Taco Bell’s Taco Lover’s Pass gave us something to taco bout

Taco Bell has announced a subscription that lets you redeem one taco per day for 30 days, and it’s called the Taco Lover’s Pass. The way it works is simple: you pay $10 for the pass in Taco Bell’s app and get access to a secret menu that lets you pick which taco you’ll like to redeem at a participating location. You’ll be able to get a single taco per day and can choose from the:

• Crunchy Taco
• Crunchy Taco Supreme
• Soft Taco
• Soft Taco Supreme
• Spicy Potato Soft Taco
• Doritos Locos Tacos
• Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme

(We at The Verge had a lot of thoughts about this program, and we’ll get to those shortly. But first, let me just say that I find this a little insulting, economically speaking — the Doritos Locos Taco Supreme costs $2.69 at my local Taco Bell, where the Spicy Potato Soft Taco costs $1. Someone who prefers potatoes is getting way less for their money than someone who’s locos for Doritos. Okay, yes, I could technically still get 30 tacos for $10, but the principle of it…)

The program isn’t necessarily a subscription per se — Taco Bell told The Verge in an email that “[the] Taco Lover’s Pass will be available as a one-time purchase but can be re-purchased when the original 30 days is over.” It also said that it’ll be available “for an extended limited time.” Given that you’ll be able to re-up, though, I’d count that as a subscription, albeit one you have to do manually.

As with all good news stories, this story sparked discourse and passion in The Verge’s Slack room — probably more than Catie Keck expected when she dropped it in the news channel. After we determined that we weren’t experiencing déjà vu (there was news about this program last year, when Taco Bell trialed it in Arizona), we had a discussion that was too good to not share.

Thomas Ricker: what credit cards are to debt, this is to obesity

Richard Lawler: nah thomas taco bell goes right through you. scientifically not fattening at all

Thomas: I’m literally loling

(Please note that The Verge’s science team hasn’t vetted Richard’s claims, and you shouldn’t take them as fact without proof. Always consult with a doctor before starting a new diet.)

Bravely (and unfortunately at the same time Thomas made a dire prediction), I opened myself up to ridicule by showing that I have the live mas mentality.

Thomas: fast food subscriptions are end point US capitalism

Mitchell: I might… buy this. It’s like Panera’s coffee thing

Catie: i dont think ive had taco bell in over a decade

Richard: you only get one taco a day though

Thomas: who eats just one taco

Mitchell: YOu will absolutely have to buy one or two more. But that first taco is free.

Mitchell: I mean it was only like $1.19 to begin with but

Catie: okay but how often are u rly buying taco bell tho

Jay Peters then jumped in to remind Catie that I had revealed my Taco Bell weakness a few minutes earlier, and Dan Seifert chimed in with “taco bell? more like toxic hell, amirite!”

I, of course, was forced to respond with facts and logic to defend my honor and the good name of multi-billion dollar conglomerate Yum! Brands (the company behind Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and more).

Mitchell: I have one excuse: Vegetarianism

Okay, so maybe it was more of a mealy-mouthed excuse (as one might expect from someone who dines at the Bell). But I can always count on Richard to have my back:

Richard: taco bell is ideal for that

Others also chimed in about their Taco Bell habits.

Brandon Widder: i go to taco bell maybe once a month, but never before midnight

Dan: i frequently get the taco bell cravings but then i’m too lazy to go get it. so it’s been years since i’ve had it

Finally, of course, came the inevitable discussion of what we call Taco Bell’s food.

Thomas: can we put taco in “” since it’s only an approximation? Taco Bell “taco”

Richard: it’s legitimate taco bell

[Name redacted for fear of ruining Brand]: which is not legitimate “food” or “taco” or “edible”

I then shared that my placeholder headline for this story was “Let’s Taco ‘bout the Bell.” Jay reacted with a thumbs down emoji, Dan said “Let’s give em something to Taco ’bout” (which put my idea to shame, so I stole it), and Thomas informed us that he was muting the thread. As far as I’m aware, none of us went to get Taco Bell. Maybe I’ll think about it when the pass rolls out tomorrow though.