The Naked Chicken Chalupa sends us back in time to 2016
Remember 2016? Life was so different then. We had the Naked Chicken Chalupa. Now we have the latest installment of Taco Bell’s Decades Menu.
The year 2016 was a momentous one. I got married in 2016. My wife and I went to Maui on our honeymoon in 2016. Moana and Arrival hit theaters in 2016. Some people even say that 2016 was the year when the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series sent our world into a bizarro alternative reality. (Things definitely took an unexpected turn after that championship in early November.)
But 2016 was also the year when Taco Bell released iconic menu items like the Naked Chicken Chalupa, Beefy Crunch Burrito, Meximelt and Caramel Apple Empanada. And now a decade later — how has it been a decade?! — Taco Bell is bringing these items back for a limited time as part of its Decades Menu.
“For decades, Taco Bell has been woven into the lives of our fans, and there’s something special about revisiting the moments and experiences that made 2016 distinctly memorable” Luis Restrepo, chief marketing officer at Taco Bell, said in the company’s announcement. “Whether you remember 2016 or another era of Taco Bell, the Decades Menu is about reconnecting with the flavor and feelings that fans loved the first time around, while giving a new generation the chance to discover it for themselves.”
We might be stuck in the post-2016 bizarro universe, but at least we have the Naked Chicken Chalupa again, right?
What they cost
A Naked Chicken Chalupa is $5.99, a Beefy Crunch Burrito is $2.79, a Meximelt is $2.99 and a Caramel Apple Empanada is $2.99.
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My thoughts
Naked Chicken Chalupa
I love Taco Bell. I love that Taco Bell continually rolls out creative, new menu options. But there was a short era when the fast food chain threw out all the rules and did wild stuff like the Naked Chicken Chalupa and the Naked Egg Taco. Maybe next year’s Decades Menu lineup will bring back the Naked Egg Taco, but I’m thrilled that we got the Naked Chicken Chalupa back this year.
I love this thing. Is it just a chicken patty folded in half? Well, based on the fact that I heard a staff member at the Taco Bell I was at tell someone “it’s a chicken patty,” I’m pretty sure the answer to that is “yes.”
But it’s still a wonderfully fun and stupid menu item.
Taco Bell even notes that the Naked Chicken Chalupa’s original release represented “the fearless innovation that defined the era.” I’m feeling pretty fearless myself, and I might try to add ground beef or even fries to the Naked Chicken Chalupa next time I’m at Taco Bell.
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