DoorAaron Warner/Apr 13, 2023 2:51 pm EST
If you grew up with a parent who advised you to "Don't overdo it," Taco Bell is here to balance the scales with its 2012 slogan of "Live Más." For die-hard Bellheads of the "Living Más" online community, that means Taco Bell's mandate is to always do too much, for better or for worse. Sometimes that means killing a favorite treat likefrom Quesarito, and sometimes that meansa fried empanadait will fall on a single southern city to create national drool. From March this means thereturn of a long-dead fan favorite: from Baconclub Cottage.
With its fried shell, a bacon crumb pepper and an interesting green mint dressing, the Bacon Club Chalupa is back for a limited time. Just how limited remains to be seen, but we've sampled and dissected this missing item from Taco Bell's menu boards, and we're here to give you everything you need to know before we welcome this returning champ decked out in its best slightly greasy paper , in your open mouth.
It's back after two years of waiting
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It's common for fast food brands to come and go, whether it's holiday-themed specials likeShamrock Shakeor seasonal items such asthe McRib, the release of which depends on the fall in the price of pork. These figures come predictably once a year. The Bacon Club Chalupa; The last time it was on the Taco Bell menu was Christmas Eve 2020. Before that it was MIA since mid-2015.
This kind of sporadic re-release makes the BaconClub Chalupa seem less like your annual Shamrock Shake and more of a miss. Quesarito in whatever imaginary Taco Bell zone that has been discontinued. Therefore, it is important that if you want to try or try again this famous Taco Bell item, you want to try it as soon as possible.
Fans campaigned for his return
The Bacon Club Chalupa has been creating separation anxiety since at least 2011, when the Facebook group "Bring Back the Bacon Club Chalupa" was formed. With a modest 718 followers at the time of writing, the page has been churning out hot memes and serving as a support group for BCC enthusiasts through many cycles of shutdown and resurgence. A post on December 24, 2020 (the date of BCC's previous comeback) proclaims, "It's['] as perfect as it was 5 years ago."
Five years is a long time to hold a candle to a fried quasi-taco, but BCC fans are just as devoted. On January 14th of this year, the page's administrator said they were planning a campaign to glorify their fallen god: "If I could create a Facebook page that would get enough followers," they wrote, "Taco Bell simply couldn't to ignore us, and they would have no choice but to bring back the BCC." Just 700 people may not be the kind of sample size that carries franchise decisions nationwide, but Taco Bell is known for responding to online fan inquiries, such as the return of Mexican Pizza last year.
It starts with Taco Bell's unique flatbread bowl
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Taco Bell has been revising (or mutilating, if you're a purist) traditional Mexican food for an American fast food palette since its inception. The flatbread that makes up the chalupas has a unique flavor and texture that is essential to all of the dish's variations, popular staples on the Taco Bell menu. Traditionally, chalupas are made with adough based on corn mass, which is flattened into a disc and baked to curl the ends into a boat shape, giving them their name ("chalupa" is a Spanish word for a type of small gondola-like boat). Taco Bell introduced its shalupas in 1999, with a major departure from the norm: The corn-mash shell was replaced with a flour bread, giving the chalupa shells a crispy exterior and a chewy interior.
The end result of Taco Bell's mutation into a traditional chalupa has drawn some comparisons to Navajo fried bread, but we think the comparison is generous. Taco Bell doesn't specialize in serving up Central American reality, but it does serve up pseudo-Mexican delight very well. Not once has Taco Bell had some form of chalupa on its menu since it launched in 1999, and wild ideas like topping the plate with cheese have paid off with positive reception from customers.
It comes dressed to perfection with avocado ranch
Americans love ranch dressing. Buttermilk, herbs, and spices in a mayo or oil emulsion lend a cool, tangy flavor so tempting to Taco Bellhe had to make the Cool Ranch Doritoalso in a taco shell, when product developers went crazy with it and came up with the Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco. The Bacon Club Chalupa has a dip of Taco Bell's Mint Green Avocado Ranch Sauce. To its credit, the sauce does contain buttermilk and real avocado, though in what proportion is anyone's guess.
It may not be preferableTaco Bell spice for spice devils, but it's the creaminess and spicy kick that makes the Bacon ClubChalupa fly well and balances out the saltiness of the generous sprinkling of bacon. Menu hackers would do well to stock up on the retail version of Avocado Ranch dressing, available at a few select grocers and department stores.
Pieces of real bacon, not pieces of bacon, tie it together
Bacon makes the "club" part of the name of the Bacon Club Chalupa. There's no middle layer of chalupa shell and no toothpicks adorned with souras holding it together, but there is a combination of poultry and pork. Where the club sandwich has bacon bits on top of turkey breast, the Bacon Club Chalupa has bacon bits crumbled on top of grilled chicken.The bacon bits are deceptive. They go by different names, all promising to serve as tiny helpers to those famous pork belly patches. Often the name "bacon chips" conjures up images of weird, pork-flavored or additive-related crispy bits of processed soy. The health benefits of bacon itself may be debatable, but the artificial flavors, colors and textures paired with cobblestone raise even more eyebrows.
However, Bacon Club Chalupa doesn't skimp on the authenticity of its bacon. The quantity can leave something to be desired, as these aren't full comics, and Taco Bell fans on Reddit have expressed concern over the company's use of bacon bits. However, one alleged former employee responded: "The most important thing is that most of the ingredients should be evenly distributed throughout the product. You don't want a burrito with a strip of bacon that's all crumpled on one side. I don't want that" ( viaReddit). Another Redditor pointed out the distinction: "You mean bacon CRUMBLES." Whatever your preference for bacon shape, at least it's real bacon.
It's not exactly healthy, but it's not *not* healthy
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The nutritional facts on the Bacon Club Chalupa tell a decidedly mixed story. A modest 450 calories, just 29 grams of carbs and a respectable 20 grams of protein make for a portable meal that will power you through a busy day. However, it's also important to note that the delicious Avocado Ranch dressing is thick. One serving contains 25 grams of fat, according to nutrition facts published by Taco Bell itself.
The generous dollops of sauce on the Bacon Club Chalupa may not be a full 1.5-ounce serving, but if you're looking to lower your fat content, you can always ask them to make the sauce light or have it on the side. If that's not what you're looking for, go for all the spicy goodness that's part of the meal.
Online ordering makes it an easy upgrade
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The Bacon Club Chalupa comes loaded for bear with its chicken, bacon, and deliciousness, topped with Taco Bell's staple shredded lettuce, diced tomato, and shredded cheese. Stop by your local drive-thru and you've got your hands on an incredibly dressed-up item. However, if you're someone who really makes your time at BCC special, you need to be extremely online. Ordering through Taco Bell's website opens up a world of options that can be planned ahead instead of slowly rattling agonizingly at a busy Taco Bell employee as the line behind you grows increasingly impatient.
Starting with Supreme or Fresco options. Chalupa lovers can double the dairy with some sour cream, or you can go all out and add that coolness and moisture with extra tomato. Spice lovers who want to step it up a notch can add jalapeños and Taco Bell's generous array of hot sauces to try, starting a fire that Avocado Ranch won't be able to put out. And vegetarians, of course, can swap out all the meat for beans, rice, or Taco Bell'spotatoes triumphantly returned.
It comes in combination or a la carte
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As Taco Bell has long been wont to do, the Bacon Club Chalupa is back to fly alone or order two crispy tacos and a drink to back it up. Prices for the two options start at $4.99 for the BCC a la carte and $8.99 for the combo on one of Taco Bell's classic box trays. It's a modest increase in price to add these tacos and drinks to your order, and if the density of the Bacon Club Chalupa doesn't satisfy you, some crispy tacos should get the job done. However, it somewhat detracts from the inherent flavor uniqueness of the highly anticipated Bacon Club Chalupa returning to pair it with the typical crispy tacos, which are never missing two years in a row.
Wash with ita Baja blastsounds refreshing though. And of course, as the old saying goes, "Prices and attendance may vary," meaning your local Taco Bell may well have adjusted to the ever-fluctuating price of pork differently than the franchise's baseline.
Fans praised the comeback
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Bacon Club Chalupa fans are an entire sub-group of fans in the land of Taco Bell fans. The return of BCC in 2020 had Living Más Redditors excited. One fan even commented that one mistake in their lineup couldn't even ruin the greatness of the Bacon Club Chalupa. "When I got it, they randomly replaced the chicken with beef even though I didn't order it."one Reddit user wrote, though they were quick to admit, "Still pretty good."
BCC's return in 2023 was equally applauded, with fast food bloggers writing, "Our crew is disappointed that this chalupa is only back for a limited time and we hope it becomes a regular menu item at Taco Bell" (viaFood Rankers). Bring Back the Bacon Club admin Chalupa shared a photo of the final third of the night's fourth BCC, and their partners responded with 92 likes and 37 comments, a respectable level of engagement for a 12-year-old Facebook page. a few hundred followers.
The price gives customers sticker shock
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The recent price hikes are a reality we've had to live with for a while, but the last time the Bacon Club Chalupa was available, people in the US were still receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Now they are thrown into a brutal world where food prices are rising everywhere, andstaples such as eggsthey have sudden strange shortages, people notice how food budgets are cut and how small price increases add up. Bacon Club Chalupa is no exception, with price fluctuations across regions and franchisees affecting even those in the "Más lifestyle" who want BCC to cost less.
Those on the Living Más subreddit have reported increases of up to 50% over the expected base price from $4.99 to $5.79 here, $6.39 there, and Arizonas seem to bear the brunt of the Chalupa inflation, with prices ranging from $7 to $8. So - Beloved as the Bacon Club Chalupa is, sticker shock may dampen demand, forcing it into early retirement. Next time it happens, it might be more beneficial to crumble the bacon yourself.