Why there is such a battle between Taco Bell and McDonald's in the mornings?

Forget StarWars – think more along the lines of BreakfastWars! That’s right: BreakFastWars. I’m referring of course to the “Breakfast Wars” between fast food giant McDonald’s versus Taco Bell.

It’s well known that people of the world have been feasting on breakfast offerings at McDonald’s legendary hamburger outlets for years. From the classic Egg McMuffin, Sausage McGriddle to the filling Steak, Egg & Cheese Biscuit and Hotcakes & Sausage, McDonald’s has enjoyed a long, comfortable ride to “Profit Land” from its vast morning menu selection.

Taco Bell has been challenging the hamburger giant thus creating the Breakfast Wars for the past year. A recent volley in the morning breakfast battle was the Waffle Taco. That’s right, a waffle shaped as a taco with all of the morning fixings one would expect like eggs, cheese, tomatoes and more, has been on Taco Bell’s menu in the morning. Yum, right? I feel the ole waist line expanding just by writing out “Waffe Taco.” Well, no more! Taco Bell is committing a bit of breakfast betrayal. Waffle Taco lovers are discovering that their favorite dish is in fact “movin’ out.” Enter the brand new Biscuit Taco. Yes, that’s right, a flaky golden biscuit shaped as a taco that may be filled with sausage, eggs, cheese or deep-fried chicken all topped off with jalapeno sauce. I think I just put on 10 pounds just picturing those options.

I think in the Southeastern United States, the Biscuit Taco makes sense. As the region becomes more diverse, I can see a melding of cultures thus resulting in dishes like the Biscuit Taco. It’s kind of like, “Your chocolate ran into my peanut butter” which created Reese’s peanut butter cups. The combo of a biscuit with Taco Bell offerings might make sense to many folks, not so much with me. After all, Taco Bell’s A.M. Crunchwrap has been doing well. The A.M. Crunchwrap is a flour tortilla filled with a choice of steak, eggs, bacon or sausage. While that combo will never appeal to me, there are many who devour the specialty. So, with the Biscuit Taco, I say, “Good move, Taco Bell.”

As one might detect at this point, most of the aforementioned dishes do not make sense to me. I’m okay with the hotcakes and especially hash browns, but a Biscuit Taco is not my idea of a satisfying hot breakfast. Call me a “Breakfast Wars Cynic,” but these dishes to me are basic concoctions I would have come up with as a teenager. Maybe that’s harsh of me to write those thoughts out, but there’s creativity in breakfast offerings and then there’s this strategy of creating quite honestly, “mutant breakfasts” that perhaps a few pregnant folks out there might crave at times. I understand those crazy cravings, but c’mon, the rest us in the real world do not have much of an excuse for indulging in a Biscuit Taco.

Look, every individual has to do what he or she chooses to do when it comes to many issues including culinary decisions. Obviously, if one wishes to engage in such as “mutant breakfast,” then she or he has that choice. The closest I come to an offering like the Biscuit Taco is one of my favorite dishes, Huevos Rancheros which comprises of fried eggs over a corn tortillas mixed with Mexican rice, refried beans and avocado slices. In essence, Huevos Rancheros is delicious. To me, Huevos Rancheros is a true Mexican breakfast, not a waffle or an American flaky biscuit masquerading as a taco.

Again, I apologize for being so hard on Taco Bell and McDonald’s. It sounds like both operations are doing quite well at breakfast so who am I to argue with such success, right? I just don’t understand why restaurants are getting into the business of creating these crazy concoctions like the Biscuit Taco. OK, I wrote out my thoughts. Now, I need to get back to my kale mixed with soy sauce and peanuts. I didn't make that one up either.