I walked 15 minutes from my apartment in Dayton to the nearest Taco Bell, which is one of only a handful of locations nationally that are serving the crispy tortilla chicken tenders.
I learned after walking into the restaurant that Taco Bell chicken also is available as part of a box or in a taco.
In case you haven't been to a Taco Bell in a while, you order at self-service kiosks now instead of with a cashier at some locations.
When I visited, the chicken tenders were listed as having 0 calories, in what I assume was a typo or technical error. In any case, I went with the three-pack of tenders for $3.99, as well as the default chili pepper ranch dip sauce.
The packaging for the tenders was unassuming — no unique branding or anything that would indicate this was a special menu item.
Perhaps the unassuming packaging was an omen. My first impression was that there was nothing visually distinct about these chicken tenders — they looked like they could have come from anywhere.
The first bite left me underwhelmed. It was definitely crispy — I could hear myself chewing. It was juicier than I expected, but there was nothing especially distinctive about the chicken tender's flavor.
Rhe tortilla chip crumbs the tenders are coated in are hardly noticeable and don't have a discernible texture. I forgot they were there until I started eating the second tender.
On the other hand, the chili pepper ranch dip was tangy and zesty. Its spice added some much-needed flavor to the chicken.
While the tenders have some spice, it's only really brought out by the sauce. I can't imagine eating them plain.
I quickly realized the flavorful ranch dip was the real star of the show here. It made up for the otherwise standard-tasting chicken tenders. While I don't regret spending about $4 on this new experimental item, I'd say they aren't worth a special trip to Taco Bell.
