¿Quieres TACO BELL? Si, señors y señoritas, you can now get your taco fix in Athens
Because you can't eat souvlaki every day, after all
Hold onto your chalupa — and hold, for a bit at least, that gyro.
Taco Bell has come to Greece.
So the first thing though is — and call it an October thing but — a disappointment: there is no Mtn Dew® Baja Blast® on the menu at the new Taco Bell, in Chalandri, near the center of Athens, or at least not yet. No frosty fluorescent nuclear green what-the-hell-is-in-that refreshment to accompany your quesadillas. Damn.
But the good thing? There is a new Taco Bell, in Chalandri, near the center of Athens. I’ve had my fair share of trying admirable but never successful attempts at Mexican-American cooking outside of California, and no one is going to say with a straight face that Taco Bell is authentic cocina Mexicana. That said, when you had a craving for a taco anywhere within a 300-mile radius of the Acropolis, you were up Montezuma’s creek without a side of guacamole. No more, though.
According to a Taco Bell communiqué last month, Taco Bell opened its first-ever store in Greece in Chalandri, “marking the beginning of an exciting expansion journey to bring the Taco Bell magic to the people of Greece.”
Taco Bell’s chief marketing officer in Europe, Chet Patel, stated that on opening night “a 500-meter line of relentlessly curious, young Greek customers who had already bought the brand were anxiously awaiting their first taste,” adding “Terrific job Orestis Tsigos and Pavlos Biskos from FOOD PLUS S.A…. for setting the brand tone early and building anticipation to create a moment in culture and history. Well done! 🇬🇷🌮🌯❤️💥”
Now, as one of Southern California’s leading Taco Bell experts, I can report that the tacos are as good if not better than the ones “back home.” The quesadillas are not bad. But “Mexican fries” do not belong on the menu — or on any Taco Bell menu, anywhere. Also Chet, if you’re going to do cinnamon crispas, do them right or por favor don’t do them at all.
The menu is covering the basics, but I’d like to see it include more of those quirky Taco Bell twists that we well, yes, take for granted in the competitive taco-verse of the USA.
Why Chalandri, by the way? I don’t know and I don’t know any tourist who will be able to find it in the labyrinth of the very built-up Attica basin (it’s like asking a tourist who just arrived in L.A. for the first time to find The Apple Pan without a map), but it may have something to do with the market: lots of students live in the area.
Recently we tried a Wendy’s in Oxford. It was pretty bad (making a milkshake is not rocket science). But based on our first visit to Greece’s first Taco Bell — yes, we hear there will be more — over here someone’s getting it right. Olé!
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