Introducing The Cantina Bell Menu

by Sam Pattillo

Everyone has a routine. People wake up, maybe hit the gym, and then go to work. Day-in and day-out often the most difficult choice of routine is: What’s the right move for lunch? We live in a world where the diversity of lunch options can be paralyzing and limited at the same time!

Balance is the key to great work-week lunches. You want something above the snack classification, but something that doesn’t limit afternoon production via food coma. Price is also a determining factor. Lunch needs to be a cost-effective meal. Dinner is where the big bucks are spent.

And this brings us to my most recent stop on the daily lunch time journey: the Cantina Bell menu from Taco Bell. Having become aware that Taco Bell has this new lunch option, I went off to try it at the Union Square location in NYC. Background: T-bell (as I like to call it) has partnered with Chef Lorena Garcia to bring its patrons some new dishes — featuring new and different ingredients. I like to imagine Chef Garcia literally putting her boots to the ground to hand-pick the ingredients that end up in the recipes bearing her name.

As the journey continued and I was about to make my order, I saw that the new menu includes the classic nouveau-Mex food decision: bowl or burrito to house the ingredients? And the ingredients? Well, you can construct a burrito or bowl that can include any or all of the following: black beans, cilantro rice, chicken, guacamole, fire-roasted corn salsa, cilantro dressing, romaine lettuce and pico de gallo. Obviously veggie options are also available.

I normally love a good side dish with my lunch; it’s often my favorite part of the lunchtime meal. I like the chips more than sandwich, fries more than the burger and pita more than the salad. But there are no sides with the Cantina Bowl, and that’s the beauty of it. The Cantina Bowl is a meal that comes with sides already included. There’s absolutely no need to order additional sides. Along with the main event (in my case, chicken) automatically comes the traditional sides of guacamole, rice and beans. SIDES INCLUDED, NO EXTRA COST. And a quick promotion of the bossest of all sides: guacamole is the stereo system of the lunch time party. It keeps the metaphorical flavor party going. Don’t lunch without it.

Be sure to hit up the local Taco Bell if you like your meals with sides included.

This post is sponsored by Taco Bell. Inviting you to try the bold new Cantina Bowl.