at the very least stands out because you're not used to hearing it. Yeah. It's also just funny that he was like, you know what? Fuck it. I'm really into tacos. I know I'm a white name with the last name Bell, but we're going to make it happen. Yeah. The original Taco Bell in Downey,

California featured a menu that included tacos, burritos, frijoles, and tostadas for only 19 cents each. At that time, these affordable items helped attract a loyal customer base. Okay, so you said 19 cents. What year did you say this was? Back in the 60s. Okay. So, but here's the thing, the cheap pricing on their food still, I think, is why their

customer base is so loyal. Yeah, I think they used to have a menu that was like, you know, 49 cents, 69 cents, 89 cents type of thing. 69. Yeah. Nice. Taco Bell's early menu included chili burgers, which combined chili and ground beef inside a hamburger bun.

They eventually were discontinued as the menu evolved to focus on tacos and burritos. I think that was wise. I'm glad they discontinued that item. Also, sorry, this is going back to earlier. I did not know that it's a SoCal. It started in SoCal. I love that. Yeah. McDonald's started out here. Taco Bell started out here, obviously, In-N-Out started out here. Johnny Rockets. We've got a bunch.

The brilliant minds of Southern California. Also, I wonder if the first location is still open. I want to go check it out. Indione. Oh, the first Taco Bell. I didn't look that up. I don't know if it is. I know the original McDonald's, there's a big plaque there.

I think the original In-N-Out is either still there or at least there's something acknowledging it, but it's not still there. I don't know. One of those things is true of one of those places. I don't know if this is the right time to talk about this, but do you ever, there's like Instagram accounts that are like vintage fast food restaurants. Do you ever look at those? I love the look. I love the aesthetic. It's so unabashed in its commitment to its theme and what it is.

And I think those times like the 50s, 60s were a little bit extra with their advertising personas, I guess. Taco Bell has like the pastel, like ombre coloring and some of them have like the sunroom type thing. Like if you look at like a 60s, 70s Taco Bell, oh, what I wouldn't give to just kiss in the sunroom type thing. Like if you look at like a 60s, 70s Taco Bell, ugh, what I wouldn't give to just, to just kiss in a sunroom of a 60s Taco Bell or anything.

But you know what I'm talking about, right? Like the sunrooms, like Wendy's would have them too. Wendy's, Wendy's still kinda, some of them do. The vintage Taco Bell aesthetic is so good. Chef's kiss, yeah. All right, the Bell Beefer was a hamburger bun-based meal on Taco Bell's menu from the mid-70s. They were on the menu in the 60s as well to the mid-90s.

So they were around for like 20 years with a short comeback in the early 2010s as an update to the Bell Burger. Recently brought back as a short addition to the dollar menu in select restaurants in 2012, it has been very popular in the San Francisco metropolitan area. Do you know of Chain? BJ Novak's Chain Restaurant,

upscaled Chain Restaurant pop-ups that he does around LA? Oh, I've heard about this. So I went to one of the events, it was called the Comebacker or something like that. And it was they were making four items that were expired. OK, that's fine. Expired makes it sound like a health hazard, which would be authentic to Taco Bell. Zing.

You're spinning. You're spinning this narrative. And I'm not. I'm seeing what I see. And I'm talking about it you're trying to make Taco Bell like the the unhelp not unhealthy what's the word I'm looking like unsanitary what is sanitary fast food don't worry we've got facts that I've got the receipts for you anyways so chain did this event and they

brought back the Bell Beaver was one of the things that they did. And let me tell you, it doesn't need to be around anymore. Oh my god. My whole face when you were saying that fact was like... It's not why anyone's going. But I just feel like he was like, look, I'm a white man. What do I know and love? Burgers. Exactly. So he was like, let me put a bun and a burger. Like, no, no, no, no. That needed to be nowhere near Taco Bell. Yeah. The first Taco Bell location had a walk-up window,

fire pits, and live mariachi bands. Customers enjoyed their food outdoors, giving the restaurant a festive, community-oriented vibe. Honestly exquisite. Right? They should bring that back. You lived in Tennessee, right? Yeah.

Do you know that there is a two-story Taco Bell Cantina in Nashville that has live music every night of the week? Okay, this is a new thing though. That was not there when I lived there, cause you know. I don't know. Yeah, I think it's new, but I can't wait to know. Live music every night.

To be fair, every bar and restaurant on Broadway in downtown Nashville has live music, cause that's like kind of the thing. But no, but that's awesome. I want to go to a Taco Bell with a Mariachi band. That's amazing. That sounds so fun. Also, I don't know how to do this, but you got to put a picture of our boy, Glenn Bell.

He doesn't look like a real person. He looks like a character in the game, Monopoly or Clue. Look at him. He looked like Mr. Peanut asked to be a real boy. Yeah. Yeah. He needs a monocle. He does.

But what a vision for business. The bell beaver. Honestly, Glen Bell can get it because of his contributions to society. Oh wait, look, when he was young, he was kind of cute with a sombrero on. God, that is the most, that is just the whitest photo that's ever existed.

I have a very specific type. I'm getting out of tangent. He's fine. You have a specific type. Are you saying you're crushing on Glen Bell a little bit? A little bit. Yeah. Because of his brilliant mind.

Okay. And, and appropriation. I don't like that, but. But you know, I'm willing to look past some things. I'm willing to look past it because of all of the joy that he's brought me. Yeah. I'm willing to look past some things. I'm willing to look past it because of all of the joy that he's brought me.

Yeah. PepsiCo acquired Taco Bell in 1978, later spinning it into Yum! Brands in 1997. This acquisition also included fast food giants, KFC and Pizza Hut. Okay, this is all making a lot of sense. That's why I can't get a Coke at Taco Bell. I remember when Star Wars, I want to say episode one,

but it may have been, do you remember in elementary school, they re-released all the original Star Wars movies and theaters, and it was a big craze? Yes. You're three years younger than me, so I imagine this affected you too? I mean, it affected.

I remember it. It did not affect me. That's what I mean. It was a thing that occurred. Changed my life. I remember that there were like promotional, I wanna say like little pogs or something like that. Oh my God, pogs. That were at KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut and you had to go to all three to collect.

I don't think they were officially pogs, but like they were these little round things that had all the different characters on them and you could go around and collect them. I feel like I distinctly remember that. And if not, my brain is making it up. I just accessed a lost memory of we had little pog holders. I guess we all did. Yeah, the tube. Yeah, the little Pringles can.

But like a really small one. It was green and we used to put our pogs in there. Wow, pogs. I remember... What would you do with them? I know. Well, I was too young to actually play with them the way they were intended. I think it's like you, I think it was kind of gambling where like you and someone else would put your pogs up and then you'd throw like a slammer down or something and however many you flip you get to keep. Oh my god, yeah, a slammer.

I remember there was a pog in my brother's collection that I forget what it said, but the word hell was in it and I was like, this is so edgy. Yeah, cause I was, oh, and I had like a skull and I was in elementary school and I was like, I don't think he's allowed to have this. I wonder what the Taco Bell Pogs had on them. Like just like a, a beef burger. Is that what it was called?

The Bell Beaver. The Bell Beaver. Yeah. Bell Beaver is a wrestler's name. Like it needs to be a wrestler's name. Sure. The Bell Beaver. As a giant wrestling fan, it needs to be a wrestler's name. Sure. The Bell Beifer.

As a giant wrestling fan, I would approve. And coming down to the ring weighing 346 pounds, it's Bell Beifer. You already know the Bell Beifer. Yeah. Taco Bell was the first fast food chain to hire women as managers, valuing diverse leadership. Former director of operations, John Gorman,

recalled that at the time, most fast food managers were men. Okay, so from now on, every time you say something bad about Taco Bell, you're not a feminist. Okay. So... Okay.

Yeah. Are you a feminist? No, I guess not. I guess not. No. Didn't expect that. You thought I'd say yes, and you were gonna flip it on me.

But if I own it. But on the real fuck. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. Glenn Bell. Well, this is John Gorman. John Gorman. He can get it too.

He can get it too. Let's find his sombrero picture. I'm sure it exists. I'm sure it does. In 1996, Taco Bell joked about buying the Liberty Bell for an April Fools campaign. The prank caused outrage before the company revealed it was a hoax and then donated $50,000 for the Bell's upkeep. What a gorgeous flex. Because first of all, I'm sure the people that were like, the Liberty

Bell and then Taco Bell being like, you know what, fine. Here's a cool 50K for your bell. I also think it is funny to be like, they could just say, just kidding. They don't owe 50 grand. Like what? I love the commitment to the bit, like fine, here's $50,000. The most egregious marketing campaign I've ever heard is Pizza Hut in the late 90s

was genuinely looking into having their logo lasered onto the moon so that you could see it from Earth, but to accomplish it, it would have had to be the size of Texas. And they were like, oh, that's probably too big of an undertaking. Also, how much does that cost? I don't know. Because Pizza Hut is doing better than I thought, apparently. Well, in the late 90s, they were king. That's true. Yeah.

The Taco Bell Chihuahua, Gidget, starred in ads with the catchphrase, Yo quiero Taco Bell, meaning I want Taco Bell, and took the world by storm. But despite being memorable, it didn't significantly boost sales. So the campaign was canceled in 2000. Wait, so it only ran for a year? Yeah. That is so crazy. Didn't it feel like... It felt like forever. It really...

Yeah. I looked forward to those ads. I thought it, especially because we were kids. So you see something like cute on TV and you reverberate with it a little bit more than maybe an adult who's like, oh yeah, I guess that's a thing. I am shocked that it was only a year because the impact. Yeah. Yeah. That very same Chihuahua also starred in the 2003 movie

Legally Blonde 2, Red, White, and Blonde. What I would not give to have Gidget's credits on my resume as an actor? Are you kidding me? A Taco Bell campaign? Legally a movie as iconic as Legally Blonde? Two. Two. Nonetheless. A Taco Bell campaign? A movie as iconic as Legally Blonde? Two.

Two. Nonetheless. No, let's not pretend that there's not a gap between those two in quality. Let's not pretend I wouldn't kill to be in a Legally Blonde sequel. Evin number. Valid. It's hard out here. Legally Blonde 6 direct to DVD.

I'm in. And no one's making DVDs in 2025, so. Stream it online, I'm in. Yeah. In 2008, 50 Cent sued Taco Bell for using his name in an ad campaign without permission. The campaign playfully suggested he change his name to 79 Cent, 89 cent, or 99 cent.

Not worth it. Not a funny joke. And I'm shocked that they didn't know that they had to talk to him first. And also, I hope they just gave him $50,000. You know what? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That's just, that's the cure-all for everything from Taco Bell.

I mean, it would, it would cure most things for me. Yeah. $50,000? I don't think it would go as far as you think it would Yeah But I mean, it's nice. Yeah. Yeah Billy Mays was slated to be a spokesman for Taco Bell before his untimely death in 2009 His involvement would have brought his trademark enthusiasm to Taco Bell's marketing But beyond the enthusiasm why why Billy Mays?

Of all people. Belly Mays, I don't know. Taco Bell, Taco Bill, maybe. Taco Bell could have anyone in the world and they were gonna go with Billy Mays. Let's not act like everyone is like on the Taco Bell train, just cause you are. I have great taste, so.

Pfft. It just seems, I can't make the connection other than like, he's a guy, you know? I would be a sellout, but I would totally be the face of Taco Bell if ever offered. They would never offer Outback Steakhouse though. Hit me up. I love Outback.

I love Outback too. I think the Bloomin' Onion is perfect. They have a really good burger. Yeah, that's what I get. Which is like random. And they have the Bloomin' Burger where they put Bloomin' Onion petals in the bloom sauce and you add bacon to it.

It won the first year's September girl tournament. Oh, wow. You know, it's funny thinking about things that you eat as a kid, if you have had these experiences and you're like, oh my God, this is the best thing I've ever tasted. And then you grew up and you're like, what? Like I remember having a burger at Outback as a kid

and being like, oh my God, wow. This is the best burger I've ever had in my life. And I'm like, it was pretty good. It's good, yeah. No, I love the burger at Outback. I'm not gonna claim it as like the best burger I've ever had. My favorite burger in LA, there's- The Bell Beefer. The Bell Beefer. claim it is like the best burger I've ever had. My favorite burger in L.A.

There's the Bell B. For the Bell B. For is that what I keep this Bell B. For the Bell B. For the Bell B. That's it. Taco Bell petitioned to revive two dollar bills in 2010 to promote its two dollar menu. The Federal Reserve did not take the marketing stunt seriously, despite public attention.

I think it's amazing that they connect. They just like called up the reserve and they were like, hey, here's a fun idea. And they were like, how did you get this number? That's literally just corporate lobbying. You're like impressed that they're lobbying. Corporate lobbying is impressive to me. I mean, the fact that it works.

Or sometimes it doesn't work. But I think that's cool. They should have said, like, what a way to make the public reserve like hip. Like, no, yeah, because like, no young people are healing on up to the federal reserve. You don't buy two dollar bills. You go to a bank locally and trade them out. I'm going to go to the two dollar bill store. OK, but it could have been a really cute publicity thing to like make young people think about the reserve because they're like, now I have a $2 bill and I'm going to Taco Bell. Tell me more about the $2 bill. You know what I mean? No? Okay.

I don't think they're doing. I think they're just like, oh, this gets me a meal. But when you see a $2 bill, you're like, whoa. And by the way, it also doesn't because it like there's tax. You need $2 bills plus like 8 cents or 16 cents or whatever. Well, it didn't work. It didn't go through. It didn't work. Because it was flawed. In 2011, Taco Bell's beef was confirmed to contain 88% beef and 12% seasoning and fillers. The company had responded to a lawsuit with full page ads defending the quality of its ingredients.

Let me be clear. Those percentages, I'm not shocked by that and I'm OK with it. Yeah, especially if it's like seasonings, you know, it's not like 96 percent food and four percent wood or, you know, whatever. Like, that's more alarming. So like seasonings and stuff. I give them that. But also a full page ad defending the quality of the meat. Maybe don't do that.

We'll know. Yeah. The launch of the Doritos Locos tacos created over 15,000 jobs and required two years of development. Over 40 recipes were tested before the final product became a massive success. You wanna talk about a match made in heaven? Doritos and Taco Bell.

Yeah. Here's the thing though. I want the salsa verde flavor Doritos made into a Doritos Loc Taco Bell. Yeah, here's the thing though. I want the salsa verde flavor Dorito made into a Doritos Locos. I would have that. Those to me are the pinnacle of Doritos. I agree because it was just Cool Ranch

and the nacho cheese, right? And both of those have a variation at Taco Bell now. But a salsa verde Doritos Locos taco would get me back to a Taco Bell. Yeah, no, I'm on board with that. Delicious Doritos. Honestly, I just like, if I could have thought of that idea, I would be rich.

I like how you're gonna be like, billion, million rich. I would have at least $100,000. I would own at least one home. Yeah. Now, speaking of crazy culinary concoctions, Taco Bell's top minds can't be stopped. Over the years, they've gone out on a branch and sold the following items.

Mordoritos Locos variants, including fiery and cool ranch, a Cheetos burrito, the beefy Fritos burrito. They love chips. And I love chips. Yeah. The naked chicken chalupa, a crazy offering where the shell was made of crispy chicken, as well as naked chicken chips with the same idea. They had the firecracker burrito, which literally contained spicy red strips that gave a pop rocks type fizzle as you ate it,

but spicier. The double decker supreme taco is exactly that. A double decker of tacos with an extra shell in the middle, kind of like the Big Mac of tacos. The Jalapeno Popper Quesarito took the Quesarito idea, a burrito with a quesadilla layer around it, and shoved it full of jalapeno poppers. And lastly, the Kit Kat Chocoladilla was a tortilla filled with melted Kit Kats

because why not? Yeah, why not? That's crazy. That's crazy. It's crazy. I love that you said the top minds at Taco Bell though because no one is innovating like Taco Bell. I give them that. Although the like spirulina hot dog at IKEA jumps out.

Some of the stuff they've tried at Shake Shack. There's an innovation lab in New York City for Shake Shack. So, you know, there's others out there inventing, but Taco Bell, they're the ones, number one, that are known for, like, fuck it. I know that this is like an SNL sketch, so this is not a hot take, but Taco Bell's whole thing's like, we take this thing and put it in this thing

and we wrap it in this thing and we have an outer shell. So like, that's half of their, half of the things you just listed are just this thing inside another thing, which like it in this thing. We have an outer shell. So like that's half of their half of the things you just listed are just this thing inside another thing, which like, yeah, okay. Yeah. But it's just wild because there are no standards of what they will or won't try. I love, I love that about them. Taco Bell's upscale spinoff, US Taco Co.

Opened in 2014, but closed within a year. The restaurant struggled with pricing, food quality complaints, and a failure to obtain a liquor license. Go figure, a Taco Bell spin-off struggles with food quality complaints. I was shook because I was like, I've never heard of this before,

but it only lasted a year. I was not, I don't know what I was doing at that time, but you know what, Taco Bell, we're not, we don't want an upscale thing. That's not why we're, yeah. I think that was fine. What you just described almost sounds like the Cantina concept, but not upscale.

With alcohol. Yeah. Although some of the locations, like we talked about the one with the mariachi band, and you showed me the picture of the one, where was it? Half Moon Bay. Half Moon Bay is a gorgeous Taco Bell location. It's like a gorgeous Taco Bell location.

Yeah. Taco Bell has positioned itself as a top fast food chain for health conscious customers, offering customizable menu options. The company has reduced sodium by 15% since 2008, aiming for a 25% total reduction by 2025. So I'm intrigued, but I'm just thinking it has to be the bun. That's what makes it healthier.

Like there's not a lot of bread in Taco Bell. The bun, the shell. Sorry, the lack of bun. I was going to say, you're not thinking outside the bun right now. Yeah, no, sorry. I was like, why is it healthy? It must be just because of the lack of, of carbs. Like there's not a lot of breaded components, which must be the

reason it's healthier, question. At least the number of options are, yeah. They replaced artificial flavors and colors with natural alternatives and introduced cage-free eggs to the breakfast menu in 2018. Taco Bell also serves chickens raised without antibiotics that are important to human medicine in US restaurants, so that you

don't develop an antibiotic resistance because you've been eating Taco Bell. You know I'm learning all this for the first time. None of this would keep me from going to Taco Bell either way, but good for them. Well I mean here's the thing you don't necessarily realize that if you get sick your consumption of Taco Bell is the reason your body doesn't respond to antibiotics. That wouldn't be my first thought. That would be? No, it would not.

It would be, Brian. But that is why it is important to cut out antibiotics out of food, because it's your drug resistance that you don't want to lose. While these changes promote healthier eating, customers can further customize their orders by choosing vegetarian or vegan options or using the fresco option to replace cheese and sour cream with pico de gallo. But despite all of that, there have been numerous health scares associated with Taco Bell throughout

the years. E. coli outbreaks have hit the brand on multiple occasions, leading to recalls of onions when they were the culprit in 2024, lettuce when it was responsible in 2013, and green onions when they were assumed to be the source in 2006, even though that was later discovered to be their lettuce. Despite this, green onions have never returned to the menu. So they had E. coli so bad they got rid of an ingredient that wasn't even responsible and still never brought back.

No, I think they got rid of green onions because it just didn't fit the vibe. I think that they didn't need them. To me, tacos and green onions are such a good combo. I love green onions. I wonder if that's more of like a Texas thing. Loving green onions? Or just having green onions on your tacos, because that's not like the first thing that I would-

I think of it as a California thing. Like when i think of like uh are we talking about like scallions yeah okay yeah i don't like pulled pork salsa verde with like some green onions on it to me sounds delicious uh carnitas i guess no pulled pork technically but yeah yeah maybe carnitas okay yeah uh in 2019 ground beef was recalled because people were finding very hard and dangerous metal shavings in their menu items. 15 years prior in 2004, ground beef was recalled after people were complaining of finding hard plastic in their food.

Beef should be soft. Yeah, that's wild. I can't carry the weight of all of Taco Bell's aggressions over the years, but. You're not supposed to find an actual bell in your food. That's where the crack from the Liberty Bell went. It fell into into the beef supply. Even grocery store releases weren't safe.

Botulism concerns led to a recall of the in-store salsa con queso mild cheese dip in 2018 and in 2000, the grocery store Taco Bell branded hard taco shells were recalled because they used bioengineered corn from a company called Starlink that was not yet proven safe for human consumption. I hate to victim blame here, but why are you buying Taco Bell products at the grocery store? Okay. Instead of just going straight to the source. There are so many.

And eating metal in your tacos like the rest of us. There are so many chain restaurants, fast food and casual dining alike, that do sell knockoff versions in the store. It's smart from the business standpoint, but who do you know that actually buys these products? A lot of people buy the White Castle sliders. A lot of people-

At the grocery store? Yeah, a lot of people- Oh, like the patties? Yeah, well, like they have the full, they're just like microwave. Oh, in the freezer, yeah. Like they're the same quality as the restaurant if you're doing White Castle in store.

Cause White Castle sucks. CPK has their branded pizzas. Oh, that's different. Marie Callender's has pot pies and dessert pies. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, a bunch of, On the Border has tortilla chips that you can buy. Oh, that's different. Marie Callender's has pot pies and dessert pies. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, a bunch on the border has tortilla chips that you can buy. Oh, yeah. There's a bunch in 2013.

European markets recalled beef after horse DNA was detected in their tacos, denting the company's reputation in the region. Even worse is the meat packaging, which came from Romania, was properly labeled as horse meat, meaning at some point somebody knew and switched the labels to beef regardless, leading to an intense investigation. I'm glad that we've already eaten. And that'll do it for this week's Eat Deets. Priya, you've just heard about everything that goes into building a successful restaurant

brand from the ground up, and you've obviously eaten at restaurants before. The next few minutes are all about you and your vision for a themed restaurant, a chain dining experience of your very own. This is the restaurant of your dreams. Sing line two of this intro song. Mine involves teamies and weens. The best damn eatery you've ever seen. This is the restaurant of your dreams.

All right. Priya, what I'm going to ask you to do is to tell me all about a restaurant concept that you yourself want to see in the world. It must be practical, delicious, memorable. Three, two, one, go. Okay. I love this question. My restaurant idea is very simple because we're only going to have two items. Okay. We're going to have, we're going to serve martinis and corn dogs, and it's gonna be called tinies and weenies. This is what I came for.

This is what I signed. Okay, so that's all they serve. Always serve. What an odd combo. No, no, no, it's a perfect combo. Okay. So it's two perfect items served together. I do think it's like a perfect meal.

So we have a corn dog, we all know and love, and very important that the corn dog is just kind of like one you were served in like elementary school. Because I think also the novelty of this restaurant comes in how hard it is to find these two items in the same place. But I'm telling you, it's a perfect meal.

Skeptical, but I'm on board to letting you speak your piece. Okay, so I've had corn dogs recently where it's like the breading is too thick or like the hot dog is too thin. I will say the ratio is so important of the cornmeal, cornbread type situation to the dog because when I want a corn dog, I want a primarily meat-forward bite. I want to feel like I am eating a meaty thing, not a bready thing that has like a meat flavor. Yeah. No, a great for sure.

The ratio is very important. I also like it to be crispy, so we'll have a deep fryer, obviously. Yeah, just like a perfect corn dog. You know when you have it, and you know when you have a bad one, and you're like, ugh. When you have a good one, perfect bite. Okay, so you walk in the dog. You know when you have it and you know when you have a bad one and you're like, ugh. When you have a good one, perfect bite.

Okay, so you walk in the doors. What do you see? Is this like a sit down restaurant, like a Chili's? Is this a walk up window? Is this a fast food drive through only situation? Oh, I think we're gonna have a walk up window, some small seating inside, couple little tables outside. Yeah.

What's the decor? It's gotta be pictures of corn, like nice pictures of corn dogs and martinis, or maybe even like a painting of like a Andy Warhol style martini glass, but instead of like one of the little swords through an olive, it's a corn dog. Honestly, I have to say, what I'm picturing in my heart

is truly like hot dog on a stick. Yeah. Like in West Hollywood, but like hot dog on a stick. Yeah. Like in West Hollywood, but it's teenies and weenies. Kind of like a little bit of a retro vibe. Yeah. I went there hoping I could have my martini and corn dog combo. Couldn't have it. Was really disappointed. That's when I was like, you know what?

I'm going to start my own place. I'm going to call it teenies and weenies. Yeah. And I'm going to debut it on the Fine Dining podcast. Well, talk to Taco Bell, maybe they'll give you a $50,000 startup cost. Yeah, right. Oh, and then the martini.

But you have to be willing to serve Pepsi products as well. Mm, no, I think honestly, I think two items is perfect. Because people are confused and you know. Indecisive, you make the decision for them. Yes, it's like the paradox of choice with the 20 options.

Do you have to get both? Like if I don't drink, can I go in? Do they have virgin martinis? Do they have, is that a thing? Do people, I know. Sure. That looked like it had so much disdain. I don't think it's something that you.

Like you're a boy. No, no. I don't think it's something that people order, but you can make a non-alcoholic martini with, obviously with substitutes. Yeah, you can, you don't have to get the combo. You can get one or the other. Okay. And although I'm hesitant, I want to say you have to order a dirty gin martini

and that's your only option, but I understand your martini order is a very specific and polarizing topic. Precious thing. So in that case, we will serve them with a twist. Yeah. We will serve them with vodka. Now, what kind of meat are we talking? Is this like hot dog meat?

Is this turkey? Is this? Beef. What's the slogan? Oh man, I didn't think you were gonna ask me beyond the name, which is Teenies and Weenies, which is perfect. Honestly, if the name is Teenies and Weenies

and then below it in quotes, it says Teenies and Weenies as the slogan. Teenies and Weenies as the slogan. Or teenies and weenies, what more do you needies? Yes, I love that. There you go. Because truly it's a perfect lunch. Breakfast! You sound like a 23 year old college boy.

That is what this is. I just like, I think what, the reason I'm so passionate about this cause is because it's the perfect combo and it's really hard to find. Yeah. Because places that serve corn dogs. Have you had these two items together before

or are you assuming? No, because I haven't been able to find them together. You haven't even done the R&D. I've had, I love them both separately so much and I know that they will be the perfect combo. And the reason I haven't done the R&D is because if you go to a place that serves corn dogs You can't order a martini and if you order a place that makes you a nice a good martini You can't get a corn dog get a stand the gap in the market get a Stanley Cup

Fill it with a martini and sneak it into a hot dog on a stick so you can at least experience it like give it a trial run you might find that there's a Something about them that clashes. You don't know. You haven't done the R&D. No. It's just impossible. A dirty gin martini and a corn dog, like, done.

You at the very least kept your conviction despite my pushing, so I respect it. My only reasons were, it's perfect, it's good. I thought once you heard- But you stayed stead. It's good. I thought once you heard- But you stayed steadfast in your ways. I thought once you heard teenies and weenies, you were gonna be so blown away that you were gonna be like,

no further questions, I'm in. Look, we've got a segment to fill. I know, I didn't think about the marketing and branding materials. Retro, definitely a little bit of retro vibe. Yeah, maybe kind of like a retro fare kind of theme, which is literally a hot dog on a stick. One off, a pop-up, is this a chain?

Is this nationwide? We'd taken the world by storm. We're gonna start with two locations and go from there. LA and New York? Yes. Yeah, of course. All right, Priya. Ask any girl you know. This is, you know, like girl dinner and girl lunch

is like a thing. Yeah. It's that. You can also get a side of like three grapes. Yeah. Yeah. All right, give me the theme song one more time. Literally just the, this is the restaurant of your dreams into your camera with me.

Wait, just say this is the restaurant. Just the, this is the restaurant of your dreams. Okay. This is the restaurant of your dreams. Thank you for sharing that, Priya. Now that I know everything you think a restaurant should be, I want to turn to Yelp and see what others expect from a restaurant, specifically the Taco Bell that we went to in this week's Yelp from Strangers.

We need a little Yelp, a little Yelp, a little yelp from strangers A one star, two star, three star, four or five-eye So get a little yelp, a little yelp, a little yelp from strangers A little yelp, a little yelp Give us those complaints while you literally white and die Yelp! I am so excited about this segment because this is something that I do on my own for fun sometimes. Oh, hell yeah. Because people are wild.

They are. This is Yelp from Strangers, our segment where we turn to Yelp and read out our favorite one, two, three, four, and five star Yelp reviews of the very restaurant that we dined at. Priya, do you mind if I start us off with the first review? Please. Four star review from Monty S from Glendale, California, July 26th, 2023. He writes, I found my wife cheating on me with Gabe Vincent from the Lakers. The best thing I have ever experienced. 10 out of 10. Oh my God.

The best thing about Yelp reviews is when they have nothing to do with anything. And by the way, that's four stars. That is a four star entry. I wish that he would have just said, I found out this devastating news. I don't know who gay Vincent is. He's a pro athlete. So, you know, that sucks for him. I wish that he would have said, I found out this devastating news. I don't know who gay Vincent is. He's a pro athlete.

So, you know, that sucks for him. I wish that he would have said, and then I eat a chalupa, four stars. Like what were you? No, so here's the thing. I did a deep dive into this guy's Yelp because I saw this and I was like. Oh, he writes joke reviews.

That must be a thing, right? So he's written seven reviews. The first one was a genuine review of like a Persian restaurant that he had gone to. Then this one, the same day, and then one a month for the next five months that were all jokes. Like, went to McDonald's, found two POWs in the back, won't come back. Or he did another one that was five star for a different Taco Bell. He was like, it was great.

You know, makes me miss my family or like they were all like dark humor punch lines or whatever. I appreciated the profile. He made me laugh really hard. So it's a great review, but I don't think he actually caught his wife cheating. One star review. I'm going to keep us going with a one star review from Greg F. in Los Angeles, California. Great. Act like you're Nancy Reagan and just say no to this Taco Bell.

The man working the drive through did his best to become physically intimidating. At one point, he took off his protective gloves and acted like he would lunge out of the drive through window and into my vehicle. I love how wide your eyes are getting upon all this new information. His behavior and tone were completely out of control. I sincerely hope he finds a different line of work that doesn't mentally exhaust his patience. Tonight's incident was completely avoidable.

During the last several weeks, my order has been given to me incorrectly three times in a row. So tonight, I rip open the sealed bag to find that yet again, things are drastically wrong. I politely let the man working the window know that I didn't get two out of three items I ordered. He shut the window and went to work on getting things corrected.

I then tossed the bag that held three burritos, I ordered one, on my floorboard. He abruptly comes back to the window and instead of handing over the correct items, he demands all three burritos back. Yep. Okay. Which, I'm with this person in that,

yeah, what are you gonna do with them? That is what comes next. But at the same time, like, just let me have them, you know At some point there's accountability for the mistake on behalf of the restaurant. So I am with what's this person's name? Greg F. Yeah, I'm with Greg F so far Yeah So he demands all three burritos back

Okay, but I say you want the burritos back? You can't reuse them. So what's the point? You will have to throw these away. While reaching down to retrieve the bag, I go on to say mistakes have happened several times in just the past several weeks. This is where I'm splitting off from Greg F.

That has nothing to do with this location or this Taco Bell or this person working. So save your personal history here. Oh, I hadn't complained until the most recent incident. I just bore the burden. I do think it was this Taco Bell each time. OK. I just bore the. So go to a different Taco.

I just bore the burden and let them steal my money and accepted the incomplete orders. And you keep on going back because the food is that good. Calm down. This is the point where he becomes aggressive, telling me he didn't mess the orders up and demands the burritos back. Obviously, I'm pro Taco Bell. I'm like, kind of impressed that this person

working even cares. Yeah. Because it is rare that you have any experience other than, okay, whatever, like it's not. Wait till you see where this goes though. At this point, I'm over it. I'm feeling so disrespected by the tone in his voice. I grabbed my credit card and asked him to just refund my money.

The food is no longer necessary. I won't spend my money just to be disrespected. Instead of acknowledging anything I've said, the man continued making demands on me and insisting that I hand over the bag Was he recording this conversation? Because he has it word for word word for word. He hired a transcriber. I say you can have the bag back when I get my money back a

power struggle continues and I'm told No, I Dropped the bag outside my window and let it hit the ground and insist that I immediately get my money back. Why not just hand him the bag? Yeah. That's crazy to me. That's where it's like, yeah, he is, he's like ready to get into some shit.

Yeah. I'm dropping the food on the ground. In front of this man's face. As a power play. Instead of just handing it to him. Greg F is not reasonable. Greg F is living for the drama. Yes.

And honestly, he should write a show for HBO. I would watch it. The drive-through coming to Apple TV. Based on this script alone, yeah. Due to my response, the man removes his gloves and tries to intimidate me. I let him know that he will not be getting physical with me. I go on to say I no longer have any food, and I want both my money and my receipt back.

His response. Drive off. Damn. You're not getting a refund. Cold blooded. You're not getting your receipt back. Then he slams shut the drive-through window. Honestly, if someone slams the drive-through window in your face, it's hard to... You gotta go.

No, you're going inside and escalating. I continue to sit in my car and refuse to leave without my money or receipt. So now everyone in the drive-through behind you is also angry at you. Cool. This goes on for about five minutes. During this time, he opens and closes the window, telling me I have to leave. He tries to gaslight me by saying I threw food at him and called him a liar because he saw I had multiple burritos. My mind is just like, what is it like to be dating Greg F?

I don't know if anybody is. Okay. Sorry. Okay. Sorry. Okay. He tries to guess, tells me I have food and multiple burritos. Sorry my man. Not going to take the rap for your bad behavior, poor judgment and inadequate ability to de-escalate issues.

He's trying to get us back on his side by saying, so I'm like, cool, I said, sorry, my man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He only has one line of his own bad behavior of like, look, so I did throw it on the ground, but like, other than that, look at all this other real estate I'm spending to tell you about how this guy was a jerk.

You could have simply given me my order and politely asked for the incorrect items back. If you had asked for the incorrect items back when I first let you know of the issue, I would have handed them over. If you had given me the correct items, then asked for the incorrect items back, I would have handed them over. Instead, you shut the window on me and then chaotically make demands of me. Your behavior was aggressive, argumentative, and arrogant."

So now we're, this is a personal attack on this man. Did you have plans on reusing the burritos after I had touched them? Not a great idea while we all suffer with COVID. Simply letting me have the extra food would have went a long way and making up for the several mistakes your crew had made during the past several weeks.

I thank you though. I will never go back to Taco Bell, which works for my goal of eating healthier. God, this is so classic. It's like, you made me do this, but it's actually good for me to thank you. You can't fire me, I quit. Exactly.

I just kept going back so I could have one last steak quesadilla, which had not been given to me the last three times I ordered it. Yeah. What a journey. Wow. What a journey.

What a journey. Thanks, Gregg F. Did you like those two reviews? You can get three more of them over on my Patreon. That's patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. But not only do you get extra Yelp reviews, you get an exclusive fine dining episode every single month. I've recently done Ivers,

which is a seafood chain up in Washington. I did Dick's last resort, a place that's known for its rude service on purpose. And for January, I covered Dan's Hamburgers, which is literally my favorite burger on the planet. It's a small chain in Austin, Texas, and I get to gush about it. So go check that out. That's patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. I appreciate your support. Back to the episode. Hi, fine dining maniacs. This is Vivi Nguyen. I've been on a couple episodes of the show

before and Michael has asked me to read from the Discord server a listener submitted, What's going on over there? This story comes from Discord user Theaterlover. Theaterlover. She writes, in college, we had a we need to talk Denny's amongst our friend group. For context, I liked a guy. We'll call him Mark for this exercise in an acting class. Mark liked my best friend.

She wanted to try and get Mark and I together. That's a good friend. We were a trio doing everything together for a solid couple of months. One night, he and I finally got together, and I was like, this is what I've wanted. Next night, at 11pm, I get a text to meet him at the Denny's, near Del Alamo mall for any SoCal people who know the landmark. This was 2001, so I'm assuming it's still around. I thought we were going to hook up again. Instead, it was a night of him crying, telling me it was a mistake, and he really liked her, and not me. Oh my god, Mark, what are you doing? I was kinda in shock over my club sandwich,

but was like, that sucks, but okay. The day after, I got a call from my best friend that Mark had texted her and had her meet him at the same Denny's. This time he was crying about how he loved her and messed it up by sleeping with me. Oh my god, Mark! She was kind of freaked out. I'm freaked out too. A week later, he texted us both to meet him at, yep, the same Denny's. This time was to apologize to us both and propose that we all sleep together. Great idea, Mark.

That way, we all got what we wanted, are we sure about that? That's apparently when my best friend had to tell him that she wasn't into him at all, and it was… awkward. A month later, he calls me and asks me out FOR REAL. I'm an idiot 22 year old, so I'm like, sure, and we start sleeping together for a month or so. I think this is great. Turned out, the whole time, he was sleeping with me, he was trying to go out with my best friend AGAIN. And we found out that he was also dating another of our friends! What the

heck is going on? We found out because he took her to the same Denny's to break up with her! This Denny's is seeing a lot of action! Okay, we still joke about it, even though I'm not living in SoCal anymore. When we have something important to call about, we always ask if this is a Denny's worthy call. Oh my god, I have no words. I'm really glad that you seem to be rid of this Mark and his obsession with this Denny's. That's it for her story. Come join the discord to tell your own and they may end up in a future episode. The link for that is in the description of this episode as well as the fine dining podcast website. And that is in fact, what's going on over there.

And that's part one. Stay tuned next week as we give our thoughts on eating inside the afore-reviewed Taco Bell. We'll go through everything that was good about it, everything that was not so good, and everything that was just there. That'll be in one week's time. In the meantime, Priya, where can people get more of you online? The best way to stay in touch with what I'm doing is on my Instagram, which is at Queen underscore Pri underscore. That's where I post about my shows

and whatever else I have going on. Pre is P-R-I. Yes. Not as in the prefix. That means before. Yes, thank you. Queen underscore pre P-R-I underscore. Yes.

And you can follow me on Instagram, TikTok, and Blue Sky at Fine Dining Podcast. I am, especially on Blue sky at fine dining podcast. I am especially on blue sky trying to like actually be more of a person instead of just posting clips. And also I started a discord. So if you're interested, head on over to my website and there will be access to my discord server and you can come chat

and we can got a bunch of fun little threads for you. So come join that as always I have a patreon where you can go hear the last three yelp reviews as well as hear an exclusive episode Every single month that's patreon.com slash fine dining podcast. So We're just gonna be sitting here for one week waiting on our table for us to review Taco Bell. Priya, thanks for coming on. Have a fine day! Waiting on our table, waiting on our table. The step is done and we had some fun Now we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table Join us next time, we're stuck in line Waiting on our table, waiting on our table

We're so hungry, tummy's grumbling Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We gotta continue our search for mediocrity Yeah It's the mediocrity Yeah Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We'll be waiting and dissipating it Waiting on our table, waiting on our table We're sleeping in this week or digging in

Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table We've got an appetite but just sit tight Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table If you've got an appetite, well just sit tight Cause we're waiting on our table, waiting on our table The search will continue when we see you next week Hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee he Waiting on our table Have a fine day!