Taco Bell's New $2 Burrito Has Customers Crying Foul—Here's the Major Complaint
Taco Bell fans love a good new product launch, but some are starting to feel like some of the recent drops should be labeled differently. The Mexican-inspired fast-food brand has been testing a few new burritos in markets across the U.S., and while they're hungry for a menu refresh, some are wondering if they are actually getting what's advertised on the $2 Cravings Menu. In the end, the question being asked is: What makes a burrito a burrito?
The Chicken Poblano Caesar Burrito has produced a lot of racket on reddit, as the item has been rolled out in areas like Charlotte, North Carolina, for test markets. The contents include grilled chicken, fiesta tortilla chips, lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, and a "roasted poblano Caesar sauce."
If the Caesar part is throwing you off, it's good to know that Caesar salad and its dressing actually have Mexican roots as well. Mixed with the smokey but mild taste of poblano peppers, a staple in a lot of Mexican dishes, this new burrito combination sounds pretty great.
So what's got Taco Bell fans crying into their fourth meal? For many, the burrito simply doesn't feel like a burrito. And some are wondering if it's more appropriate to call it a wrap, instead.
"At what point does a burrito become a wrap?" asks reddit user u/FileError214. "This is just a salad wrapped up in a tortilla."
"I don't know where the line is but this seems firmly in the wrap category," u/StockAL3Xj added.
"I don't dislike Caesar salad wraps, I just think it's silly to call them burritos," said another.
The Chipotle Ranch Grilled Chicken Burrito received a similar treatment after its release, when redditors compared the item to a McDonald's Snack Wrap.
The debate feels similar to the whole, "Is a hot dog a sandwich?" argument that even had world-famous chef David Chang weighing in. According to most definitions, however, a burrito is comprised of "a flour tortilla rolled…around a filling" such as "meat, beans, and cheese" in its basic form.
The Chicken Poblano Caesar Burrito indeed has meat and cheese, but no beans. Does this automatically disqualify it from the burrito category? It shouldn't, since the Double Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito is also sans beans.
What about rice? The newly launched Salsa Verde Chicken Burrito could be considered another non-burrito, but this newbie has seasoned rice, which the other Chicken Poblano Caesar Burrito does not.
You could say that lettuce is the thing that's turning these burritos into wraps, but the Burrito Supreme sure has lettuce rolled up in that 'rito.
While people have been wrapping fillings in pliable bread for centuries, according to Mexicali Blue, the burrito was potentially first served in Chihuahua, Mexico in the 1910s. Meat and filling were wrapped in tortillas to keep warm. So the temperature could have a lot to do with whether a sandwich is a burrito or wrap.
Whether you are firmly in the burrito or wrap camp, this and all of the other tester burritos are part of the $2 menu, so when and if they arrive at your local Taco Bell, it won't cost you a lot of cash to try one and make the decision for yourself.
