• Alexstarfire@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Way less of everything in it. Seems like it’s just tortilla, tostada, and lettuce now. A token smearing of beans and/or protein.

      • shiroininja@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        It seems the same as it’s always been where I am, but my local Taco Bells are out of beef every other day or their system is down…so I’m lucky if I can just get them

    • anomnom@sh.itjust.works
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      9 days ago

      I think I paid over $12 for a 3 taco meal last time. Not even supremes. Haven’t been back in 6 months and don’t plan to ever.

    • beansbeansbeans@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      I started making my own at home using the seasoning packet and sauces. Target also sells a kit that includes the tortillas. Tastes like a better Taco Bell, you can stuff it as much as you want, and you don’t get spicy butthole after.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    9 days ago

    I’ve almost completely eliminated fast food from my diet (Taco Bell is the only one I will go to on occasion because it really is its own genre of food. I love me some real Mexican food, but I also love Taco Bell. They are different things) because it has gotten so goddamn expensive.

    At this point, I can spend another $3 and go to a local place with fresh cooked food that is 1000% better, and then have enough leftovers for two more meals.

    The only reason it ever made sense to get fast food, historically, was that it was dirt cheap. I remember when Chick-fil-a value meals were $5-6. That price has increased by like 150% in ~10-15 years.

    • shiroininja@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Sometimes you just want a Crunchwrap quick, and you can’t get that from a local joint. I don’t always want to wait 20 minutes for a local joint, and half of them are closed by 8. So they’re useless at the time I want Taco Bell.

    • Rusty@lemmy.ca
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      9 days ago

      Making food at home is great, but how does going to local small business help? Taco Bell taco costs $4.69 and local restaurant taco costs $21?

      • JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
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        9 days ago

        I’ve found Mexican places are just about the cheapest sit down restaurants, but I’m sure it varies some by location.

  • asteriskeverything@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Fast food is still affordable!!!

    If you use the app and don’t get only exactly what you want but what the app gives deals on! At the low low cost of sharing your personal data to their marketing and development teams! (And maybe their 3rd parties depending)

    • SeekPie@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      You’re not getting better deals. They’re subsidising the cheaper prices with the data they collect on you with the app.

    • GHiLA@sh.itjust.works
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      9 days ago

      “I found a way to stay tied to giant megacorporations!”

      head pats at the speed of light

      WHAT A GOOD CONSUMER

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
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      9 days ago

      The amount of people who have responded to me saying “I don’t go to fast food anymore, it’s too expensive” who proudly proclaim “just use the apps!!!” Just saddens me.

      For all the reasons you said and more. No, they lost my business, I go to the local place now. Only time I get fast food now is in airports

    • TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works
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      10 days ago

      my local Domino’s has a store specific coupon that sells large pizza 1 toppings half off. Had it for years. It’s great paying $9 for a large pizza, but i know one day corporate will ruin it :(

  • SynopsisTantilize@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    I just spent 25 dollars at Hardee’s for two meals. I never buy fast food but I wanted to get my kid something quick at 6am for wrestling. Breh. What.the.hell…

    • ivanafterall ☑️@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I’ve gone to two Hardee’s in two different states that blatantly and repeatedly charged more than they listed on the menu.

      That said, they have the best biscuits possibly in the world.

      • dingus@lemmy.world
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        9 days ago

        I remember years ago when I went to order one of those $5 meal boxes at Taco Bell. I asked for it by calling it the “$5 box” or something. The person over the speaker replied with “it’s $9 here” lmao. That was pre-COVID and it had been advertised as a $5 box where I was from.

    • KombatWombat@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Yup, this and some spicy potato soft tacos are my regular order. Comes out to around 200 calories per dollar, which is pretty good value.

  • rumba@lemmy.zip
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    10 days ago

    Most of the Taco bells by me have a $5.99 box. It’s online only so you have to order it from your phone and pick it up at the counter. It comes with a drink, One of the heavier entrees, one of the generic entrees and one of the sides. I usually do a cheesy gordita crunch, five layer burrito, cheesy potatoes.

    Seeing that the drink alone would be $2.45 that’s one hell of a deal.

    That’s said, Taco bells are mostly independent and if you’re in some location like LA you might be SOL.

    • adarza@lemmy.ca
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      10 days ago

      drink alone would be $2.45

      which is, itself, absolutely ridiculous.

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        10 days ago

        Especially saying that Pepsi owns the brand.

        I was buying 5 gallon syrup boxes from restaurant supply stores and making soda with my SodaStream. A good day I could approach the price of a sale 2 liter bottle. Assuming the cups lids and straws aren’t free, The ice is nearly free, The carbonation is relatively cheap. They’re probably making at least two full dollars profit per cup.

        • Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org
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          10 days ago

          Add in the overhead:

          • Refrigeration (electricity or otherwise)
          • Labor ($7.25+; $15+ in some areas)
          • Insurance (In case you get sick from the soda, and you sue them)
          • Sanitation (outside contractor, with their materials, labor, and markups)
          • Maintenance (machine repairs, etc)

          I wish I could agree they were making that much money. But when you include all the costs that they have to run just the soda machine, with all the varieties of soda that they have, they’re not clearing that much profit per cup.

          • rumba@lemmy.zip
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            10 days ago

            When I worked at Roy Rogers in the '90s, our large cups cost us 25 cents with product. (On paper) They were $1.37 retail.

            Accounting for inflation, $1.37 becomes $2.65.

            That tracks squarely for a 48 cent cup If all of the things were equal.

            I’m sure that number didn’t include labor but at least we can see that things haven’t really slid in fast food more than they were in the '90s. At least for this one item.

          • rumba@lemmy.zip
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            10 days ago

            Absolutely not true. Definitely not for Coke or Pepsi anyway. That wasn’t even true in the '90s. Everybody’s buying their crap from US foods and Sysco, and the bibs just aren’t that cheap.

    • Chozo@fedia.io
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      10 days ago

      It only seems like a deal because the in-store prices are artificially inflated to begin with.

      • rumba@lemmy.zip
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        10 days ago

        You know, yes I could probably make 20 of those meals for $30 at the grocery store. But in the realm of a McDonald’s meal with a side and a dessert costing closer to 20 bucks, $7 isn’t horrible in this economy.

  • orca@orcas.enjoying.yachts
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    10 days ago

    We’ve managed to get our order down to ~$17-20 for 2 people. 2 cheesy bean and rice burritos, 2 tostadas, 2 soft taco supremes.

    • krellor@fedia.io
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      10 days ago

      I know there are regional differences, but using the app in my relatively high cost of living area I can do a cravings box with a crunchwrap supreme, cheesy bean and rice burrito, fiesta potatoes, and medium drink for $6.49. are you using the app and online exclusives to keep the price down?

    • Psythik@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      The Meal for 2 is half as much and has more food. Or get the Meal for 4 and get twice as much food for the same price.