Certainly we all know that Mr. Reese was a bloody genius when he put chocolate and peanut butter together.  It was a match made in heaven and it just went to show you that two things that you wouldn’t think to put together could TOTALLY work!

Ever since then, people everywhere have been looking for the next taste sensation from two disparate ingredients.  Me?  I tried the whole chocolate-pudding-on-sushi thing.  For some reason, I’m the only one who seems to think it was tasty.  WE SHALL SEE WHO LAUGHS LAST, REST OF THE WORLD!

But anyway, the latest entry in this category has to be from the good folks at Taco Bell!  These geniuses have put together the less-likely combination of their “signature” tacos and the nacho-cheese flavor of Doritos in their new Doritos Locos Tacos!  If you’re unaware of this new “taste sensation”, it’s essentially a hard taco shell made from a giant Dorito with taco stuff in it.

Honestly, as ideas go, this isn’t exactly rocket science.  If you assume that the flavoring on a Dorito is actually nacho cheese, then the idea of combining it with a taco shouldn’t be that difficult a stretch.  The problem here is: Is there anyone out there who can honestly say that Doritos taste like nacho cheese?  If so, then I’d love to know what kind of nachos you’re eating and, more importantly, how you’re still alive.

Not to be deterred, however, and being the Taco Bell fan that I am, I had to try one for myself.  Now, I’m a fan of the Taco Bell taco supremes, so I ordered my Doritos Loco Taco accordingly.  The first thing that struck me was that I got gypped.  According to most reports that I have heard, the good folks at Taco Bell generally supply you with a sleeve for your taco so that you don’t get the Dorito dust all over your hands.  I did not get one.

So instead, I improvised and ate it out of the wrapper.  No big deal, but I did feel that I was missing out on the experience.  I will say this, though.  If you look at my wonderfully-snapped iPhone photo on the left, you will see that the taco shell is, indeed, coated with Dorito dust.  However, in the few instances that I did have to handle the taco with my bare hands, I was taken by how little of it actually got on my fingers.

This might be owed to the fact that there wasn’t quite as much Dorito flavoring on the shell as there is, say, on a single chip.  And it’s probably here that Taco Bell made their smartest choice with this product.

The Dorito taste was definitely present but it, unexpectedly, did not override the overall flavor of the taco.  Instead, you would get hints of it here and there, which made for a surprisingly enjoyable taste experience.

However, and this is key, you really should be a fan of both of these products before you go in.  If you’re not a Taco Bell fan, this isn’t going to change your mind.  If the flavor of Doritos makes you want to dry-heave, these are definitely not for you.  This is a good product, but it’s not going to help start any religions any time soon.

This is Taco Bell’s second foray into combining chips with one of their dishes.  Their Beefy Crunch Burrito combined flaming-hot Fritos with their burritos.  It was not exactly a winning combination in my mind, but that might be because I also didn’t like the cheese sauce they chose for the burrito.

And ultimately, that’s probably why I liked this taco so much.  The folks at Taco Bell did not attempt to reinvent the wheel here.  Instead, they simply added one ingredient to an already good product.  It’s a Taco Bell taco with Dorito flavoring added.  Nothing else.  No special sauce, no chorizo  seasoning… just a minor tweak.

And while this certainly isn’t going to help anybody get ready for bikini season, I will say it’s definitely worth a try.  I enjoyed it very much and will go back for seconds as long as they’re keeping it in the store.  It won’t, however, replace the Double-Decker Taco Supreme as my favorite Taco Bell meal, and my favorite invention from the fast-food chain!

P.S. The shell isn’t quite as orange in person as it looks in the pictures.