Enchirito

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The Enchirito is the trademarked name of a menu item of the Taco Bell tex-mex food chain that is similar to an enchilada.

Contents 1 History 2 Composition 3 Controversy 1 4 Controversy 2 5 References

[edit] History

The introduction of the Enchirito to the Taco Bell menu is believed to have occurred sometime in the early sixties. In 1988, Taco Bell launched their value menu initiative, introducing under-a-dollar versions of many of their popular items. It is believed to be around this time the Enchirito was retired.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Composition

The Enchirito was originally composed of a soft round yellow corn tortilla, filled with ground beef taco meat, rolled into a tube shape. It was then placed in a foil-coated paper boat, covered with what Taco Bell refers to as "red sauce", a few onions were sprinkled on, then the item was layered with grated cheddar cheese. Three black olive slices were then arranged along its length.

[edit] Controversy 1

The coining of the name Enchirito for this item was a bit of a peculiar action by Taco Bell. It was the only item on the menu to not use the common Mexican food nomenclature for that item. To the average experienced Mexican food eater, the Enchirito for all practical purposes invoked the experience of eating the food item commonly known as an enchilada. It does not appear the unusual name was to help Americans unfamiliar with the Spanish names of the food items; indeed, for many years Taco Bell menu boards featured painfully phonetic pronunciation guides next to each item. Nor does it appear any particular attempts were made to utilize the unique name in marketing.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Controversy 2

When the Enchirito reappeared without much fanfare back in the Taco Bell lineup early in the 21st century, it had changed. The serving container is now a coated paper oblong bowl. Most significantly, the character of the dish was altered by changing the tortilla to flour from the original corn. For the connoisseurs of the original Enchirito, this change was a substantial disappointment.^{[citation needed]} Also, the olives have been omitted.

The change from the corn to flour tortilla may explain both the disappearance and reappearance of this Taco Bell classic. It is postulated by Enchirito buffs that the removal from the menu may have been one of corporate practicality: the Enchirito was the only item in the Taco Bell lineup that utilized corn tortillas and therefore was probably not considered a significant enough item to warrant keeping the special tortillas on hand. With the recent introduction of many items utilizing small form factor flour tortillas, it became a simple task to bring back this now modified classic.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References