Aw yeah. I too have a soft spot for Taco Bell. Sure, lots of it is soy filler, but the same can be said for a lot of frozen beef patties the public buys. And yeah, I'll always take real Mexican food over it, or some other superior food. But sometimes there's nothing better around or open at 3am, and you've got a craving for a Volcano Burrito. Or a chalupa. Or a bag of cheap tacos.
And that must be swiftly dealt with.
Luckily, Champaign has an authentic Mexican place open until 2am. They even fry their own chips and serve horchata with free refills.
If by this you mean eating Chipotle always leads you to wanting Qdoba, then YES, I agree! Nah, Chipotle is good too. It's just that where I'm at, Qdoba is more available, I personally think their menu has more variety, and in general their burritos are bigger, which is a necessity for a guy who eats a lot.
QDoba does have more variety and is bigger. However, that doesn't mean it's better. Chipotle intentionally has low variety because it has increased quality. If you only have a few choices, it's easier to perfect all those choices and make them very high quality.
Baja Fresh is alright, but I'm still with Chipotle. Of course, quality non-chain places blow all the chains out of the water.
There's Cafe Maya in Fishkill, NY. The burrito closet that I don't know the name of in Pike's Place Market in Seattle, WA. There's also this place in NYC near Union Square that I can't remember the name of which is also amazing.
The only beef I have with Chipotle is that they put onions with their corn salsa and grill the green peppers with the onions. They should keep them separate for those who don't like onions. Not speaking for myself, but for a boyfriend that can't handle onions or anything spicy for that matter. I put almost everything they have to offer on my burrito bowls.
OK, I'm going to teach everyone how to properly parse information. Holy shit, this article (and lawsuit) is such sensationalist garbage I could vomit.
Here is the ingredients list on Taco Bell's "taco meat filling:"
Beef, water, seasoning: [a very long list of ingredients including isolated oat product and oats], salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of: beef broth, potassium phosphate, potassium lactate
The lawsuit alleges that "taco meat filling" could not be called "seasoned ground beef" because of all the "fillers and extenders," like isolated oat products. It also alleges that the definition of "taco meat" requires only 40% meat, and that Taco Bell's tacos should be labeled accordingly.
Here's the problem, and why people are so fucking stupid: THE BEEF DOES NOT CONTAIN THE FILLERS! READ THE GODDAMN LABEL PROPERLY!
When an ingredient is listed like this "ingredient: [stuff]," the stuff in brackets denotes the composition of that ingredient; it is not a continued running list of all of the ingredients in the entire product.
In other words, the label is saying: "This product is made from beef, water, and seasoning. The seasoning is made of [these many ingredients]." That is how you read that fucking label. Every made fucking tacos from a fucking kit? You know how you brown the beef, then add water and the goddamn seasoning packet? That's what this is. It's the same thing. Would you say that tacos you make from a kit don't contain "seasoned ground beef?" FUCK NO!
As for the label of "taco meat filling," let me explain how regulatory wording works. Here are two excerpts from the USDA's Labeling Policy Book:
TACO: Product must contain at least 15 percent meat.
TACO FILLING: Product must contain at least 40 percent fresh meat. The label must show true product name, e.g., —Taco Filling with Meat,“ —Beef Taco Filling,“ or —Taco Meat Filling.“
Now hold on a second. In one instance, the USDA says "meat." In the other, they say "fresh meat." Most people - apparently including people on the forums, high-paid smart lawyer types, and people who write articles - think that "meat" and "fresh meat" must mean the same thing.
You're wrong. The USDA policy wording is very specific. "Meat" and "fresh meat" are different things. "Fresh meat" is an additional requirement on top of just meat. Here, read for yourself, again from the policy book:
FRESH,†“NOT FROZEN†AND SIMILAR TERMS WHEN LABELING MEAT AND POULTRY PRODUCTS: The word —fresh“ may not be used to describe: 1. Any cured product, e.g., corned beef, smoked cured turkey, or prosciutto. 2. Any canned, hermetically sealed shelf stable, dried, or chemically preserved product. 3. Any raw poultry, poultry part, or any edible portion thereof whose internal temperature has ever been below 26 degrees Fahrenheit. 4. Any injected, basted, marinated poultry, poultry part or any edible portion thereof whose internal temperature has ever been below 26 degrees Fahrenheit. 5. Any other finished processed poultry product (including cooked poultry products) where its temperature has ever been below 26 degrees Fahrenheit, e.g., turkey sausage, chicken meatballs, cooked breaded chicken nuggets, etc. 6. Any uncured red meat product permitted to be treated with a substance that delays discoloration, such as, ascorbic acid, erythorbic acid, or citric acid. 7. Any product treated with an antimicrobial substance or irradiated. 8. The phrase —never frozen“ or similar verbiage is not permitted on an unprocessed or processed poultry product where the internal temperature of the product has ever been below 0 degrees Fahrenheit or on any red meat product that has ever been frozen. Further, the phrase —never frozen“ or similar verbiage is not permitted on refrigerated secondary products where the meat or poultry component has ever been frozen, e.g., multi-component meals, dinners, etc. Generally, trademarks, company names, fanciful names, etc., containing the word —fresh“ are acceptable, even on products produced in a manner described in one through seven above, provided the term is used in such a manner that it remains clear to the purchaser that the product is not fresh. Secondary products, e.g., pizza, multi-component meals, dinners, etc., sold in the refrigerated state, i.e., not frozen or previously frozen, may be labeled as —fresh“ when the term is used to describe the product as a whole even when made from components processed in a manner described in one through seven above. This entry cancels Policy Memo 022C dated January 11, 1989, since 022C is out of date.
Wow, so reading the definition for "fresh meat," there are plenty of perfectly wholesome things that are not considered "fresh meat." All the USDA regulation about "taco meat filling" is stating is that at least 40% of the meat you use in the filling must fit into this category. The rest can just be plain 'ol meat. Say, the irradiated kind, or the kind treated with citric acid to prevent discoloration. It can also contain other stuff, like water and spices, which taco meat has to include. The water is there to carry the spices and get them absorbed into the meat, sort of the same way you brine stuff to give it flavor.
In no way does the "40% fresh meat" regulation mean that "taco meat filling" need only be 40% meat. That's a completely unsupported and completely idiotic conclusion to draw.
This is how to do critical analysis. Learn it. Bitch.
I don't care how much of it is meat or what part of the animal it is. I know its not really much like meat or tacos but I fucking love Taco Bell. Just putting it out there.
Qdoba has awesome pulled pork, but they don't have much penetration in the DC Metro area. Chipotle has the most places near me and they make exactly what I want with excellent quality for a $7 meal. Baja Fresh is kinda eh, never thought it was amazing and not as many places as Chipotle (still way more than Qdoba).
Comments
And that must be swiftly dealt with.
Luckily, Champaign has an authentic Mexican place open until 2am. They even fry their own chips and serve horchata with free refills.
I actually never ate White Castle.
Either way: worth it.
Baja Fresh is alright, but I'm still with Chipotle. Of course, quality non-chain places blow all the chains out of the water.
There's Cafe Maya in Fishkill, NY. The burrito closet that I don't know the name of in Pike's Place Market in Seattle, WA. There's also this place in NYC near Union Square that I can't remember the name of which is also amazing.
Regardless I'll eat at nearly any burrito place than a burger joint.
Here is the ingredients list on Taco Bell's "taco meat filling:" The lawsuit alleges that "taco meat filling" could not be called "seasoned ground beef" because of all the "fillers and extenders," like isolated oat products. It also alleges that the definition of "taco meat" requires only 40% meat, and that Taco Bell's tacos should be labeled accordingly.
Here's the problem, and why people are so fucking stupid: THE BEEF DOES NOT CONTAIN THE FILLERS! READ THE GODDAMN LABEL PROPERLY!
When an ingredient is listed like this "ingredient: [stuff]," the stuff in brackets denotes the composition of that ingredient; it is not a continued running list of all of the ingredients in the entire product.
In other words, the label is saying: "This product is made from beef, water, and seasoning. The seasoning is made of [these many ingredients]." That is how you read that fucking label. Every made fucking tacos from a fucking kit? You know how you brown the beef, then add water and the goddamn seasoning packet? That's what this is. It's the same thing. Would you say that tacos you make from a kit don't contain "seasoned ground beef?" FUCK NO!
As for the label of "taco meat filling," let me explain how regulatory wording works. Here are two excerpts from the USDA's Labeling Policy Book: Now hold on a second. In one instance, the USDA says "meat." In the other, they say "fresh meat." Most people - apparently including people on the forums, high-paid smart lawyer types, and people who write articles - think that "meat" and "fresh meat" must mean the same thing.
You're wrong. The USDA policy wording is very specific. "Meat" and "fresh meat" are different things. "Fresh meat" is an additional requirement on top of just meat. Here, read for yourself, again from the policy book: Wow, so reading the definition for "fresh meat," there are plenty of perfectly wholesome things that are not considered "fresh meat." All the USDA regulation about "taco meat filling" is stating is that at least 40% of the meat you use in the filling must fit into this category. The rest can just be plain 'ol meat. Say, the irradiated kind, or the kind treated with citric acid to prevent discoloration. It can also contain other stuff, like water and spices, which taco meat has to include. The water is there to carry the spices and get them absorbed into the meat, sort of the same way you brine stuff to give it flavor.
In no way does the "40% fresh meat" regulation mean that "taco meat filling" need only be 40% meat. That's a completely unsupported and completely idiotic conclusion to draw.
This is how to do critical analysis. Learn it. Bitch.
Did anyone else think "Whitecastle Minecraft" when they saw this?