What Is This Majesty?

Taco Bell is the kind of place meant for a quick pick up and go when you’re doing other things. Their food isn’t bad for quick service fast food, in large part because it’s really hard to truly screw up tacos or burritos, but I wouldn’t qualify it as “good” Mexican. It barely qualifies as Mexican. And as far as quality is concerned I wouldn’t even put it at the level of other quick service joints like Qdoba or Chipotle (and they aren’t really that great, either). And hell, they’re certainly no Taco Bamba, that’s for sure. Still, when you’re out and about, getting gas or grabbing groceries, and all you want is a spot of something vaguely flavorful, Taco Bell can hit the spot.

I was on one such grocery run tonight, so I popped over to the local Taco Bell (which is right across the street) to grab a bit of dinner to have at home. Going in I saw something that nearly broke my brain: chicken nuggets. Taco Bell has gotten more experimental in recent years, moving beyond making all their stuff with the same six ingredients or so (taco, burrito, nacho, quesadilla) and adding in new meats, new sauces, new ideas. They did Nacho Fries a few years back, and I guess it was only a matter of time before they went to chicken nuggets.

And yes, sure, their corporate daddy also owns KFC so this is the kind of synergy that makes sense. Used to be you could find Taco Bell KFCs around, combined stores that served a bit of both menus. This is just another way of doing that. But still, since I was there I clearly had to try it. So alongside my nachos order and two Doritos Locos Nachos (judge me all you want but they’re very tasty) I grabbed a five piece of nuggets. And I gotta say, they’re really good.

The Crispy Chicken Nuggets feature all-white meat chicken marinated in jalapeño buttermilk and breaded with tortilla chips. It’s an interesting way to do it, but I have to say that it works. The first bite what I noticed was the chicken itself. It is a whole chunk of white meat chicken, not a processed, reformed, man-made patty of pink chicken slurry. These have bite and texture and are head and shoulders above the meat you get at McDonalds or Burger King. They feel like actual meat, which is something you realize you’re missing only when you have it.

I did also notice a little bit of kick from the jalapeño buttermilk. These nuggets have flavor to them. It’s not just salty chicken, there is just that slight bit of pop. They aren’t truly spicy, per se, but I noticed the tiniest little bit of tingle on my tongue. I’m sure someone that can’t handle spice will find these a little bit spicy, but I’d just put them at flavorful. But a good flavorful all the same. The soaking in buttermilk really does help.

The tortilla chip crust is also really nice. I doubt it’s just tortilla chips as there’s a thickness to the crust that feels like wheat breading. But the tortilla flavor is there, as is a nice crispness from it. Even after the nuggets sat for a bit there was still some crunch, some bite to the crust. These nuggets have a very nice, flavorful, lovely coating to them, which is not something I thought I’d say from anything that came from Taco Bell.

I got my nuggets with Hidden Valley Ranch Fire Ranch dipping sauce, and that was good as well. It’s one of several dipping options they have, but for a five-piece you only get one choice of sauce. I figured Fire Ranch was the more traditional choice (over options like Jjalapeño Honey Mustard or Bell Sauce) and I wanted to get a fair ruling for this review. The rance has a little kick, not to the point I’d call it “fire” but it’s a bit spicy. Also a little sweet on the back end, which I didn’t expect but didn’t necessarily mind. Overall, it was a good pairing with the nuggets and complimented the flavor well.

Oh, and my nachos and tacos were good, too. Naturally you expect a decent baseline from Taco Bell when it comes to their tried and true options, and at this point, considering how long they’ve been around, Doritos Locos Tacos are a tried and true option. Hell, you can buy the shells at the grocery store so these aren’t some oddball specialty item anymore. Taco Bell knows the basics of what they’re doing, and their baseline options are always just good enough to pass muster.

The star of the show tonight was the nuggets, and they were really, really good. Good enough that I do think if you’re in the mood for both Taco Bell and nuggets you should try them. They worked well with the rest of what I got (one nugget even got dipped in the beans, cheese, and sour cream left over from my nachos, and it was really good, too) and made the whole meal quite fun to eat. Taco Bell has a winner here, so get them while you can. They do love to introduce items and then take them away a month or two later, so who knows how long these will last.