Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch Review
One may have heard a frugal young college student lauding the item as a delicious and inexpensive way to “think outside the bun” but been unsure of what, exactly, a Cheesy Gordita Crunch was. It is apparent that the food is cheesy and crunchy, but these adjectives are somewhat incongruent with the soft flour tortillas that are gorditas.
In fact, the Cheesy Gordita Crunch begins with a gordita containing a layer of melted cheese. A taco shell is then placed in the gordita and filled with Taco Bell’s signature ground beef. These elements are topped with a cheese sauce, lettuce, and shredded cheese. Essentially, this concoction is a cheesy taco wrapped in melted cheese and a gordita.
This recipe may appear to be disaster marred by cheese and the opposing forces of crunchy taco and soft gordita. However, the different textures and flavors of the ingredients actually work together rather than opposing one another. An initial bite into the meal rewards a consumer with the soft cushion of biting into a gordita while still providing the satisfying crackle of sinking one’s teeth into a taco. There is no hardness on the teeth, and the shards of shattered taco shell do not poke on in the mouth. The gordita layer eliminates most of the downfalls of eating a taco while providing a nice doughy flavor of its own. The ground beef in the concoction is coated in a somewhat rich and very salty cheese sauce. While it does not seem natural for Taco Bell’s “Sloppy Joe” style meat to mix with a cheese sauce, the two flavors actually combine quite nicely.
There is little to say of the shredded cheese and lettuce that adorn the top of the Cheesy Gordita Crunch other than that they add an important element to the meal while not being overly offensive. It is frustrating to scatter shredded ingredients with every bite, but a patron of Taco Bell will experience this difficulty with almost every order. The restaurant chain wisely does not include diced tomatoes on the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, so eaters are spared the indignation of chasing down a tomato chunk that has rolled off of their taco, down their leg, and into the next booth.
The Cheesy Gordita Crunch is omitted from menus of some Taco Bell stores that offer the meal for consumption. The reasons for this are quite uncertain, but the meal is also not available at Taco Bell Express locations. These puzzling facts should not deter you from attempting to order the concoction, however, as it is quite a rewarding experience. Simply ask for the Cheesy Gordita Crunch and attempt not to feel too disappointed if a store tells you they do not offer the specialty at that location.
I have also witnessed discrepancies in the price of the product. In the Taco Bell in my home town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the Cheesy Gordita Crunch costs $1.99. Conversely, I purchased the same item for $1.19 in New York State. Taco Bell does not list the prices of its products on its websites, and the Cheesy Gordita Crunch is actually not listed on the menu section of Taco Bell’s website, so these variations in prices do not appear to be isolated incidents. Regardless of whether the Cheesy Gordita Crunch is a bargain or one of the more expensive items on the menu, it is worthy of purchase.
The Cheesy Gordita Crunch has 560 calories, 297 of which are from fat according to dietfacts.com. It is obvious that one should not have too many of these tasty treats if he or she is on a diet, but anyone on a diet should probably not be eating fast food.
The biggest downfalls of the Cheesy Gordita Crunch other than intermittent availability are characteristics that hamper all Taco Bell products. The food does not usually explode with heat as it is unwrapped, and the speed of service at the restaurants is not exactly lightening fast. Additionally, if you are a true enthusiast of Mexican food, you will undoubtedly be left wanting by Taco Bell in general. One must not think of Taco Bell as Mexican, he or she must simply consider it Taco Bell. The only unique problem with the Cheesy Gordita Crunch will be exposed if one does not like cheese. It is essentially smothered by different low-quality cheeses. Even if you do like cheese, be sure to have a drink ready to wash down the salty sauce.
The strengths of the dish include the melding of cheese, lettuce, beef, taco, and burrito in taste and texture. If one likes Taco Bell, he or she will certainly find this to be an excellent choice.
The Cheesy Gordita Crunch is a tasty treat for anyone that appreciates the low prices of Taco Bell and enjoys its food of questionable quality. While I personally love Taco Bell and its unique style, many do not share my personal feelings toward the chain. However, almost anyone will find the Cheesy Gordita Crunch bearable, if not better than average fast food. Subsequently, it earns a rating of 7.5 out of 10.
