Spencer Schneier
Staff Writer
As college students in 2015, we are often faced with a lot of harsh realities about the world we will soon be entering. Rising student-loan debt, an evolving job market and the continued fragility of the financial markets in the wake of the 2007-08 recession have left college students with a sense that perhaps this world just doesn’t have a place for them.
Through all of this, though, there has always been one group that has fought for us: Taco Bell.
Whether it is providing us with the late-night snack that we need during finals week, or putting Fritos and Doritos into our dinner entrees, Taco Bell has always been a place that college students could go to fulfill that ultimate desire that every human has: to be wanted.
This column, Spencer’s Spork, will be dedicated to reviewing and ranking every single menu item that Taco Bell has. There will be five criteria:
Flavor – Simply a rating of how good it tastes
Presentation – Food is an art form, and presentation is the expression of said art form
Taco Bell Factor (TBF) – perhaps the hardest to quantify, TBF is a measure of the very essence of the dish. For example, if a burrito has Fritos in it, or a dorito taco shell, it will do well on the TBF. A bean and cheese burrito? Not so much.
Quality – This one is best evaluated a few hours later.
Value – While all of Taco Bell is typically a good value for college students, some items are better than others in the category.
It is important to make a few notes about these ratings. One, they will be done one to five, with three being average. Second, this is for Taco Bell only. Your favorite high-end restaurant does not rate on this scale. Chipotle would not even rate on this scale.
Week 1 Review : The Dare Devil Loaded Griller – Fiery Ghost Pepper lives up to its title, packing a spicy punch that will require you keep a beverage nearby! It has a flavorful combination of ingredients, including ground beef, nacho cheese, crispy red strips and fiery ghost pepper sauce. The sauce is a great spicy flavor that will grab your attention and add a kick.
The crispy red strips add that classic Taco Bell touch, making for an interesting texture to an already flavor-packed menu item. The ground beef, which the author is not personally a fan of, works well in this dish as the nacho cheese gives it the flavor that Taco Bell ground beef desperately needs.
What really ties together this delicious dish is the top-class presentation, a perfectly-grilled burrito that looks every bit as good as it tastes. Much like how Glen Bell refused to give in to the rise of burger stands in the mid-20th century, this dish refuses to give in to the traditions of fast foodl, giving you a grilled, tasty meal for a great price of just $1.29.
Ratings:
Flavor : 5
Presentation : 5
Taco Bell Factor : 4
Quality : 3
Value : 5
Overall: 4.4
Categories: Columns, Opinions, spencer schneier
THE CAROLINIAN 
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