Taco Bell started serving its new Cantina burritos and bowls--its response to Chipotle--last Thursday. I tried the chicken burrito, with a side of chips and guacamole (you can also choose from two different salsas to go with the chips if you order a combo). While most of the burrito's ingredients were better than average for Taco Bell, they couldn't come close to the freshness of Chipotle. It may not be fair to compare everything about it directly to Chipotle, but that's clearly the inspiration here.
Chipotle's burritos are very round and so tightly packed that they feel like they are about the burst as you bite into them (and sometimes they do). The Cantina burrito was flatter, partly because they grilled the top and bottom of the tortilla, like they do on some of their other burritos, which I think is a way of compensating for using what is basically a standard-quality Taco Bell tortilla instead of a real tortilla.
The cilantro-lime rice was one of the tastier ingredients. The 'guacamole' seemed to contain some real avocado, but was not fresh. It was as close to real guac as Taco Bell is ever going to get.
Overall, this is a tasty-enough, less-greasy-than-usual-TB, but somewhat bland burrito. The only edge Cantina has over Chipotle or Qdoba is that you don't have to get out of your car to get it--which may be enough for it to succeed, but I don't think this will be a Doritos Taco-level phenomenon for TB. I give it 2.8 out of 4 stars.
On to dessert: when I say that the main downfalls of Burger King's Bacon Sundae are the ice cream and the bacon, that makes it sound worse than it is. This 'stunt dessert' works overall, mainly because it gets the salty-sweet ratio correct (and if you don't like salty/sweet treats, you won't like this).
When you first take a taste, you only taste a salty sundae, and then the bacon flavor is more of an aftertaste. The muted bacon flavor may actually be a good thing, because it makes the overall flavor less weird than it sounds. There's also a strip of bacon to add to the bacon quotient. The chocolate and especially the caramel syrup complement the bacon well.
The serving size is about right; I just wish the soft-serve was creamier and richer. Adding your own bacon to a McDonald's hot fudge or caramel sundae may yield a better effect, but you might get some bacon grease on your nice clothes. With a few extra points given for bacon boldness, I rate this sundae a 3 out of 4.
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