Junk Food Nation, it’s finally here.  The Doritos Locos Taco.  For those of you who DIDN’T know, Taco Bell recently partnered with Frito-Lay to make Taco shells out of Doritos.  Yes, you heard me right.  TACO SHELLS. OUT. OF. DORITOS.  HOLY. MOLY. And this, my readers, is what it looks like:

Glorious, isn’t it? I mean, who even came UP with the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco? Because that man or woman needs a title.  Like, Best Person on Earth.

Quite simply, it’s ingenious and why hasn’t this happened sooner?  This isn’t some bullshit Taco Bell has pulled in the past like loading spicy Fritos into a Burrito (also tasty), but this is actually making the entire shell out of a GOD DAMN DORITO.  Duder.

These dropped nationally at midnight of March 7 heading into March 8, so they were out a full 21 hrs before I got a chance to have mine.  I dragged the Junk Food Gal inot the car with me, locked the doors, and told her where we were going.  I believe her exact reaction was to scrunch her face and say, “Whaaaat?”  Then she tried to get out of the car.  Too late, doors were locked.  Off we went to find these Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos!

We arrived at the closest Taco Bell to me 35 minutes later in a remote part of Maryland.  Wow.  This place was deserted.  Still, despite the shaaaadiness of this TB, I was determined to eat this product.

I should note that these Doritos Tacos actually were tested in California already, and there are great reviews by Grub Grade, Fast Food Geek, and Food Beast detailing their experiences.  In fast, these blogs were all invited to see a preview release of these tacos earlier this year, and Fast Food Geek has a great behind the scenes log of the days events.  VERY cool stuff, a recommended read.

My cashier had an amazing “I LOVE Doritos Locos Taco” T-shirt on.  I asked if they sold those shirts.  She snickered and said no.  It’s not funny, lady.  I want one.

I got one of every sauce that Taco Bell had to eat with me Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco…but having made plenty of my own salsa at home, I wasn’t thrilled about any of these.  Still, pretty colors.

Two Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos, one regular, one supreme, locked and loaded!  The unveiling:

Yeah…that video kinda ends with a stutter, doesn’t it? “So I rush…urge you to go out and…uh… go get some.”  End. AND I WONDER WHY SPONSORS AREN’T BANGING DOWN MY DOOR TO VOICE COMMERCIALS.  Yeah……..I should really script this shit out. Plus, I was trying to whisper since I was in a busy Taco Bell.

And there it is, the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco.  I love that they used a cardboard sheath to hold the thing, to ensure little breakage but also to ensure maximum brand recognition.

This Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco was standard TB fare… lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato, sour cream, seasoned beef product.  And a Dorito shell.  All a growing boy needs.

I took one bite of the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco, and…..really good.  Really really good.  They will sell hundreds of thousands of these.  Jiminy Christmas, it was good.

See the thing is, the cheesy shell adds more savoriness to everything.  Normally, when you have a Taco Bell hard shell taco, you have pretty great flavor if you get a bite with beef in it.  The shell of a normal hard shell taco at Taco Bell is usually stale and flavorless.  Sorry, TB, it’s true.

So usually the bites WITHOUT beef are just of lettuce and cheese and whatever sauce you drizzled on.  But with THESE Doritos Locos tacos, the non-beefy bites are STILL very savory.  They still have a lot of cheesy flavor, and it’s not boring.  You almost feel NO need to add sauce.

Plus, because the Dorito shell is slightly crispier consistency than a normal hard shell, I think they won’t get as stale over time.  Certainly also because these will be flying off the shelves, not giving them the chance to be stale.

As a taco, overall?  Well, it’s Taco Bell.  It is what it is – there wasn’t some miraculous change in flavor, no upgrade in beef or ingredients.  But I can definitely state that this Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco is the best Taco Bell taco I’ve had, for the reasons above.

Look at my pudgy fingers!  They have been (sort of) turned orange by these Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos! Anytime I can replicate the picture on my logo, I try to. Good work, Taco Bell.  That WAS the final test.

Yeah, my table post-Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco was a little messy.  That’s how I get.

Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco paper wrapper had tweets printed on them already; people chiming in about what they liked about the new promotion.  I will be adding my tweet soon, “#DoritosLocosTaco turns fingers orange satisfyingly.” I think that’s under 140 characters.

So, Junk Food Nation, have YOU had these yet?  Have you EXPERIENCED the Taco Bell Doritos Locos Taco? If not, go get some…I’ve heard Cool Ranch Shells could be coming!  *giddy bounce in chair*

PS: if anyone knows how to get one of those T-shirts…you know how to reach me 😉

Comments? Hit me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy