Taco Bell's Cheesy Street Chalupas
Dreams from my Quesalupa
The Quesalupa is back! Sort of… maybe. For this review I tried Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Street Chalupas. Taco Bell describes them as such
Introducing Cheesy Street Chalupas, inspired by a vibrant fusion of traditional street taco ingredients – like fresh onions and cilantro – remixed with zesty flavors and premium proteins, all wrapped in Taco Bell’s craveable, Quesalupa-inspired cheesy chalupa shells.
I got the cantina chicken ones as part of a meal that cost $9.99.
Before we go further into the review we need to go over a bit of history. The year is 2016. Hillary Clinton looks set to become the first female President. Game of Thrones is a beloved critical darling. I had just quit my job to go work in esports. And Taco Bell was releasing creative limited time offerings at a pace never matched before or since. The pinnacle of their manic creativity culminated in The Quesalupa. The Quesalupa was a specially made chalupa shell that was filled with cheese and deep fried. It contained 36G of fat and looked like this.
It was the kind of food that nobody should eat under any circumstances. It is also one of the most delicious foods I have ever eaten. Needless to say I was excited when Taco Bell invoked the Quesalupa while describing their latest creation.
So back to the Cheesy Street Chalupa. It feels like its intended to be a fresher healthier take on the Quesalupa. This was appealing to me because I’m currently on a bit of a fitness journey. My order looked like this, it seemed like a decent amount of food for 410 calories.
The flavor profile on these was decent. The cilantro and grilled onions give it a fresher taste than most of Taco Bell’s offerings, and the flavors worked really well with the Cantina Chicken filling. The cheese stuffing in the Chalupa shells didn’t really register for me taste wise. A close visual inspection revealed minimal cheese filling.
Texturally they were okay. The chalupas themselves were chewy, I think a crunchier shell would have contrasted better with the wet saucy fillings.
Overall the Cheesy Street Chalupa feels like an offering with an identity crisis. This flavor profile with slightly better macros would have been a great fit for their healthy option power menu. If they’d gone a little more over the top they could have recreated the decadence that made the Quesalupa so special. Instead we got a dish that tries to please everyone and instead pleases none. Overall I give the Cheesy Street Chalupas 2.5/5 stars. (★★☆ )