What's the Secret Password? Checking Out the Doritos Locos Taco Experience

Last Friday, Taco Bell was previewing the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco out in Venice Beach  and invited me to come check it out.

As a little bit of background, Taco Bell has promised the largest marketing campaign ever for the new taco and have thus far previewed the March 7 launch date with a series of speakeasy-type events, where fans had to speak a password to try the new taco.

The first event was held in New York at a florist, where visitors had to ask for a "blue bouquet" to preview the taco. You can check out the ad they put together for it here.

The second event was set up in Dallas, where the scene was a barbershop where you have to ask the fourth barber to "make you look cool."

The Venice (they're calling it "Los Angeles") event was the third event and took place in a parking lot, where Taco Bell set up a valet stand and you had to say "it's the blue one."

The initial fans featured in the ads are all local or Internet celebrities: Elijah Daniel is a comedian, writer, and actor; Boy Epic is an indie American pop singer; and Philip DeFranco, also known as "sxephil," is best known for his YouTube videos.

It's a bit of a drive out to Venice, but hey, I thought the experience might be cool (pun!), plus I hadn't tried the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco yet.

It took about an hour to drive out in early rush hour LA traffic and when I got there the parking directed me to the other end of the parking lot, where I approached the valet with a little trepidation (I was 99.9 percent sure I was in the right place, especially since I caught sight of a Taco Bell employee I knew... also, it was a blue stand and the "valets" were wearing blue jackets... but you never know!).

I asked for the "blue one" and after a bit of back and forth, this van was pushed (literally) forward:

Inside, and quite unexpected, was this scene:

Okay, I expected the taco, but not the lady harpist that accompanied it with a strum of the strings. That was a nice touch; I might have to hire my own harpist to accompany me on all my fast food forays: "Okay, I'm ready to eat! Strum harpist! Strum!"

My taco was actually a bit cold from sitting in the van, but still good! I got another one for a proper review to follow.

Here's a picture of the Venice canals that I took while I was out there:

Yes, there are actual canals in Venice, CA. They're only about a two block walk from the beach too. Idyllic, no?

Here's the ad Taco Bell posted for the LA speakeasy today (a three-day turnaround is not bad at all!):

You won't find me in it, because I'm a ninja.