Houston Chefs Are Making Their Own Versions of Discontinued Taco Bell Dishes BY PHAEDRA COOK9/18/2020 Betrayed by Taco Bell taking it off the menu, Chef Ryan Lachaine at Riel is making his own Mexican pizza. Photo by Ryan Lachaine.Chefs at Houston’s independent restaurants make their reputations on precision-crafted fare with luxurious or local ingredients, but there’s an industry truism. By the time restaurant workers finish mopping the kitchen and lock the doors, the only places still open for a late-night meal are bars, diners and fast food joints. These midnight munchies paired with childhood memories often stir up affectionate nostalgia for certain brightly lit, drive-through fare. For Brandon Silva of Wooster’s Garden at 3315 Milam in Midtown (and forthcoming restaurant Degust), Ryan Lachaine of Riel at 1927 Fairview in Montrose and Caroline Cobell of Caroline’s — A Healthy Eatery at 9440 Louetta in Spring, one of those memory-laced chains is Taco Bell. So, when the national franchise announced it was discontinuing on August 13 several menu items — including the Mexican Pizza, 7-Layer Burrito, Nachos Supreme and all potato dishes — each began creating their own versions. Taco Bell also quietly removed Pintos & Cheese from the menu in 2019 — although you may still be able to order it off menu if you’re nice about it. Caroline Cobell’s rendition of a Mexican Pizza at Caroline’s — A Healthy Eatery in Spring. Photo by Caroline Cobell. Reddit users are so upset specifically about the Mexican Pizza being removed from the menu that they’ve locked the Taco Bell chat board, instead redirecting visitors to a petition demanding the company reverse the decision. CAROLINE’S — A HEALTHY EATERYWhy the fondness for Taco Bell? “I have great memories with friends and family when we were low on funds and could go to Taco Bell and create a fabulous buffet of Mexican goodness for cheap! It’s so nostalgic!” said Cobell. Her renditions of the Mexican Pizza and Taco Supreme are gluten-free, Caroline’s — A Healthy Eatery’s specialty. The Mexican pizza has seasoned ground beef, housemade pico de gallo and shredded cheese atop two crispy tostada shells, while the tacos have seasoned ground beef, lettuce, shredded cheese, tomato and sour cream nestled inside crispy taco shells. These are available every day for lunch, for dinner on Friday nights and brunch on Sundays. (Cobell plans to add more dinner times as demand increases.) However, these are not on the regular menu. Call ahead to order these “secret” items or dine in and ask for them by name. RIELLachaine at Riel is working on his own Mexican Pizza rendition and plans to put it on his happy hour menu — possibly as early as next week. He says his is going to be completely from scratch, including the tostada shell. Caroline Cobell’s rendition of a Mexican Pizza at Caroline’s — A Healthy Eatery in Spring. Photo by Caroline Cobell.WOOSTER’S GARDEN Chef Brandon Silva of Wooster’s Garden. Photo by Phaedra Cook.Over at Wooster’s Garden, Silva is planning for an all-out celebration of the discontinued Taco Bell dishes. Cheekily called, “Yo Quiero Brandon Bell” (remember the old commercials with the Chihuahua?), it runs from 4 p.m. to midnight (or until sell out) on Sunday, 9/20. “Taco Bell was one of my first childhood memories of eating out. My uncle and I would see how many Taco Supremes we could crush in one sitting,” Silva said. Silva is creating his own versions of the Double Decker Supreme, Mexican Pizza, Enchirito, Supreme Nachos, Fritos Burrito, Grillers Loaded (beef or potato) and Pintos & Cheese. To keep up with the event details, check out the Facebook page. Did you get value from this article? We rely on our readers and sponsors to cover expenses each month, such as writer and social media fees, administrative costs, web development, software, online services, website hosting and more. Can you chip in just $5 to keep our coverage going? (Not tax deductible.) Thanks in advance for supporting local journalism! To become a sponsoring business and advertise on Houston Food Finder, email us. Shared from https://houstonfoodfinder.com/
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