Taco Bell 7 with Lorne Balfe

"Taco Bell 7 with Lorne Balfe" is Episode 305 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger. "Taco Bell 7 with Lorne Balfe" was released on June 17, 2021.

## Synopsis

Lorne Balfe (*Mission Impossible - Fallout*, *The Lego Batman Movie*, *The Tomorrow War*) joins the 'boys and talks composing and London chains before a review of Taco Bell. Plus, a candy bar edition of Jingle All The Whey.

## Nick's intro

Even among Pope Freaks, Pope Sabinian is a fairly obscure figure. Succeeding the influential and popular Pope Gregory I after a lengthy reign, Sabinian's brief, controversial papacy recalls that of a modern papa, Pope Benedict XVI, the former Cardinal Ratzinger. But Pope Sabinian made one lasting contribution in his two-year tenure: officializing the tradition of the church bell. Bells would become forever associated with Catholicism and Christianity at large in the Western world.

Flash forward a millenium and change to 1962 when San Bernardino restaurateur, Glen Bell, opened a Mexican-American restaurant using recipes either borrowed or, more likely, stolen from the town's Mitla Cafe, giving the eatery his last name.

Serving what was then a novelty, even in Southern California, the chain had 100 outlets by 1967 and by 1978, it had sold to Pepsi - the beginning of the tri-force unification with KFC and Pizza Hut that would become Yum! Brands.

In 1984, as the chain launched a promotional glassware giveaway tied to the film, *Star Trek III: The Search for Spock*, the first version of a church-bell logo appeared in its marketing, with a taco shell as the bell clapper as an easter egg. In 1993, another sci-fi movie tie-in with *Demolition Man* led to another logo re-design; and the bell would come to resemble its current form in 1994 (though it's been tweaked since).

Today, Pope Sabinian's legacy is seen and heard in houses of worship across the globe, as it is in the signage and advertising of the world's largest Mexican-American chain, with its logo and signature sound, "*dongggg*!"

This week on Doughboys, we return for the seventh time to Taco Bell.

## Fork rating

First a recap of *Doughboys'* extensive history with Taco Bell:

As indicated by the episode title, they have reviewed Taco Bell six prior times (and various items numerous other times). However, it should be noted that the fifth and sixth reviews were during Doughathon 2021, and while they did release Taco Bell 5 as a podcast, Taco Bell 6 has not yet been released. Thus, today's Taco Bell 7 precedes Taco Bell 6.

The first time the Doughboys visited Taco Bell, they did it right away in episode 2, but focused on breakfast items: Nick gave it 3 forks and Mitch gave it 5.

Next, in episode 86, they reviewed it live, and Nick gave it 4 forks and Mitch again gave it 5. It finally made it into the Golden Plate Club.

In the very next episode 87, they reviewed it again, with Nick again increasing his score to 4.5 and Mitch staying strong at 5 forks.

In episode 149, Nick decides to officially bump his rating finally to 5 forks, putting Taco Bell in the Platinum Plate Club.

In episode 156, Nick and Mitch again stand at 5 forks, but because of the guest's low rating, Taco Bell was dropped from both Platinum Plate and Golden Plate clubs.

The aforementioned Taco Bell 5 review had Nick and Mitch sticking again to their 5 fork ratings, and Taco Bell returning to the Golden Plate Club.

* Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito Potato
* Breakfast Crunchwrap
* 5-Layer Burrito
	+ sub Jalapeño Peppers for Beef
* Cinnabons Delights 2 Pack
 Mike Mitchell
* Naked Chicken Chalupa
* Chicken Chipotle Melt
* Beefy 5-Layer Burrito
* Cheesy Gordita Crunch
* Soft Taco
 Lorne Balfe
* Beefy Nacho Griller
* Nachos Bell Grande
* Nacho Cheese Sauce
* Churros with Dip

Nick decided to get breakfast from Taco Bell for this visit. Lorne visited a Taco Bell in the UK.

Nick translates the teaspoon of Lorne's rating to 2 tines (i.e., half a fork).

Thus, Taco Bell remains out of the Golden Plate Club!

## Jingle All The Whey 🎶

In this segment, Cookie Ass plays a fast-food jingle and Mitch and the guest try to guess which year it came out.

The closest guess, without going over, wins that question. Guessing it correctly gets two points (aka., the Arden Myrin Rule).

Mitch declares the last jingle was worth three points.

For this episode, the theme is candy bars.

Mitch wins!

## Quotes

**Mitch**: And all equal quality to the *Mission Impossible* films.

## Photos

Breakfast SalsaBreakfast CrunchwrapBreakfast CrunchwrapCinnabon DelightsJalapeno Pepper Layer BurritoNaked Chicken ChalupaMountain Dew Orange Citrus KickstartChicken Chipotle MeltChicken Chipotle MeltCheesy Gordita Crunch