Taco Bell Is Testing A New Dipping Taco In Just One Southern City

If you really want to start a rumor, your best bet isn’t getting on a megaphone and shouting. No, if you really want to start a rumor, tell just one person. It works. In fact, none other than Taco Bell is counting on it working―not that they’re trying to spread a rumor so much as a taco. Like most fast food mega chains with wild new ideas and access to a variety of markets in which to test them, Taco Bell is currently testing out a new version of its Dipping Taco.” Unlike most fast food mega chains, Taco Bell has decided to test this new dipping taco in just one city. 

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See? Doesn’t that make you want to try one even more?

Tampa, You Lucky So-and-So’s

It might be an excess of caution, or maybe Taco Bell owed the entire city of Tampa a favor. Whatever the motivation, it does seem like a bit of an odd choice to test a menu item in one, highly specific locale. Not to mention the new menu item in question―the Cheesy Enchilada Dipping Taco―just sounds like an easy crowd-pleaser. 

Granted, Taco Bell has had some difficult press recently. But it’s not like they have to worry about customer loyalty in general. After all, some Taco Bell customers love it so much they have their wedding anniversaries there. When they announced the return of their Shredded Beef Dipping Taco back in May, people were pretty excited. And while reviews were mixed, the fact is, in the world of food―fast casual food especially―you will always, always find at least one annoyed or otherwise bad review online.

Everything About The Dipping Taco

Whether we understand the Tampa decision of it all or not doesn’t really matter. What matters is the dipping taco itself. Like the Shredded Beef Dipping Taco, the concept is a deconstruction of the standard taco experience―here, of course, an enchilada experience. Your choice of protein (slow-roasted chicken or sliced steak) is wrapped up snugly in a white corn tortilla shell, coated with shredded cheese, and fried ’til the resulting tube is crisp and cheesy, with juicy, tender meat on the inside. 

Ah, but what of the dipping? That’s actually where more of the fun seems to come into play. This time around it’s a Layered Dip―think of a tiny, fast food-packaged version of the 7-layer bean dip your buddy always brings on NFL Sunday. Taco Bell’s Layered Dip has the requisite refried beans, with red enchilada sauce, fresh chunky pico de gallo, low fat sour cream, and a three-cheese blend (mozzarella, pepperjack, and cheddar). Between the cheese-crusted deep-fried enchilada and all those layers to dip in, it’s actually kind of surprising Taco Bell is charging just $3.99 to $4.99. 

We can only cross our fingers that we’ll soon find this new item in menus closer to us. Tampa, do you know how lucky you are?