Skip to Content
Taco Bell Record with Herb Alpert

A funny story in the International Herald Tribune points out that Taco Bell, after taking their gringo tacos back across the border in shame in 1992, is now trying again in Mexico. This time, they're not trying to pretend to be a taqueria like in the past, and have even started calling their 'tacos' by the new name "tacostadas", part of their long tradition of making up bizarre names for their 'food'. An excerpt from the article:

Taco Bell has taken pains to say that it's not trying to masquerade as a Mexican tradition.

"One look alone is enough to tell that Taco Bell is not a 'taqueria'," the company said in a half-page newspaper ad. "It is a new fast-food alternative that does not pretend to be Mexican food."

Can they do this in the US as well? It would be a nice clarification. In any case, the reaction so far hasn't been all that encouraging for Taco Bell's owners, YUM brands:

It's still a mixed message for Mexicans like Marco Fragoso, a 39-year-old office worker sitting down for lunch at a traditional taqueria in Mexico City, because the U.S. chain uses traditional Mexican names for its burritos, gorditas, and chalupas.

"They're not tacos," Fragoso said. "They're folded tostadas. They're very ugly."

In other Taco Bell news (of which I promise there won't be much of, ever, here) Wikipedia clues us in the fact that the most recent Taco Bell Logo has a satanic 666 message hidden in it.

Image credit: LostAmerica, who rules.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Tamal or Tamale? How to Correctly Pronounce the Singular Form of Tamales

The tamal vs. tamale debate has an almost emotional connection with people simply because it becomes a “how my family speaks the language vs. how it’s ‘supposed to be’ written” type of language conflict. In a culture like Mexico, where family always comes before anything, it makes sense that people will go with what feels familiar rather than what they are expected to say.

December 24, 2024

L.A.’s 13 Best Bars With Games and Activities

The best L.A. bars for axe-throwing, cumbia nights, playing pool, doing graffiti, smoking, playing pinball, and other fun, possibly delinquent activities.

December 23, 2024

Everything Wrong with Tesla’s $500 ‘Mezcal’

"Mezcal has become a commodity for many, without any regard for the earth, [or] for Indigenous people's land rights," says Odilia Romero, an Indigenous migrants rights advocate from Oaxaca and the executive director for CIELO. "Oaxaca is also having a water access issue.

December 20, 2024

This Weekend: Sonoran Caramelos, Brisket Tteokbokki, Mex-Italian Fusion, and Country-Fried Tofu

Plus, Malay-style wings, a collaboration pizza-topped with Philippe The Original's French-dipped beef and hot mustard, and more in this week's roundup.

December 20, 2024

More Than 70 People Reported Feeling Ill After Eating Oysters At L.A. Times ‘101 Restaurants’ Food Event

Ragusano is disappointed that the L.A. Times didn’t publicly disclose that there was an outbreak at their event. “Obviously they’re not going to print it in their paper,” Ragusano said. “But they‘re a newspaper and newspapers are supposed to share the news. This is how people usually find out about something like this,” she added. “It's ironic because it happened to them.”

December 19, 2024
See all posts