We ran shrimp in March and are introducing new, slow-roasted pork carnitas. We’re doing more innovation around new premium proteins, not just chicken and steak. We’re also working on day parts: For late night, we’ve developed a “fourth meal” concept around music called Feed the Beat. For breakfast we’re in test in Tucson, Bakersfield, Dayton and Baton Rouge with a traditional breakfast at Taco Bell value prices. In Southern California, we have concept stores looking at beverages and snacking. We’re also trying out three premium-style beverages, [including] a Frappuccino blended drink.
There it is: In the midst of an otherwise uninteresting interview filled with business-speak, Owens spills the beans about a number of items of crucial import to Taco Bell enthusiasts like myself.
First of all: Pork! Outside of the brief shrimp experiment, it’s been a long, long time since Taco Bell added a protein of any sort, and it seems like pork is way overdue.
I’m not saying I’m sure I’ll enjoy it — to me, Taco Bell’s excellence is inextricably linked with its ground-beef products — but I’m excited to give it a try. Looks like the Bell is taking cues from Chipotle and other more upscale “Mexican” fast-food chains, and that’s fine by me.
They’re “also working on day parts.” That’s a hilarious marketing-guy thing to say. But hey, if it eventually means the glorious return of Taco Bell breakfast, I welcome it.
Speaking of: Now we know the closest breakfast test market to New York is Dayton. That’s about a 10-hour drive, so I guess I’ll have to leave in the evening and drive through the night to get there in time.
Owens mentions nothing about “Authentic Tacos,” “Cantina Tacos,” or any of the series of products detailed here. Looks like I’m going to have to move to Tustin, Calif., as that’s where all the interesting Taco Bell stuff seems to happen.
Tedquarters 
Why does everyone gotta hate on the Pacific Shrimp Tacos?! Those things were great!
Ted, your infatuation with Taco Bell is awe-inspiring. If I had to guess, I’d say that I haven’t had Taco Bell sober since i was 11, but you’ve inspired me to get back into the mix. Whats your “go to” choice?
Depends on if you plan dine in or desperately cram Taco Bell in your mouth while speeding toward some other destination. While driving I generally go for the cheesy gordita crunch as a go-to. If I’m eating there I like volcano tacos and most tiers of their nachos.
I can’t be the only one who fails to see how pork (and we’re talking about pork that will be served at Taco Bell, not the high-grade stuff at Momofuku) is a “premium protein”, can I?
I wish we had TB bfast around my parts. As long as I’ve been alive we’ve only had a TB in our local mall…which is just the most ridiculous thing because the line is always 3 miles long and who wants to go to a shopping mall and deal with that when you just want a burrito!
Big news in town though…looks like we’re finally getting a free-standing TB. Huge haha. As much as I love the “upscale” mexican chains…there is something so refreshingly deadly about Taco Bell. More often than not I leave this blog hungry…awesome haha.
Even as a fan of TB, that breakfast picture is not appetizing in the least.
Thanks for the link. This one is a little better:
http://ocmexfood.blogspot.com/search/label/taco%20bell
Actually the link you originally posted has been updated to show that that Tustin location is already testing the carnitas tacos.