Even when food is free food, there is an undercurrent of marketing to get you into a place to then get you to come back.
Thanks to the coverage in our sibling site, CanadianCrossing.com, we knew a certain Mexican-type restaurant chain was giving away free tacos earlier this week.
The marketing went deeper since people could get that free taco anytime on Tuesday if they ordered online or downloaded the app. You could get a free taco by coming into the store but only between 2 pm-6 pm local time. I sadly have the time and not the money to pull off this experiment.
The deal was for the regular version of a specific taco that features the word "locos" and a corporate cousin. The novelty of the nacho cheese outer shell ensured that there would be some taste in the snack.
The free deal got me into a Taco Bell for the first time in awhile. Would the deal get me to come back?
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We've dealt with the world of free food long ago. Our take on free food many years ago fit where we were in our own personal growth. We've debated about calories and the price of eating something only because the food is free.
This week's adventure was about the free part since finances are bad these days. I like tacos, but rarely go in a Taco Bell because their tacos don't have me running for the border.
The argument behind cheap fast food is that you don't get much but you don't pay much. Here is what you get for $1.99:
Beef ("beef"?), iceberg lettuce, and cheddar (?) cheese (hopefully) that is mild and without flavor.
The Doritos hard shell doesn't taste as good as an actual Doritos chip. The shell does technically have taste but not the whimsical nature of nacho cheese Doritos.
The supreme version is 60¢ extra with tomatoes and sour cream. The lettuce in the marketing picture is green (unlike the actual lettuce) so the tomatoes likely wouldn't match either. Sour cream helps if you have spice, something you won't find in the taco, even with mild sauce.
If you are starving, this is food. This taco has virtually no taste, Doritos shell or otherwise.
The most memorable sensation in eating the taco is the warmth from the "beef." The quality of this chain's food has come under criticism. We don't know the percentage of beef in its "beef."
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The taco al pastor that I see where I live is a very simple taco with the tortilla, marinated pork, cilantro, and onions. You get a lot more meat in the local version, plenty of cilantro and onion. Every bite has flavor. I'm neutral on cilantro and not crazy about raw onions. I will eat that taco any time and enjoy the experience because flavor is the key.
If your outer shell needs to be atypical to be somewhat "locos," then you have a problem with the quality and flavor of ingredients. By the way, you can get that al pastor taco for about the same price.
Good promotions only work if you can back up the product. Taco Bell fans can tell me that some of their products have flavor and even spice, more than the Doritos Locos Tacos, and they might be correct. I can only go based on what I saw and ate.
If I lost my taste buds and got them for free, I might eat a Doritos Locos Taco. Otherwise, I would be "locos" to pay for one.
photos credit: me
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