Really? Last I went it was around 5 USD for a crunchwrap and the cheese burrito nonsense was less than 2 USD a piece. 28 USD would be an absolutely obscene amount of food even by American standards
Edit since people think I’m bullshitting: these pictures were taken at a Taco Bell in Portland, Oregon, USA today, 31st January 2024:
Me and my brother went the other day, got two number ones (which is three hard tacos) one regular, one supreme. 18$. And they were basically devoid of fillings. The taco was 80% empty, just a thin layer of stuff at the very bottom. I will never go there again. It was a full on assault of low quality and overpricing for low quality. I have never been so insulted by fast food in my entire life.
Picture this: You’re a little hungrier than usual. You order four Taco Supremes and one Nachos BellGrande. No combo. No drink. Just main course stuff. This is what you can expect to pay in my neck of the woods, Southern California. And mind you, these portion sizes have been reduced by as much as 40% since 2020. It’s not at all unfeasible to understand how one could easily blow $28 feeding one individual after a particularly taxing day.
I don’t think you’re “bullshitting”, but the fact of the matter is prices simply aren’t the same everywhere.
For example, the Taco Supreme for you in Portland, OR is $2.89. For me, it’s $3.09.
Not to mention, Oregon has 0% sales tax. Where I live, it’s 7.750%. So, for you, $28 buys 9.7 Taco Supremes. For me, after tax is deducted from a $28 total, that leaves me with $25.83, which buys approximately 8.4 Taco Supremes.
Again, the basis for this example is you’re VERY hungry. Like, you haven’t eaten all day because work/life was too chaotic.
Then, there’s shrinkflation to consider. The menu says you’re supposed to get 190 calories from each Taco Supreme, but are you? Is the franchise owner making good on that advertisement? Many claim they are not.
Oh, and 190 calories multiplied by 8.4 Taco Supremes is 1,596 calories, in case anyone was curious. Yeah, there are combos and value items to help you get the most for your money, but the subject of the meme implies that it’s been a hard day and he’s probably not looking to do any careful economic consideration or accounting calculations at the drive thru. And if Doritos Locos Taco Supremes are the only thing that will ease his aching soul, go ahead and add an extra $1 for cheesy dust to the unit price. Of course, that’s completely on him, but you can see how easy it is for some to stumble into such up-charging pitfalls.
Now, consider places like San Francisco (8.625% sales tax) or New York City (8.875% sales tax)!
The crunchy taco supreme is kind of a notoriously bad deal though. 50% more money for maybe 5 g of added ingredients. If you take a look at the regular tacos at NYC prices, nine tacos plus tax totals $26.36. If you add one of the strange cheese wraps or another small item that would probably bring you to just over $28. Still, nine tacos provide 1530 kcal, which is not obscene, maybe just “filling”. But note that nobody would actually only buy nine tacos straight, there are other things that would provide more calories or even just more food mass that are more likely to be bought on a binge-eating trip. Notably, the potato taco costs less but has 240 kcal, which is 41% more calories. The combos also come with a drink which could add several hundred calories and up to a kilogram of mass to the meal (1 refill of an 18 oz cup is about 490 g of mass assuming soda has approximately 90% the density of water).
Was that about 5 years ago? I just checked a receipt from my last depression fest and it was $7.19 for a crunch wrap and $2.90 for a bean burrito, $6.09 for a cheese quesadilla.
Yea, it’s a ton of food. But, I remember when it was cheaper. Maybe I’m just old now. I don’t have the prices memorized of my local place but the last time I went it was more than I expected (but not $28 for just me…)
Really? Last I went it was around 5 USD for a crunchwrap and the cheese burrito nonsense was less than 2 USD a piece. 28 USD would be an absolutely obscene amount of food even by American standards
Edit since people think I’m bullshitting: these pictures were taken at a Taco Bell in Portland, Oregon, USA today, 31st January 2024:
Me and my brother went the other day, got two number ones (which is three hard tacos) one regular, one supreme. 18$. And they were basically devoid of fillings. The taco was 80% empty, just a thin layer of stuff at the very bottom. I will never go there again. It was a full on assault of low quality and overpricing for low quality. I have never been so insulted by fast food in my entire life.
I went to the reddit taco bell page and found this: https://old.reddit.com/r/tacobell/comments/1aexdaq/what_3_and_change_gets_you_in_this_economy/
This is actually generous compared to the tacos I got.
Also all three shells were broken like the one in this picture.
Picture this: You’re a little hungrier than usual. You order four Taco Supremes and one Nachos BellGrande. No combo. No drink. Just main course stuff. This is what you can expect to pay in my neck of the woods, Southern California. And mind you, these portion sizes have been reduced by as much as 40% since 2020. It’s not at all unfeasible to understand how one could easily blow $28 feeding one individual after a particularly taxing day.
I edited my original comment to add pictures from an actual Taco Bell that I took in person.
$28 could get you well over 4,000 kcal of food, so I think my comment that it is an “obscene amount of food” is correct.
I don’t think you’re “bullshitting”, but the fact of the matter is prices simply aren’t the same everywhere.
For example, the Taco Supreme for you in Portland, OR is $2.89. For me, it’s $3.09.
Not to mention, Oregon has 0% sales tax. Where I live, it’s 7.750%. So, for you, $28 buys 9.7 Taco Supremes. For me, after tax is deducted from a $28 total, that leaves me with $25.83, which buys approximately 8.4 Taco Supremes.
Again, the basis for this example is you’re VERY hungry. Like, you haven’t eaten all day because work/life was too chaotic.
Then, there’s shrinkflation to consider. The menu says you’re supposed to get 190 calories from each Taco Supreme, but are you? Is the franchise owner making good on that advertisement? Many claim they are not.
Oh, and 190 calories multiplied by 8.4 Taco Supremes is 1,596 calories, in case anyone was curious. Yeah, there are combos and value items to help you get the most for your money, but the subject of the meme implies that it’s been a hard day and he’s probably not looking to do any careful economic consideration or accounting calculations at the drive thru. And if Doritos Locos Taco Supremes are the only thing that will ease his aching soul, go ahead and add an extra $1 for cheesy dust to the unit price. Of course, that’s completely on him, but you can see how easy it is for some to stumble into such up-charging pitfalls.
Now, consider places like San Francisco (8.625% sales tax) or New York City (8.875% sales tax)!
The crunchy taco supreme is kind of a notoriously bad deal though. 50% more money for maybe 5 g of added ingredients. If you take a look at the regular tacos at NYC prices, nine tacos plus tax totals $26.36. If you add one of the strange cheese wraps or another small item that would probably bring you to just over $28. Still, nine tacos provide 1530 kcal, which is not obscene, maybe just “filling”. But note that nobody would actually only buy nine tacos straight, there are other things that would provide more calories or even just more food mass that are more likely to be bought on a binge-eating trip. Notably, the potato taco costs less but has 240 kcal, which is 41% more calories. The combos also come with a drink which could add several hundred calories and up to a kilogram of mass to the meal (1 refill of an 18 oz cup is about 490 g of mass assuming soda has approximately 90% the density of water).
Was that about 5 years ago? I just checked a receipt from my last depression fest and it was $7.19 for a crunch wrap and $2.90 for a bean burrito, $6.09 for a cheese quesadilla.
No, it was about two weeks ago in Portland, Oregon
The combos are almost $5 cheaper than where I live, that’s crazy
You must live in an expensive city! Portland’s not cheap but not crazy either. There’s no sales tax which is also a plus.
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Yea, it’s a ton of food. But, I remember when it was cheaper. Maybe I’m just old now. I don’t have the prices memorized of my local place but the last time I went it was more than I expected (but not $28 for just me…)