Thursday, September 15, 2005

99 Cents of Scrumtralescence...



All right. Consider me boring. Maybe even obtuse. But I am a man who considers himself a serious connoisseur of the Taco Bell Bean Burrito. I have been this way for over 10 years. I have experienced several evolutions of this classic taste sensation during the past decade. From it's humble beginnings as a side menu item, to that craze in the mid-90's with "low fat" menu items (low fat cheese - a fine rubbery texture- yum!), to it's most recent and (to me) most glorious of all incarnations - THE BEAN BURRITO ESPECIAL. 99 cents of pure scrumtralescence. Here are the specs from TacoBell.com:

A large flour tortilla loaded with a huge portion of hearty beans, cheddar cheese, creamy jalapeno sauce, onions and tangy red sauce.

And although I have been a B.B. fan (those of us who are in the club call it B.B. for short) for all these years, it is not until this latest version that I can tell everyone that there is no other competition on the Taco Bell menu with regards to value, portion and taste. I mention taste last because of one particular aspect of the B.B. Especial - the jalapeno sauce. Now, Taco Bell still serves the regular bean burrito for 89 cents, but this would be a most unwise purchase my friend. "What's the difference?" you ask. It's the sauce. That creamy, tangy jalapeno sauce. It makes my mouth water even as I write this. It's that last ten percent of the recipe which takes a normal, nutritious menu item and skyrocket's it to the top of the taco heap!

We all could take a lesson from the B.B. Especial. It's the last ten percent that makes something really special. I realize that more and more in the programming that I'm involved with at GCC. Really good arts elements become great ones with that last ten percent. I'm reminded of this with a Gwen Stefani song that we did a few months back. "Rich Girl" was the tune which has a part for a female rapper. We could have just had our rapper come onto the stage by walking out from the back curtain. However, we chose to have her enter by spinning her around on a very glammed-out high back chair. This was that final 10 percent which made for a WOW experience. And don't even get me started on what's happening for our new LOST series.

Regarding our families, friendships, or jobs, I wonder what it would look like if each of us would take whatever we do beyond the normal 90% and go for that last 10%? Would our marriages be stronger? Would our families feel more connected? Would our jobs be that much more exciting to go to? Would we make a bigger impact? All this, brought to you by the Bean Burrito Especial and our amigos at Taco Bell!

2 comments:

WElshmnky said...

I've never been a big B.B. fan, I've always done the Chili Cheese Burrito (or as it used to be called in the day "the Chillito") I'm so proud to be a part of GCC right now. This last weekend was, i think, the coolest thing i've ever been a part of. Only at Gcc.

God, i love this place.

Anonymous said...

My vote is still for the Grilled Stuft ... for dollar per pound you just can't beat it. $2.19 and you walk out 5 pounds heavier than you came in!!! ;-)

I do agree though that the Especial rocks. Kinda like a Big Mac ... it's the special sauce that gives it a kick.