sign of the Apocalypse #71

Taco Bell Doritos Taco: Chain Claims New Shell Will Reinvent Titular Menu Item .

Some things are perfect: sunshine, rainbows, koala bears, King Lear, fish tacos eaten on the beach in Malibu. These are things that, like the wheel, no one would want to reinvent. But what about Taco Bell tacos? Given that they've been accused of being filled with a faux-ground meat mixture, they hardly seem as perfect as rainbows. So why not reinvent them? Probably can't make them any worse, right?

If only.
As it turns out, Taco Bell had the capability to make its tacos much, much worse. Parent company Yum Brands just had to team up with fellow food giant PepsiCo for an answer, in the form of taco shells made of nacho cheese-flavored Doritos.

The tacos debuted at the beginning of 2011 in selected markets in the San Joaquin Valley in California, and proved enough a success that Yum Brands has decided to bring the product to Taco Bells around the country.

Representative from the company told Nation's Restaurant News that the Doritos Locos Tacos would "reinvent the taco," and help separate Taco Bell from its competitors. The fillings on the Dorito-clad tacos are said to be spiced more mildly than those in traditional tacos, to help compensate for the extra flavor in the shell.

At this point, it's unclear how the bright orange cheese powder on the exterior of the new tacos will affect Taco Bell's sodium reduction initiative, but we can't imagine it's helping. Maybe Taco Bell shouldn't have reinvented its wheel after all.

Here's an ad for the tacos that's been aired in California test markets