Houston Chefs Are Making Their Own Versions of Discontinued Taco Bell Dishes

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.

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 Eatery

Why 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.

Riel

Lachaine 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.

Wooster’s Garden

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.

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