Taco Bell Cantina Concept Opens Near University Of Texas At Austin

AUSTIN, TX -- Depending on one's outlook or culinary tastes, this news could be heaven-sent or some version of taco hell.

Taco Bell Cantina opened on Thursday, offering the traditional Taco Bell fare but with the added twist of serving alcohol as complement, reports The Feed, an Austin-American Statesman blog. Beers from Del Valle-based Live Oak Brewery and Texas-made liquors like Tito's and Treaty Oak rums can now be purchased as liquid companion to the restaurant chain's traditional menu items.

"This ain't your father's Taco Bell," the blogger writes.

Well, no, it's not. Our forefathers didn't have the option of complementing their order of Nacho Cheese Doritos (®) Locos Tacos Supreme (®) with state-crafted beer or rum. Our forebears went without the luxury of washing down their Crunchy Taco Supreme (®) with the best alcohol-based concoctions Texas has to offer.

No, they did not. Our fathers put their pants on one leg at a time and some, not all, patronized Taco Bell for their fill of the Double Decker Taco Supreme (®) or Cheese Gordita Crunch -- a culinary creation featuring a flour tortilla enveloping a crispy corn version (hence the crunch) stuffed with the standard gordita filling.

(A true gordita from the cuisine of Mexico is a Mexican flatbread made from cornmeal and stuffed with meat, cheese, vegetables, or a sweet filling; the Taco Bell, flour/corn tortilla version is not, and never shall be, considered a true gordita in any sense of the word.)

We're not positing this development as good thing or bad thing given that our ancestors weren't able to partake in the interplay of Taco Bell menu items with beer or liquor; we're simply reporting that Taco Bell Cantina is now a thing.

The drive-thru is gone to accommodate the new spacious cantina iteration. In keeping with the Taco Bell 2.0 surroundings, the diner has installed television screens throughout the joint, showcases an open kitchen and features community seating "...in an apparent attempt to mirror the experience of restaurants that are usually in a higher price point than Taco Bell," the blog writer theorizes.

The place is located at 2000 Guadalupe Street near the University of Texas at Austin. Do with this information as you will.

And Godspeed.

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