Fast food chains consistently making a popular item available for a limited time only to whip up more adulation upon its inevitable return isn’t new, but what is new for the latest go-round of Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries is what you can now dip these perennial pleasers into…Vegan Nacho Sauce! This limited time offering launched on October 12th, but writing this just a few weeks later, I can confirm they weren’t kidding about the “limited” part. Many locations have already stopped selling Vegan Nacho Sauce, and I struck out at multiple places before locating the dang thing.

When I finally discovered some, the plant-based-elephant in the room was its viscosity, which could be best described as “sludgy.” My traditional idea of nacho sauce is on the liquid-y side, while this looked more like unnaturally dark orange plastic in a cup. When I glommed a big blob onto the end of a fry and held it out to take a picture, it even stayed in place the whole time, which felt somewhat freakish. I guess it’s a good thing that no one could look at this vegan variant and accidentally mistake it for the dairy-based original?

After my picture was taken, my first bite was taken too, and it was a bit confusing. Why was I getting spiciness? And was that a hint of Old Bay? I replicated my experiment repeatedly, and — oh, yep, okay, it became clear that all that overpowering zest was coming exclusively from the Nacho Fries.

That was a bit disappointing. Isn’t the whole point of dipping sauce to liven up the taste of something that’s too plain on its own not to fade into the background itself? Lapping up a solo gob of sauce brought a faintly funky flavor, slightly and pleasantly earthy, but decidedly not bad. People who brag about being vegans can have a bad reputation, and often, so does vegan food itself; I Googled “vegan cheese tastes like,” and the first word that auto-filled was “vomit,” but while Taco Bell’s newest offering kind of looks like that, it certainly doesn’t taste like it. Its flavor was mild, with a creaminess despite the rubbery looks and a comforting warmth, not as strident or synthetic as I’d feared. Just as it doesn’t look especially like dairy cheese sauce, though, it doesn’t taste much like it either.

This is the part of the review where I’d usually tell you whether to buy this product or not, but unfortunately, if you’re in an area where it’s no longer being sold, that choice might have already been made for you. So what I’ll say instead is that I think it’d be worth it for Taco Bell to give the Vegan Nacho Sauce another more permanent chance. I might not personally be rushing to buy it again, but I’m sure plenty of people who are more into vegan dining would. So come on, Taco Bell, learn from McDonald’s. If the McRib can go on a whole farewell tour before popping right back onto the market, Vegan Nacho Sauce can too!

Purchased Price: $3.80
Size: Small (size is for the fries, and the sauce is served on the side)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (fries with sauce) 310 calories, 17 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 780 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of total carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

The folks at Taco Bell have finally done something I didn’t expect: create a menu item that mostly doesn’t taste like it’s from Taco Bell. Several bites into the chain’s new Steak & Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito, I wondered if my mouth was transported to a TGI Fridays, Applebee’s, or Ruby Tuesday because I tasted cheese and bacon potato skins. But after reeducating myself about what was stuffed into and grilled onto the flour tortilla, it all made sense.

The limited time menu item features marinated grilled steak, nacho cheese sauce, creamy chipotle sauce, potatoes, reduced fat sour cream, and a three-cheese blend wrapped inside a warm flour tortilla with more of the three-cheese blend and bacon grilled on top. Before eating it, I completely forgot about the spuds in there, so it was surprising when my taste buds noticed casual dining appetizer flavors instead of Tex-Mex fast food. As a fan of potato skins, I can get behind this.

While Taco Bell has been grilling cheese on the tortilla since 2020, including bacon is a novel addition that makes something unique on its own a little more special. But that bacon isn’t there just to be novel; it helps the menu item taste a little less Taco Bell-y with its porky and smoky flavors. Sure, the grilled bacon on my order makes the burrito’s exterior look scabby, but it also makes it taste not at all shabby.

But with those few bites that didn’t get any potatoes, the specter of Taco Bell flavors peeked out, thanks to the three ingredients that allow almost every Taco Bell menu item to have just two degrees of separation — nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, and the three-cheese blend. The tender steak, which has been used quite often this year in new products, adds its meatiness to the burrito, which also gives the menu item a bit of a steak and potatoes vibe. Finally, the creamy chipotle sauce added a smokiness that helped enhance the bacon’s smokiness and a mild kick.

I’ve had so many different steak burritos from Taco Bell over the years, but I can’t say many of them were memorable. But this Steak & Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito will stick in my mind for a while because it was quite enjoyable, and I can’t get the road rash-looking exterior out of my head.

Purchased Price: $6.99*
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 700 calories, 39 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 1730 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 30 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.