VOLUME 17, ISSUE 2

NOVEMBER 2022

OPINION

Dear Taco Bell,

By Tanvi Palavalas

I do not think I will ever love anything or anyone like I love Taco Bell.

Every single item on the menu has provided me with happiness and possible stomach issues. From the purple detailing to variations of the Baja Blast drink that never seem to go wrong, this Mexican-inspired chain has always left me feeling satisfied. Their quesadillas? Perfection. The small but amazing pouches of Cinnabons? Heaven in a dessert. Power bowls? Likely a knockoff of Chipotle, but it’s still very, very good.

However, it must be brought to the public’s attention that a great disservice was done in the early months of 2016. I myself learned of this on one fateful evening as I walked into Taco Bell with the intention of ordering a quesadilla and a soft shelled taco. After getting our order, I immediately went over to the utensils sections waiting to pick out the only condiment I would ever use at this chain– the Salsa Verde. To my dismay, it was gone. I had chalked it up to my order being later in the day and the idea that the dip had just run out. Thankfully, my family saved these packets in some drawer in our kitchen.

Slowly but surely, with every chalupa I ordered and every static-tasting Sprite I drank, the secret stash of Salsa Verde in the drawer under the coffee machine had been finished. It really was the end.

It was difficult to come to terms with the news that the Salsa Verde had been discontinued. This was the sauce that could have been eaten straight from the packet. This was the sauce that everyone’s spice tolerance could handle. This sauce had united people of various backgrounds, and my adoration for Taco Bell was solidified by this green sauce.

Although the sauce has made a comeback, it is only sold in stores—not in the original packet form. This is wrong. The packaging definitely added extra flavor, and the silly quotes never failed to make me smile. So, Taco Bell—as maybe, possibly, and hopefully, your number one fan, I am sincerely requesting you to please bring the Salsa Verde back. And I mean the green little packets with the terrible puns on the front that sit right next to the Mild and Hot sauces. The Diablo sauce may perform well, but we all need a little Salsa Verde in our lives.