The Guilty Pleasure: Quesarito Where to Get It: Taco Bell Price: $2 to $3 What It Really Costs: 300 calories of fat per Quesarito and regret . . . lots of regret.
On Monday, Taco Bell introduced its newest creation, the Quesarito. For those who can't figure out what the menu item entails based on the name, it's a combination of a quesadilla and a burrito -- or a burrito wrapped in a quesadilla rather than a plain tortilla.
Where did this crazy, novel idea come from, you ask? Well, Chipotle, which has been serving this hybrid dish for some time now -- though only on a "secret" menu. We've tried the Chipotle version and told you about the experience. Now it's Taco Bell's turn.
See also: Chipotle Quesarito, Quesadilla-Burrito Hybrid: Secret Menu Item Worth Trying
Taco Bell is serving three different types of Quesaritos: beef, chicken, and steak. In the interest of thouroughness, we decided to try both the ground beef ($1.99) and shredded chicken ($2.79) versions.
All three types feature "premium Latin rice," chipotle sauce, and "reduced-fat sour cream" in addition to your meat of choice. Of course that's all wrapped in a quesadilla made with a layer of shredded cheese melted between two chewy Taco Bell tortillas. The whole thing then gets thrown back on the grill to give the exterior tortilla a little bit of crispness.
In theory, it sounds pretty good.
In both Quesaritos we tried, it was nearly impossible to tell that you were actually eating a burrito wrapped in a quesadilla. Maybe it's because the two toritillas are so thick, or because there isn't enough of a textural difference, but we didn't feel it would have tasted any different were the cheese wrapped up inside the burrito like everything else.
In the beef Quesarito, there was way too much of that reduced-fat sour cream pooling at the bottom on the burrito. As such you got several bites of beef-heavy burrito up top (not very pleasing), followed by bites of gooey rice, sauce, and sour cream. In the end, the quesadilla wrapping gave out all together and the innards of our meal landed on the table.
The chicken version fared better. In our opinion, the smoky flavor of the Chiptole sauce complemented the shredded chicken much better than the beef. And it does an excellent job of improving that dryness of the meat. Because the sauce is so powerfully flavored, it's nearly impossible to taste the sour cream at all (provided it's properly incorporated) but the rice, which includes cilantro, onion, and garlic, is a nice touch.
Still, we don't really see the point of ordering a Quesarito except for novelty's sake. When it comes to taste the quesadilla-wrapping really has no effect. If you want to have a real Quesarito experience, just save your money and go for the Chipotle version.
