Taco Bell to test U.S. Taco Co. concept: Fancier food, boozy shakes

Taco Bell plans to test a new fast-casual restaurant in Huntington Beach called U.S. Taco Co. and Urban Tap Room, slated to open in the next couple of months. Like Taco Bell, there will be tacos on the menu, but that’s about as similar as the two concepts get.

The menu at U.S. Taco Co. features fancier, fusion-style tacos, but don’t expect to see any Doritos shells. There’s a spin on the Philly cheesesteak with a “Brotherly Love” taco made with a flour tortilla, carne asada steak, grilled peppers and onions, roasted poblano queso, cotija cheese and cilantro and a Southern “Winner Winner” taco with a flour tortilla, home-style crispy chicken, “SOB” Southern gravy, roasted corn pico de gallo, jalapeno and cilantro.

“A year ago, we conducted an extensive study on our consumer segmentation and identified a separate consumer group that simply was not going to visit quick service restaurants, at all,” Jeff Jenkins, Taco Bell senior brand manager, said in a statement. “The result is U.S. Taco, a new concept sit-down restaurant that offers the best fusion of American-inspired flavors in tacos, fries and shakes for that emerging demographic of edgy foodies looking for a unique dining experience.”

At U.S. Taco Co., you can order fries, or loaded fries, with “papas fritas” made with habanero dust, ghost chile ketchup and roasted poblano crema and carne asada fries, made with an order of “Papas Fritas” topped with carne asada, a four-cheese blend, queso, avocado, salsa, roasted poblano queso, pico de gallo, cotija cheese and cilantro.

According to a Taco Bell representative, you can also choose your favorite taco toppings and top your loaded fries.

And to wash down your tacos, a full selection of milkshakes.

There is already a second location of U.S. Taco Co. in the Los Angeles area under development. This location will serve beer, wine and a spiked milkshake called the “Mexican Car Bomb” made with vanilla ice cream, tequila caramel sauce, chocolate flakes and Guinness stout. Taco Bell has confirmed no alcohol will be served at the Huntington Beach location because of local restrictions.