Reinventing the Wheel - Roadtesting the AM California Crunchwrap

NOTE TO VEGETARIAN READERS: The original post failed to mention that the AM California Crunchwrap, like most Taco Bell items, can be made vegetarian by just asking them to hold the bacon.  Making this one vegan would be considerably more challenging as omitting both the egg and the cheese would disrupt the flavor harmonies.

A Blast of Morning Freshness

The very first bite of Taco Bell's AM California Crunchwrap was actually unnerving.  The grillmarks on its sealed and folded bottom face provoke an instinctive expectation for a warm, rich, and unctuous interior; the usual combination of melted cheese, meat and egg.  The first sensation the teeth encounter under the chewy-tender wrapper, however, is...crunch? Leafy herbaceousness? Moist bits of tomato dripping with lime juice?  Is this really coming out of a drive-thru at 6 AM in the middle of suburbia?  

Dawn falls on the AM California Crunchwrap. Can it withstand the rigors of the morning commute?

Counterpoised Umami

In the AM California Crunchwrap, Taco Bell has found the perfect counterpart to its Breakfast Quesalupa, for each is everything that other isn't, and ought to serve very different market segments.  The Quesalupa, with its warm, fried shell filled with heaps of egg curds, sausage or bacon, shredded cheddar and fried potatoes, nods in the direction of the Southwest, especially with taco sauce added, but fundamentally it's still serving up a traditional American breakfast.  It's delicious, but also dangerously out of balance, the kind of breakfast that fuels burgeoning adolescence, but can hinder one's wellness in middle age.  It's great going down, but unless you've had a vigorous morning workout, it sits somewhat leadenly in the belly.

This Crunchwrap won't let you have your meat without your vegetables.  If you look carefully, you'll see the bacon bits and patches of scrambled eggs.  But look at the chunks of tomato! And all that cilantro!

In contrast, the AM California Crunchwrap, as its state affiliation implies, is a progressive creation, if not entirely subversive.  For every push it makes in the direction of tradition, there is an opposing pull towards a lighter vision of breakfast.  Yes, there's egg and bacon, but for every bite of those, there's the tangy crunch of lime-dressed oniony Pico de Gallo.  Sure, they throw in some shredded cheese to entice the cautious, but the real creaminess comes from a huge dollop of citrusy guacamole. And while there's a big hash brown patty inserted into the tortilla disc, it's primarily there to perform a structural and textural function.  Structurally, it provides a rigid bottom frame for the tortilla to wrap around, and texturally it's the element that provides the crunch advertised in the title, something that the PM Crunchwrap accomplishes with a crisp tortilla.  With every taste supplied in moderation, every possible taste excess tamed and balanced by its opposite, this is a mature and sensitive dish.

Road-Ready
The AM California Crunchwrap also stands apart from the Breakfast Quesalupa in its suitability for consumption during commuting.  Though the tortilla isn't that tautly wrapped, it maintains its hold on all the interior fillings, and not a crumb fell out during the test trip from the Chantilly Taco Bell to my office two miles away.  Even as each additional bite further eroded the integrity of the hexagonal whole, the overall firmness and shape was maintained.  Up the elevator the Crunchwrap went, and through the hallways, never spilling its contents, never ceasing to be a truly handheld breakfast.

How portable and ergonomic is the California Crunchwrap? You can eat it with one hand while operating a manual transmission.  And it also charges fully within 5 minutes. 

Conclusions
For many of us, hefty breakfast bagel sandwiches, breakfast burritos, and Croissanwich-style offerings just don't work anymore.  They're a little too greasy, too starchy, and frankly too stodgy, at least for everyday consumption.  The AM California Crunchwrap is a terrific alternative that gives us just enough of the familiar breakfast tastes we love, while leavening with garden-fresh additions.  The California name isn't mere vanity, but oddly appropriate.  In fact, in a lot of ways, this Crunchwrap reminds me of a Cobb Salad, minus the chicken and the bleu cheese.  After all, it's got tomatoes, bacon, and avocado, and while there isn't any lettuce, the crunchy pico does give off the impression of lettuce.  It's really like eating a salad and a breakfast sandwich at the same time.  If what you're after at breakfast is feeling satisfied, but not too full, you now have one more place to go.

Like Our Facebook Page and Never Miss a Post!