Latest news with #Crunchwrap


Axios
11-07-2025
- General
- Axios
Make your own Crunchwrap at home
👨🏽🍳 Joe here, with tips to make your own Crunchwrap. Between the lines: I've never had a Crunchwrap — from Taco Bell or otherwise — but I love tacos, tostadas and cooking at home. So I gave it a try. State of play: There are countless YouTube chefs with Crunchwrap instructional videos. After watching several, I concluded that the essential ingredients are: Two big soft tortillas, one crispy tostada shell, cheese and a protein (usually hamburger, but refried beans would also work well). Yes, but: The real fun is picking your other fillings. Typical taco toppings like sour cream, tomatoes and shredded lettuce are great if you don't feel like getting too adventurous. Behind the scenes: Assembling the wrap is easier than it looks. The key is trimming the second tortilla to match the shape of the tostada shell. Lay down the big tortilla first, add a couple of fillings, put the tostado shell in the middle and top it with the smaller tortilla. Then pull the larger tortilla edges up over the top and plop it in a nonstick pan, folded-edges-side down. Pro tip: I recommend this video from chef Matty Matheson to see how to stack your fillings. Like Matheson, I also layered in some queso. You should, too. A handful of tortilla chips is a viable alternative to the tostada shell.


Axios
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
20 years on, Crunchwrap still a boon for Detroit chefs
Picture a Crunchwrap Supreme from Taco Bell, oozing warm cheese sauce and cold sour cream against a crispy tostada shell. Now picture that same wrap stuffed with whatever ingredients you imagine: Hot Cheetos, shawarma meat, egg frittata. Why it matters: Taco Bell is celebrating the Crunchwrap's 20th anniversary this year. Since its debut, it has become a novelty and inspiration for chefs riffing on the basic concept to create tasty new varieties — including in Detroit. State of play: The Crunchwrap started as a special item in June 2005 and became insanely popular, selling better than any other item on the menu, per the New York Times. It uses ground beef, nacho cheese, lettuce, tomato and sour cream, separated with a crunchy tostada shell in the middle. All of that is wrapped into a giant toasted flour tortilla parcel. Between the lines: Likely hundreds of chefs across the U.S. create their takes on the Crunchwrap with Mexican, Thai, Middle Eastern and many other flavors. But it's so tough to patent recipes that there's little issue with co-opting the concept, the New York Times reported. In the Crunchwrap's honor, we've listed where to try local takes on the dish — should we call it a burrito? A snack? A sandwich? — in and near Detroit. Street Beet: The popular vegan pop-up with nostalgic food ended its run at Third Street in Midtown and is working on opening a permanent restaurant in Corktown. Among its most beloved menu items is the Crunchywrap with walnut chorizo and dairy-free nacho cheese. "It's the ultimate fast food comfort item — nostalgic, familiar and fun — but in our case, made entirely from plants," chef and owner Meghan Shaw tells Axios in an email. "It quickly became one of our most popular items, and people are genuinely obsessed with it." Frontera Grill: This spot just outside Detroit, in Grosse Pointe Park, sells a traditional Crunchwrap with refried beans, ground beef and all the fixings. Folk: Of course, we need a brunch Crunchwrap. Folk's version uses an attractive green tortilla, wrapping up an egg frittata, tostada, pickled red onion, spicy Jack cheese and spicy aioli, with salsa on the side. El Loco Panda: This take-out restaurant in a gas station building on the east side features a sombrero-wearing panda on its sign. It offers chicken shawarma Crunchwraps, plus meat shawarma, carne asada, chicken and birria. The Spot: This highly Instagrammable food truck in Detroit and Dearborn offers birria ramen, birria pizza and loaded fries — plus a Crunchwrap stuffed with Hot Cheetos.


Axios
30-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
How Taco Bell's Crunchwrap Supreme helped Centro grow
Centro Restaurant Group is taking a "Live Más" approach to its spin on Taco Bell's Crunchwrap, with fresh plans for its first brick-and-mortar outpost focused on the fan favorite. The big picture: Taco Bell's top-selling menu item, which the chain debuted 20 years ago last week, has become an "unlikely muse" — and a moneymaker — for chefs across the country, the New York Times reports. The local angle: The success of Centro's own playful take on the layered hand-held tortilla wraps inspired owners to create Hippo Pockets, a stand-alone ghost kitchen and pop-up dedicated to serving the "flying saucers of crunch." What's new: The Hippo Pockets brand, first launched in 2023, will get its first storefront next week, with a 17-seat restaurant at the 48th and Chicago spot formerly occupied by Herbie Butcher's Fried Chicken opening July 9. Later this year, they'll debut another pop-up location inside U.S. Bank Stadium for the Vikings season, owner Jami Olson told Axios. What they're saying:"It's nostalgia," Olson said of the item's popularity and staying power. "They're just good, they're substantial, they're comforting." What to expect: The Crunchwrap-style items on the Centro and Hippo Pockets menus, which Olson says are about 2.5 times the size of those sold at Taco Bell, go beyond traditional combos like ground beef and cheese. Popular flavors include Cool Ranch Chicken Crunch ($13.50) and the Pickle Pocket (about $14), a "Minnesota Sushi"-inspired combo of pickles, cream cheese, ham and Pik-Nik shoestring potato chips. The Hippo Pockets ghost kitchen has a Nutella and graham cracker dessert wrap and plans to sell breakfast and kids' versions when the brick-and-mortar launches next week. The back story: Centro's first experiment with selling a Crunchwrap-style item — a 2019 Taco Bell-themed pop-up at a brewery down the block from its original Northeast Minneapolis location — was a smashing success. "We sold out of food in like 20 minutes," Olson recalled. Yes, but: Olson said a "very nice" cease-and-desist letter from Taco Bell over their use of the chain's logo prompted them to pump the brakes. About a year later, as the restaurant looked for ways to attract more take-out customers during the pandemic, Olson decided to bring the Taco Bell-inspired items back via a weekly pop-up (without the logo). "It was hugely successful," Olson recalled. "Mondays were absolutely insane." What happened: Sales of the "Munchwrap," later dubbed the "Centro Crunch," were so strong that they added it to the menu permanently.

Eater
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
4 Restaurants to Try This Weekend in Los Angeles: May 16
Every Friday, our editors compile a trusty list of recommendations to answer the most pressing of questions: 'Where should I eat?' Here now are four places to check out this weekend in Los Angeles. And if you need some ideas on where to drink, here's our list of the hottest places to get cocktails in town. For a Crunchwrap Supreme that's not from Taco Bell: K Pasa When late-night cravings hit, Taco Bell is always there with a Crunchwrap Supreme ready to heal all. But now, a Koreatown taqueria is doing its own version of the signature dish that's bigger, beefier, and hits just like the original. Located next to clubstaurant Mama Lion, K Pasa serves tacos, burritos, quesadillas, taquitos, and ice-cold glass Mexican Coke, alongside specials like its Krunchy Wrap. The pliant floor tortilla comes filled with a choice of meat like carne asada, birria, Korean spicy pork belly, or Korean barbecue short ribs. Like the original Crunchwrap, cheese, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, onions, cilantro, and sour cream are added in, plus the signature crispy tostada. The Krunchy Wrap comes out almost double the size of Taco Bell's version, and, of course, toasted on the sides. The carne asada is flavorful and tender, served in hunks, the way it would be in tacos. And while K Pasa isn't open as late as Taco Bell, it is open until midnight for those late-ish night cravings. 3958 W. Sixth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90020. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest For an easy Westside coffee-and-burrito brunch: Alfalfa Alfalfa in Santa Monica didn't initially seem like a place that would become a vital neighborhood hang: It was a transplant from Jersey; its millennial-pink facade felt pandering; and the menu of salads and wraps seemed less like what people wanted in 2021, when pandemic-era comfort food still reigned. Still, it swung in with two Angeleno-friendly breakfast burritos (one chorizo and one ancho-potato); a kaleidoscopic array of gluten-free doughnuts; and a harder-to-find, at the time, chicken Caesar wrap, which has since proliferated around the city. In the three years since it came to town, Alfalfa has expanded to a second location in Los Angeles's Larchmont neighborhood, and it now does a brisk business — people want those salads, salad wraps, and burritos. I get them frequently for easy breakfasts and not-so-sad desk lunches, and it was my breakfast choice this past Mother's Day when I wanted something easy and great to share with my husband and toddler. The potato breakfast burrito, available on a regular flour or pliable gluten-free tortilla, gets crisped on the flat-top and is served with red and green salsas; the Nutella doughnut holes hit the toddler palate just right. 2309 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405. — Nicole Adlman, cities manager For vinyl tunes and fast Wi-Fi: Companion It's hard to find the ideal daytime working spot. Some cafes discourage weekday laptop warriors, while others just don't have very good coffee or any snacks at all. But Venice's Companion has figured out the formula for a cafe that welcomes remote workers without making the environment feel too office-y. The airy all-day cafe took over the former vegan pizzeria Double Zero, redoing the space with a white interior that feels cozy instead of cold, green tile, and shelves of vinyl records that staff switch out throughout the day. The Wi-Fi here is fast (and free), making it easy to grab a coffee and an excellent pastry and settle in at one of the tables. Unfortunately, Companion is no longer offering sandwiches during the daytime, but there are breakfast burritos on deck for something a little more filling. The only downside is that there are only a few plugs easily accessible throughout the cafe for charging, so make sure to come with a full battery or bring a mobile power bank. At night, Companion flips into a full-on restaurant and wine bar, serving pasta, pizza, salads, and more. 1700 Lincoln Boulevard, Venice, CA 90291. — Rebecca Roland, editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest For a reasonably-priced Thai lunch or dinner for one in Hollywood: Luv2eat Express There are so many times in a week that I just need a quick meal without too much thought. My mind typically goes to something like Panda Express, an easy lunch or early dinner that satisfies the entire family for less than $10 a person. But recently, I had that feeling at Luv2eat Thai Express, the new outpost of Luv2eat Thai just a few doors down from its Hollywood strip mall restaurant. The bright, spacious dining room offers a bit more in the way of creature comforts compared to the similarly delicious Northern Thai Food Club. Luv2eat Express dishes have a nice balance between familiar (chicken penang and green curry, pad kra pow) and the more obscure (sour fish stew, tamarind eggs). I really like how the food is served on pressed metal plates, like a cafeteria or quick lunch in a Bangkok back alley. Expect everything to have a relatively high level of spiciness from the start, which means those more accustomed to the sweeter, milder Thai flavors will likely find Luv2eat Express too intense. But this is Los Angeles, and everyone here graduates to a master's level of Thai food knowledge in a short time. Consider Luv2eat Express your post-grad Thai experience. 6666 W. Sunset Boulevard, Unit L, Los Angeles, CA 90028. — Matthew Kang, lead editor, Eater Southern California/Southwest Related The 38 Essential Restaurants in Los Angeles Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Burger King Lawsuit That's Been 8 Years in the Making Is Finally Moving Forward
First, it was Taco Bell's Crunchwrap. Now, angry customers are coming for the Whopper. Burger King's signature sandwich has come under fire for allegedly false advertising, and recently, a judge ruled that the class action lawsuit against the chain can move forward. Originally filed in 2022, the lawsuit claims the proportions of the Whopper advertised compared to the burger customers get in the drive-thru are way out of whack, exaggerated by a whopping 35%. In the case, the plaintiffs allege that Burger King 'materially overstates the size of (and the amount of beef contained in) many of its burgers and sandwiches,' dating the issue back to September 2017. The filing goes on to accuse BK of 'overstating the size of nearly every menu item in its current advertisements.' Basically, customers are finally sick and tired of seeing massive, meaty Whoppers in TV commercials and online ads, only to be let down when they sit down to dine. Class action cases have been rattling the food industry in a major way in recent years, bringing down Buffalo Wild Wings' 'boneless wings' stunt and going after Beyond Meat's 'deceitful' branding tactics. Believe it or not, several other major fast-food chains—Wendy's and McDonald's, for example—have also faced legal trouble in the past for the same offense, although those two cases were eventually dismissed. Burger King had asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing it's not required by law to sell burgers that look exactly like the advertisements, but U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman has decided to move it forward, stating the plaintiff's claims 'go beyond mere exaggeration or puffery.' It's interesting to note the judge signed off on some parts of the lawsuit proceeding, but not others: specifically, any claims pertaining to TV and online ads or accusations of the company violating consumer protection laws. However, print ads are still relevant, so photos shown right on the BK menu will be under consideration for negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment. Is it wrong for Burger King to make its food look as delicious as possible? Well, maybe, if it means the burger joint is wrongly influencing your choices and buying habits. So, what will come out of all this fast food confusion (and what's in it for us)? Hopefully, a payout to customers who have been served a disappointing Whopper—or, even better, a future with beefier burgers. Read the original article on ALLRECIPES