Taco Bell Corp.

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Intoxicated in the Drive-Through with an 8-Year-Old

Being found blotto (or high) at the Taco Bell drive-thru is an unsurprisingly frequent occurrence in the annals of this column. But being found out of it at the Taco Bell drive-thru with your eight-year-old child in the backseat? That's a first.Oh, Clarksville, Tennessee: what would we do without yo ... More >>

50 Important SXSW Questions

By: Nick LucchesiEditor: We have so many questions here in Austin. Here are 50 of them. 1. Will I like the pedicab costumed as The Hulk if he gets angry? 2. Are we all really just in New York? 3. Is this t-shirt rad? 4. Do you want to get some 'za, which is now absolutely the slang for pizza? ... More >>

Taco Bell To Give Out Free Doritos Locos Tacos Today

America, go at it. From 2 to 6 p.m. today, Taco Bell will be giving customers a free Doritos Locos Taco.The fast-food chain had promised fans that if any player stole a base during the World Series, it would declare today Free Taco Tuesday. On Thursday, Angel Pagan of the San Francisco Giants swiped ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Van Crashes Through Wall!

Eating at a Taco Bell in Texas is like ordering your hamburgers in Southern California from McDonald's--what's the pinche point? Taco Bell founder Glenn Bell was frank about the difficulty of spreading his chain to the Lone Star State in the 1960s, and even today, you're much more likely to see Taco ... More >>

Battle of the Fast-Food Mexi Bowl: Taco Bell VS. Chipotle

The chain that El Jefe loves to hate has been on a mission to up the ante. Remember their attempt at breakfast? Those Doritos tacos? Now they want to knock on Chipotle territory. I had a fast food childhood of the Bell, but spent a large part of the last decade chowing Chipotle fare. We were curious ... More >>

Taco Bell's New Cantina Bell Bowl Tastes Nothing Like Taco Bell

Fresh, light, crisp, subtle.  These are the descriptors that drifted through my mind as I chomped down my meal at a preview event for Taco Bell's new Cantina Bell menu.  Who are you and what have you done with Taco Bell?! The new menu, a Chipotle-like lineup of "gourmet" bowls and bur ... More >>

Mi Taco es su Taco: How Mexican Food Conquered America

I finally visited the snazzy corporate offices of the OC Weekly last week, to interview my editor, Gustavo "¡Ask a Mexican!" Arellano. Despite writing for years for the county's favorite alt-weekly, I'd conducted only an email relationship with the staff and editors. I arrived in person to tape my ... More >>

Mitla Cafe Is the Restaurant That Birthed Taco Bell

[Hole In the Wall] This San Bernardino landmarks deserves a pilgrimage from all lovers of Mexican food

Taco Bell Celebrates Its 50th Aniversary This Week; 5 Ways the Bell Helped Mexican Food Become Better in the U.S.

​Taco Bell, the Mexican fast-food giant everyone loves to hate, celebrates its 50th anniversary this week and...yeah. Heaven knows it's an easy whipping boy for everything wrong with Mexican food in this country: the bastardized meals, the incessant appropriation (this week: I finally reveal the n ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Machete Attack in Guam!

​It's rare that we go outside the continental United States for this column, even though Taco Bell does exist worldwide. But maybe all Bells should be considered extensions of the American empire, as even in a remote paradise like Guam (which, of course, is an American territory), people in Taco B ... More >>

This Week In Food: Starbucks Supports Gay Marriage, Craft Cocktail Bar Etiquette, RIP Valhalla Table

​Makes your arteries harden just looking at it, doesn't it? Find out what the heck this is and more in this week's edition of what happened on the blog this week!

[UPDATED: Accused Speaks] Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Worker Steals $1,500 from Coworker!

​UPDATE: As you'll see in the comments below, someone claiming to be Mike Farmer, the man arrested for the crime described above, has left comments below claiming he's innocent. In the interest of justice, we present his story after the jump.

Matt Iwanusa of Cavemen on In N Out, Cali Weed, and Being Ignored by Blue Oyster Cult

Jim Wright​When Matt Iwanusa and Jimmy Carbonett first met at The Churchill and Center in New York City, they were only teens. Though the private school was in Manhattan, it was nothing like Gossip Girl. Their sound has been described as equal parts chamber pop, dreamscape, and horror film sco ... More >>

Five Shitty Corporate Ripoffs of Regional Food Favorites

ProfessorSalt.comWhat real bagels should look like​ You know what bugs me about chain restaurants? It's the way they co-opt the names of distant regional foods and market their shitty versions as the real thing to people in a different part of the world who don't know any different and grow up thi ... More >>

29-Cent Tacos This Wednesday At Del Taco

​Dave found the burger deal of the month, but I stumbled upon the taco deal.At the Mexican chain that is drama-free compared to Taco Bell, the magic coin total is 29-cents for a regular taco this Wednesday, August 10, only. Take your starving (metaphoric or literal) self down to the nearest Del Ta ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Drunk Teens Harassing Employees!

​Middletown, Rhode Island, must be a charming place, as it's in the cutest little state in the nation, right on an island, so I guess it's comforting to know there are drunk teens there, as well.

This Week in Food: Criticizing Stupid Lists, Loving Stupider Taco Bell Videos, and Smart Moink!

Flickr user D H Wright​Another busy week at SaFII--after the jump, the highlights!

Florida Tomato Growers No Longer Evil, Exploitative, Thanks to Taco Bell

Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine​Years ago, I visited a book club that had selected one of my rants as a group project. The setting was someone's house in Corona del Mar, with a beautiful view of the Pacific. It was a great time save for one awkward conversation: one of the gentleman (whose name I ... More >>

Taco Bell's 'Fake Beef' Lawsuit Dropped

In response to the lawsuit, Taco Bell ran full-page newspaper ads headlined, "Thank you for suing us."​Four months and $4 million in counter-advertising later, the lawsuit against Taco Bell's beef has been voluntarily withdrawn.  High five? Anyone?  As you may remember, an Alabama law fi ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Lawsuits Allege Salmonella Poisoning!

​In 2010, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention linked Taco Bell to a salmonella outbreak that left hundreds sick (but thankfully none dead). Two of those supposedly affected are now suing the company in Ohio courts, but I'm going to highlight the eating exploits of one of them affect ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Man Gets Angry at Higher Beefy Crunch Burrito Prices, Starts Shootout!

​What happened in San Antonio over the weekend just might qualify as the Taco Bell crime of the year, and just for the obvious reasons. It's San Antonio, for chrissakes, home of puffy tacos, breakfast tacos, chile con carne, the crucible of Tex-Mex cuisine--and someone is going to a Taco Bell to s ... More >>

An Open Letter to The Daily Show's Jon Stewart RE: Taco Bell

The Daily Show - Back in Black - Meat EditionTags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on FacebookDear Mr. Stewart,First of all, big fan. I am one of those who believe you are indeed "The Most Trusted Man In America." If I had a few hundred bucks and vacation ... More >>

Gross Or Genius? Taco Bell's Beefy Crunch Burrito Is Stuffed With Flaming Hot Fritos

​Taco Bell's new, limited-time-only Beefy Crunch Burrito sounds like the culinary creation of a drunken frat boy.Dude, you know what would be awesome in this burrito? Flaming Hot Fritos. Fuck yeah!  That's exactly what it is--a burrito stuffed with seasoned ground beef, nacho cheese, sour cre ... More >>

A Trip to Where Taco Bell All Began

​It's easy to make fun of Taco Bell--very easy--but in more genteel circles than this infernal rag, I defend the company quite often. Sure, their food is slightly edible, but it's their take on Mexican that allowed the cuisine to further spread around the country, spawn a boatload of imitators, an ... More >>

Jinan Montecristo of Les Amis, Part One

Photo by Todd BarnesLes Amis is the little Lebanese restaurant in Fullerton we reviewed a few weeks ago. Though owner Jinan Montecristo credits her mom for all the wonderful food (as you'll read in the interview) it is Jinan who is the driving force. Here's Part One of out On The Line intervie ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Fake Robbery!

​"Man Bites Dog" is the classic, guaranteed news story. "Fake Taco Bell Robbery" should join it in the halls of journalism school as a tale that rises from the churn of dozens of weekly Taco Bell robberies and becomes something rather bizarre.

Taco Bell Crime of the Week: Teens Rob Teens!

​As Taco Bell-as-weapon cases flood the country (including our own Orange County!) and the Irvine company tries to fend off a lawsuit brought on by hundreds who claim they suffer salmonella poisoning while eating their food, plain ol' crime happens there as well, the kind that makes you pessimisti ... More >>

Taco Bell's Street-Inspired "Cantina Tacos"

TacoBell.com​Thanks to our sister in crime Laura Shunk at Denver's Westword for bringing Taco Bell's new "Cantina Tacos" to our attention. We were apparently asleep at the switch, given that Gustavo, Edwin and I are huge proponents of street food, and this was happening right in our own backyard. ... More >>

Taco Bell Flag Flies as High as American, California Flags at New Taco Bell Headquarters

Entrance of Taco Bell's Irvine headquarters and its address...​Okay, so flag etiquette allows for other flags to fly as high as the Stars and Stripes if they're on separate poles. Still, isn't it the height (pardon the pun) of hubris for Taco Bell to raise its banner as high as that of California ... More >>

A Would-be Taco Bell Crime Against Humanity

Be very, very glad this isn't available at any Taco Bell in Orange County or elsewhere. Our nation's collective arteries wouldn't survive its widespread distribution. (link via The Awl)

[Hole in the Wall] On Rooster Cafe's Breakfast Burritos and the Passing of Glen Bell

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​How bad is it to work for Taco Bell, at least in the lower rungs? Enough so that its workers are more than happy to rob their own work place. From Jersey:Authorities have charged two Paterson men in the botched armed robbery of the Taco Bell restaurant on Market Street where they both work. ... More >>

Introducing Taco Bell's Own Jared Fogel

Photo from TacoBell.com​Taco Bell, it seems, has a new spokesperson named Christine -- their own Jared Fogel, if you will -- who claims that she lost 54 pounds after two years of eating fast food in controlled portions from the chain. The company has her face, and not to mention, figure, fea ... More >>

Atreyu: Not Going Hungry

​Yorba Linda metalcore band Atreyu is one of a handful of bands selected as part of Taco Bell's Feed the Beat marketing campaign. I perused the website and basically 100 bands from across the nation (including San Diego's Earthless, Cross Candaian Ragweed, Less than Jake, Municipal Waste and the B ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​First off, what's a Haverstraw? Secondly, pray for the people of the Hudson Valley, where the economy is apparently so devastated people have to hold up Taco Bells for job applications:  Police are searching for a man who brandished a gun at the Taco Bell on Route 9W and later asked for a jo ... More >>

Battle of the Bad Mexican Fast-Food Chains: Taco Bell vs. Taco John's

​BROOKINGS, S.D.--I'm speaking tonight at South Dakota State University, a day after having spent the week eating my way through Tex-Mex heaven in San Antonio. Quite a difference from the land of Flaco Jimenez to that of Laura Ingalls Wilder--and then there's the Mexican food.In San Antonio, I ate ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

You're pretty stupid if you're Mexican and visiting Taco Bell, but if you're Mexican and visiting Taco Bell after having committed a crime...well, you're probably a Guatemalan! Near New Orleans Rapides Parish sheriff's deputies found the men that witnesses said burglarized a vehicle early Friday m ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​No doubt next week's installment of this column will pull something from the Labor Day weekend, with God-knows-how-many pendejos of all races visiting Taco Bell to soak up booze. If we find enough, maybe a roundup ala The Smoking Gun. But for this week, something more serious: Taco Bell settled a ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​A faulty sewer line isn't a crime per se, but how lousy is life in Macomb, Illinois, that the following is a news story--or that "several excited Taco Bell fans camped outside the restaurant in anticipation of" the restaurant reopening?  Camping overnight for Taco Bell? God should've smote t ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​ Our fearless leader Ted Kissell worked for many years in the Miami-Broward-Palm Beach area, one of the great places in the country to work as a reporter. If it's not angry Cubans, it's cocaine cowboys or sexy nalgas or God knows how many other depredations. Of course, the crimes. And when there' ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​Who knew Tracy, California was such a den of crime? It seems an exploding garbage can at a Taco Bell is the least of its concerns, especially when there's a littering peach tree on the loose (last item)!:A caller reported at 10:26 p.m. Tuesday that something exploded in a small garbage can inside ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​What better food crime story is there than a car crashing through a fast-food chain? This one happened in--of all places--Billings, Montana. Who knew there was Taco Bell in Billings, or cars in Montana?A four-door Dodge crashed through the main doors of the Central Avenue Taco Bell Friday evening ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

​The big story regarding Taco Bell is the death of its former Chihuahua mascot, and we'll have a proper eulogy once I recover from my recet wisdom teeth extraction. But you'd think criminals would at least take the week of out of respect for the dog who helped Taco Bell expand worldwide...but no! ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

Who says E. Coli doesn't pay? From New Jersey:A New Jersey court has ruled against an insurance company, siding with Taco Bell Restaurants in a case involving coverage for business losses as a result of food contamination in 2006.The so-called "Taco Bell Outbreak" of E. coli, allegedly traced to let ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

Have you ever heard of bones in any type of pizza, let alone a "Mexican" one? Bizarre tale from Virginia (make sure to read at least the first paragraph and last sentence of the excerpt!):Hungry? You may want to think twice before you think outside the bun. Just ask George Phelps, a VA Beach man who ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

How fitting that in a week devoted to a holiday that has robbed millions of their money for the honor of celebrating a laughable Mexican victory about 155 years ago, that someone sticks up a Taco Bell, a corporation that has also robbed millions of their dinero by masquerading as Mexican cuisine. Fr ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

I thought people went to Taco Bell after toking the doob, not in search of it. The following story shows how much I know. From southwest Florida:The manager of a Cape Coral Taco Bell has been arrested after allegedly selling marijuana to undercover deputies on four separate occasions, three in the v ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

Finally, some fire at at Taco Bell joint. From Maryland: Discarded cigarettes cause a two-alarm blaze that destroyed a Taco Bell restaurant in Germantown on Monday, firefighters said this week. "What the fire didn't damage, smoke and water did," said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services spoke ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

All the proof you'll ever need that Taco Bell does, indeed, KILL. From the Cornhusker State:A Chambers Nebraska woman was killed Friday afternoon in North Platte after a 75-foot Taco Bell sign fell on top of the pickup she and her husband were in.Diana Durre, 49, died at the scene before paramedics ... More >>

Taco Bell Crime of the Week!

Sorry for the light posting this week, folks; been busy exposing anti-Semites over at Navel Gazing...This week's entry is actually from last week but is now just percolating up to the mainstream media instead of merely existing with the Daily Rottens of the world. From the state of Washington:A fami ... More >>