Haute-N-Ready: Crunchwrap Tasting

Perhaps nothing represents this change so much as the Crunchwrap.

A highly successful, limited-time item permanently added to the menu in 2006, the Crunchwrap Supreme is essentially a flat burrito supreme with a tostada shell inside for “maximum portability.” (Never mind that burritos themselves are designed to be portable.) From this bold reimagining of existing menu items, a new line of items was born. There is the taco menu, the burrito menu and now the crunchwrap menu. The A.M. Crunchwrap was launched when Taco Bell introduced breakfast last spring. Just recently, the crunchwrap menu was expanded once again to include three new $1 sliders—with the tostada shell replaced with Fritos® brand corn chips to put it more in line with modern Taco Bell.

Navigating a menu as new and varied as the crunchwrap menu can be daunting for the ladies and gentlemen dining at Taco Bell, so I took the liberty of trying each and every one, from Firstmeal to Fourthmeal. (Keep in mind that Firstmeal ends at 10:30 am.) Ranked in descending order.

California A.M. Crunchwrap ($2.79)
The word “California” when used on a fast food menu is usually code for avocado, and the California A.M. Crunchwrap is no exception. Except this time, it means so much more than mere avocado: guacamole. Guacamole, tomatoes, bacon, eggs and a McDonald’s-caliber hashbrown make for a delicious handheld breakfast. This is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten at Taco Bell.

BLT Crunchwrap Slider ($1)
Perhaps the greatest divergence from Mexican cuisine on the Taco Bell menu, the closest connection this slider has to its forebears is that it uses a tortilla. The crunchy Fritos play the role of croutons in what is essentially a salad. Bacon bits, lettuce and the [avocado] ranch dressing remain a tried and true fast food combination for the patron watching his or her figure (yet still eating at Taco Bell for reasons unknown).

Spicy Chicken Crunchwrap ($1)
The single greatest improvement over the new sliders (and A.M. crunchwraps) over the original crunchwrap is that these do not use the latter’s ghastly nacho cheese sauce. The spicy chicken crunchwrap uses a creamy chipotle sauce. Less plastic-y, less disgusting and infinitely more edible. Pair with the house fire sauce.

A.M. Crunchwrap ($2.49)
Taco Bell introduced its breakfast as normal breakfast “with a Taco Bell twist.” The A.M. Crunchwrap is just eggs, bacon (also available in sausage and steak), cheese and a hashbrown wrapped in a flattened burrito. It’s a breakfast burrito, Taco Bellified into a flat breakfast burrito. It’s not bad. It’s hard to make anything bad out of these ingredients. I’d even go so far as to say it’s good. Pair with the house fire sauce.

Beefy Cheddar Crunchwrap Slider ($1)
Where its sibling crunchwrap sliders marked a great step forward for Taco Bell and indeed mankind, the Beefy Cheddar Crunchwrap Slider is a disappointment. There is cheddar cheese of course—Taco Bell wouldn’t lie about that—it is accompanied by cheddar cheese sauce. Instead of shredded chicken or bacon, the dull, standard ground beef is used in this one. Pair with the house fire sauce.

Crunchwrap Supreme ($2.99)
The progenitor of the entire menu is, to put it kindly, not particularly interesting. It’s a 5-layer burrito with nacho cheese sauce and without beans. The reduced-fat sour cream and nacho cheese sauce turn it into a gooey mess of a burrito. If you eat it quickly enough, the tostada shell will still be crunchy. Pair with house fire sauce.

Country A.M. Crunchwrap ($2.49)
Yuck. Pair with the house fire sauce.