Taco Bell just dropped its sweetest throwback item yet.
The ‘60s tostada, ‘70s green sauce burrito, ‘80s Meximelt and ‘90s gordita supreme all came back to Taco Bell last month as part of the chain’s nostalgic “Decades” menu promotion. On Thursday, the ‘00s representative made its return to the menu — the caramel apple empanada.
Taco Bell has plenty of variations on tacos and burritos, and the previous “Decades” entries all more or less fell into that category. But the caramel empanada is the most ambitious item of the bunch — a dessert item! — and the one I was most excited to try.
Because as embarrassed as I am to admit it, I don’t have much memory of Taco Bell’s version of an apple pie. I remember friends ordering it back in high school, but I was too busy gorging myself on cheesy gordita crunches to worry about dessert back then.
But trust me, I’m worried about it now. As in, I need it. So I went to Taco Bell … just as soon as I convinced myself it was late enough in the day to eat a fast food dessert. I made it until about 1:30 p.m.
I should have waited longer, or at least been more patient. Because as soon as I got my hands on the golden brown crescent of crispy goodness, I took a bite and burned the hell out of my tongue. Luckily, the only thing that outweighed the pain was the taste of sweet caramel and apple filling. Even if I had no recollection of eating this as a teenager, this tasted better than I could have remembered.
The exterior was supremely crispy, the filling was piping hot (ouch) and tasted more of caramel than apple, but still wasn’t cloyingly sweet. It was absolutely delicious — better than any apple pie I’ve ever had at McDonald’s, and one of the best fast food desserts I’ve ever had. Yes, better than the Baja Blast gelato.
Why the heck did they ever get rid of this thing?
Whatever the reason, it doesn’t seem like this will be on the menu permanently. So if you’re nostalgic for a hot Taco Bell dessert, you better get going soon.
Just don’t burn your tongue in the process.
Related coverage:
• I tried Wendy’s salted caramel Frosty so you don’t have to. Here’s my review.
• I tried the Wendy’s Krabby Patty Kollab meal so you don’t have to. Here’s my review.
• I tried Chick-fil-A’s banana pudding milkshake so you don’t have to. Here’s my review.
• I tried Taco Bell’s cheesy street chalupa so you don’t have to. Here’s my review.
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Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com and followed on Twitter at @J_Schneider and on Instagram at @JeremyIsHungryAgain.
