Taco Bell's 'Volcano Taco' Is Spicy, Made with Red Crunchy Shell
Photographs from Fast Food Critic.
Tired of the bland corn-colored crunchy shells at Taco Bell? They now have red ones in honor of the 89-cent Volcano Taco, part of the "Why Pay More!" value menu. The red shell is stuffed with grated cheddar, green lettuce, cheesy "lava" sauce, and ground beef, what Fast Food Critic is calling "possibly the spiciest sauce on their menu." He thinks the "volcano" cheese sauce is even more fiery than Taco Bell's "fire sauce." Unfortunately the red taco shell tasted like a regular shell, but could introduce the possibility of a red soft tortilla.
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20 Comments:
Oh, come on. Calling something spicier than Taco Bell's "Fire Sauce" is not saying much. That's like saying a 6-month-old has significantly more verbal skill than a newborn. My theory is that "spicy" in corporate chain restaurants is engineered, for legal reasons, so as not to offend even the faintest of palates and therefore has no kick to it whatsoever.
Adam Kuban at 5:54PM on 09/08/08
sounds like someone can't take the heat..
Prairie at 6:05PM on 09/08/08
I like the idea of wrapping spicier items in red tortillas....a visual cue for those of us with the "faintest of palates".
amanda0730 at 6:19PM on 09/08/08
eeww
beth1 at 7:15PM on 09/08/08
I had this over the weekend and it tore my stomach apart. There's nothing special about it. It's a taco with a colored shell and a pain inducing lava sauce.
I bitched briefly about it here: http://tinyurl.com/5mn8rc
spuhn at 8:54PM on 09/08/08
I'm with Adam on this. I could probably drink a cup of Fire Sauce and hardly feel anything. Not that I'm going to try...cause that would be disgusting. Still, I don't think these are going to register much.
If you have the faintest of palates, why are you eating supposedly spicy food? (No offense amanda0730. That was not directed at you, but a general question). Frivolous lawsuits are out of control, but suing someone for selling you something advertised as spicy when you know you can't take spicy...that just sounds like FAIL. That's like knowing your allergic to peanuts, then eating a can of peanuts and then suing Planters. I think the real reason Taco Bell is intentionally low on the spicy is because otherwise it would limit their potential market.
wunami at 9:04PM on 09/08/08
"Oh, come on. Calling something spicier than Taco Bell's "Fire Sauce" is not saying much. That's like saying a 6-month-old has significantly more verbal skill than a newborn."
--------------------
I can't argue with that, Adam. Heh! :)
Btw, I'm not sure if you've seen it yet, but I couldn't help be amused by the claim in the new television commercial, where Taco Bell says...
".... might be the spiciest taco ever".
FastFoodCritic at 9:40PM on 09/08/08
But the elephant in the room is does it make the taco pop?
Adam Kuban at 9:55PM on 09/08/08
I wanted to add...
The 'lava' sauce may be the spiciest thing at Taco Bell... but that's where the claim begins and ends. As Adam said, can't really compare it to the hot foods and sauces being served everywhere else, outside the fast-food drones and clones.
FastFoodCritic at 9:56PM on 09/08/08
That review is from John, a new contributor to my site.
It seemed to make his taco pop the first time! lol
But the second time lacked the freshness and kick to make his taco pop again.
Maybe it's too much to ask for... having your taco popped twice.
FastFoodCritic at 10:19PM on 09/08/08
I love these. I know that Taco Bell isn't really good for you, but I love it so much. This thing was hotter than anything I've ever had at Taco Bell. I've had spicier, but not there. yummmmmm.
JigsawJones at 10:34PM on 09/08/08
it was pretty good, but i like when things are so spicy that every orifice on your face is leaking, now that's hot!
i always tell people that i like my meals to be a challenge, this was not a challenge, just messy and delicious, the lava sauce was pretty good, but if you want something to melt your face, it's not going to get the job done.
samanthapayntr at 1:38AM on 09/09/08
I like spicy stuff and honestly, I've always thought the Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Wendy's is pretty spicy. It's much spicier than Fire Sauce at Taco Bell so I'm not sure Taco Bell is holding back because of "law suits". As for the Volcano Taco, I wish I was in the US right now so I could try it! Damn!!
smile at 2:38AM on 09/09/08
@smile: Yeah. I honestly don't think fast food joints hold back for legal reasons. That comment was a bit tongue in cheek. Perhaps too much so. But I'm old enough to remember Fire Sauce coming out, and I was happy to try it, thinking it would finally have some kick to it. It didn't, and it was then that I was convinced that they took the most spicy-averse people they could find and made it just hot enough that those folks could still eat it. Maybe Lava Sauce is different. I'll have to drop by a Taco Bell and try it. (Although I have been Taco Bell gun shy since being defeated by a Crunchwrap Supreme.
Adam Kuban at 8:26AM on 09/09/08
I hope that the marketing whiz who said, "maybe no one will notice that our 'tacos' are still crap if we put them in a red shell!" is now working the drive-thru.
worldcupfever at 12:21PM on 09/09/08
You mean a multi-national corporation looking for the largest possible market isn't making their hot sauce hot enough to burn the mouths and anuses of the top 1% of macho fire eaters?
That's weird.
wthrop at 1:14PM on 09/09/08
i think people are getting a little crazy about the limited heat of fire sauce. it's not like a bottled hot sauce where you might put on a few drops, it's a taco sauce. for me, that means i will put about 3 packets on every taco. i'm not a hot sauce he-man but 3 packets of fire sauce on a taco gives me a taco with too much heat and not enough flavor. their hot sauce has the right balance for my palate. clearly it doesn't have the right balance for others' palates.
sloppy at 2:22PM on 09/09/08
seriously, if youre eating at tacobell, and discussing the finer points of your "palate", you need to go look up palate!
btw, that "taco" looks wretch-tastic! and lava sauce? is that marketing speak for velvetta w/tabasco?
concreteoatmeal at 5:25PM on 09/24/08
Velvetta with tabasco? Or is it Velvetta with habanero peppers? The first time I saw the sign advertising it in a mall location, it looked interesting. I want to try this new taco and see if it's hot enough for my taste buds. From reading about this, the "lava" sauce sounds to me that it is made with fiery hot habanero peppers. Can anyone confirm this? I have used habanero sauce in chili, gumbo, and even spaghetti sauce, so this should be a new item to try out.
banzaigtv at 11:51AM on 10/14/08
I loved the Volcano Taco!!! It is by far one of the best things at Taco Bell. The cheese sauce is not overly spicy (and I love spicy)--but it seems just right for the taco.
Sweetvtmom at 10:38AM on 10/23/08