Taco Bell's new, limited-time Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla features a double portion of thick-cut, marinated steak with pepper jack cheese folded inside a large flour tortilla, which is then pressed/grilled. It measures a pretty good size and comes with tortilla chips, sour cream, and new fire-roasted tomato Cantina salsa on the side.
An order comes in at
$4.99, which is in line with the rest of the Cantina Menu. A chicken version is also available for $4.79 at my local Taco Bell.
The quesadilla was pressed to a pretty crispy sear. As advertised, there's a good amount of steak inside the Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla. It had a nice flavor, a serviceable texture, and an attractive browning. The steak tended to bunch up towards the center though, with a bit of a dead zone of just flour tortilla starting about an inch from the edge.
The biggest change from Taco Bell's regular quesadilla is the cheese. While Taco Bell's standard 3-cheese blend melts nicely, it tends to lack in flavor. The pepper jack here was gooey and, more importantly, it delivered a flavorful note of jack to the proceedings, as well as just a touch of heat.
It actually compares to what you might get at an average taqueria, which isn't that notable here in Los Angeles, but is real nice if Taco Bell is the closest thing to Mexican food in town.
The sour cream and salsa is there for dipping, which gives you a little bit of variety if you so choose. I'm more used to eating my quesadilla without dipping and that's what I prefer though. I used the salsa with the chips, which I could have used a little more of; they ran out pretty quickly leaving me with a lot of salsa left.
The salsa is pretty comparable to the store-bought stuff like Pace and tastes very similar. There's a pleasing smoky note that differentiates it a little though. I ended up eating the leftover salsa with some packaged chips from the supermarket.
Overall, Taco Bell's Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla was pretty good and an improvement over their regular quesadilla. The cheese is key and lends a good deal of flavor plus a satisfying stretchy gooey-ness.
Nutritional Info - Taco Bell Cantina Double Steak Quesadilla (438g)
Calories - 960 (from Fat - 400)
Fat - 45g (Saturated Fat - 19g)
Sodium - 2070mg
Carbs - 97g (Sugar - 10g)
Protein - 43g
I liked this as well. I'm not really a Taco Bell eater, but have tried their quesadillas before, finding them to be terrible. This was a big improvement, as the steak was very flavorful. The salsa was also very good.
ReplyDeleteThis is the first thing on their Cantina Menu that I've actually wanted to try, so I'm glad to hear that it's pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was quite good as well. I had the same issue of certain parts of the tortilla not having much on them, but there was enough steak to just fold them over and eat with a bite that was full. With the chips included it was a surprisingly filling meal.
ReplyDeleteThis new menu item is also available as a Double Chicken Quesadilla...its not a special order or anything...its just in smaller print on the menu board graphic advertising this item. Guess steak is the more popular. Anyway I went with the chicken and it was really good although Im not a quesadilla kind of guy. Too much cheese for me which is great news for those who like that about a quesadilla..the cheese was very flavorful but not overpowering and very chewy and there was plenty of chicken on board...the salsa and sour cream was nice along with the chips.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to have really skimped on the sour cream in your meal, although since you don't dip you probably didn't care. But why is the salsa cup full and the sour cream appears to be about a quarter full...? If its advertised with salsa and sour cream for dipping, and it's five bucks, you would think they could fill up the container. Being a sour cream fan for dipping I would not be happy if I came home and opened the bag and found this.... just cheap
ReplyDeleteI tried it and could not finish eating the nasty thing, the chief that put her name on it should be ashamed of herself. I love taco bell, but will never again order quesadilla, the salsa however was very good.
ReplyDeletenot that good. i guess taco bells definition of double the meat is zero meat times two is still zero, plus I think they forgot the cheese. Save your money and make your own at home.
ReplyDeleteMine was terrible. One quarter of the quesidilla had nothing in it. Double steak? What a joke. A waste of my money.
ReplyDeleteThis was a complete waste. All the pepper jack addedwas a slight spice i tasted no actual cheese despite the gooeyness. I had 3.5 pieces.of meat on it and 4 broken chips were served with it. Why do fast food restaurants attempt to market things as premium and dont bother making tjem according to description. I find every time i break down and go to one, I always order the newest menu item obly to be dissappointed that i paid so mich for crap. This will be another few months of avoiding fast food altogether for me
ReplyDeleteI was excited to try this after seeing the commercial. After trying it I can say the commercial is way more satisfying. There was plenty of cheese on mine, but the meat was more like scraps of the pieces shown in the commercial. This was a disappointment. I felt cheated and taken in by the old "bait n' switch". I would rather forfeit the chips and salsa, pay a dollar more or halve the size and have it like it's shown in the commercial! Shame on you Taco Bell!
ReplyDelete$4.99 sounds like a great deal to me. Costs $6.59 in Hawaii. Wish I could afford to eat at Taco Bell.
ReplyDeleteJust went today. I was really surprised by how good it was! I usually hate taco bell but this actually wasn't bad. I got served with a little bag of chips, and yummy salsa as well. The quesadilla was stuffed with steak along with ooey gooey cheese. I'll be going back ^-^
ReplyDeleteJust ordered one tonight. WORST FOOD EVER! The quesadilla was half empty. What little steak there was only on one half of the quesadilla. The cheese was bland and also only on half the item. This is pathetic and paltry. False advertisement and a total disappointment. At $5 this is robbery.
ReplyDelete