Taco Bell’s chicken sandwich taco is being released nationwide

If your idea of fusion cuisine is more along the lines of donut sandwiches and pizza fries, you’ll like Taco Bell’s newest creation. Enter the Crispy Chicken Sandwich Taco — which Taco Bell is releasing nationwide this fall!

A piece of jalapeño-buttermilk-marinated chicken is rolled in spices and tortilla chips and fried, then sandwiched into a soft bread bun shaped like a taco shell to create this delightful mashup. Customers can choose the creamy chipotle sauce version or a spicier option that also includes jalapeño slices.

The $2.49 taco-sandwich was first tested in Nashville and in Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier this year, according to Delish. Now, Taco Bell says the taco-sandwich will be available “at participating locations for a limited time” starting on Sept. 2.

Taco Bell debuted the new menu item on social media in February, teasing, “Is it a sandwich or a taco? You decide.”

One Twitter user’s judgment was that it is neither. “By definition a sandwich consists of 2 pieces of bread and a taco requires a tortilla, therefore this would be difficult to qualify as a sandwich or a taco,” tweeted @ROOTCatZ. “Can’t wait to try it regardless!”

And then there were the legions of commenters just wanting a different Taco Bell “fusion” menu item back.

“Y’all stole our beloved Mexican pizza… ripped our hearts out and stomped on them… to then offer us a chicken finger in a pancake,” Andy Botts said on Facebook.

Despite customers upset about Taco Bell’s recent elimination of a number of menu items, the fast-food chain had a profitable 2020 and saw a large uptick in drive-thru customers. It has also added a few new foods to the menu.

Taco Bell’s global chief food innovation officer Liz Matthews hinted at even more chicken-based creativity to come this year when she told Business Insider, “I love watching the competitors. I think a lot of players out there are doing a great job, but what I will say is that we will interrupt that with what we’re going to do on chicken.”

What do you think about Taco Bell’s entrance into the crispy chicken sandwich fast-food wars?