ABOVE: Taco Bell’s new Cantina Tacos are “based upon authentic-style Mexican street tacos.”
An art form that evolved from hot dog carts, roach coaches — and the king of all mobile food purveyors, the taco truck — American ‘street food’ has become wildly popular.
From dessert and waffle trucks to mobile pizza ovens and the traditional falafel and halal carts, you can hardly escape them in any urban landscape.
While it’s true that hipsters might be totally ruining it, fostering an economy where a carne asada burrito at the Calexico cart in New York will run you $8, the more the merrier, I say.
But then comes Taco Bell.
This was an inevitability. A behemoth like the Bell had to eventually jump on the bandwagon and a fast food chain would take an idea that was already fast and cheap and make it faster and cheaper. You really can’t fault them, it’s great marketing.
Starting this week the restaurant chain will offer their new Cantina Tacos, with chicken, carnitas and carne asada options, all topped with onion and cilantro at prices that rival your neighborhood lonchera.
It’s hard to fathom how Taco Bell could possibly improve on the carnitas ‘street’ taco, which might be the single-greatest food item ever sold from the back of a truck, but undoubtedly they’re gonna sell a ton of these things to the unsuspecting.
I’ll stick with my neighborhood taqueria.
READ MORE: Taco Bell is a disgrace to tacos.
On another note, my Indian dentist tells me Taco Bell is very popular among Indian immigrants because the food is spicy and has lots of vegetarian options. American fast food dining, prior to Taco Bell’s ubiquity in the 1980s, was apparently a vast wasteland for Hindus who practice vegetarianism, because the only things you could eat were french fries at McDonalds and Pizza Hut.
the best tacos are from Tacos Guadalajara in Stamford on Atlantic Street.. so Yup I’ll stick to my neighborhood taqueria too.
Viva los tacos (the real ones I mean)