Fast Food Review: Moe's Taco Stack

Moe's Southwest Grill unleashed a new limited-time menu item this week called the Taco Stack. Billed as a "worthy adversary" to the Homewrecker, the Taco Stack weighs in just over one pound and comes in steak, pork, or chicken variations. Each includes your choice of meat, with respective toppings, stacked between two hard corn shells and wrapped in a flour tortilla. Yes, it is a classy Crunchwrap Supreme®.

Dan Barash, executive chef of Moe’s Southwest Grill stated, "...this particular product is aimed to satisfy our fans with the biggest appetites", while the items are also billed as "...Offering a Serious Bang for Your Buck". The target of the new Taco Stacks seems to be the income-challenged, hungry every-person. The same group  for which the KFC's Double Down was created. So how did Moe's stack up to my famished, deal-seeking standards?

I chose the Pork Stack - pulled pork, grilled onions, pinto beans, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and queso. The whole thing was then grilled to firm it up and seal it together. The final step awkwardly removed it from the steady assembly line rhythm, but it was worth the extra minute. Presumably once the crew becomes accustomed to prepping it the production hiccup will cease.

The Stack had a nice dense heft upon lifting it out of the basket. Peace of Mind by Boston was playing as I peeled back the foil cover and took the first bite. The Stack's cheesy goodness coupled with the chewiness of the marinated meat made this dish a satisfying winner. It landed with a satisfying ker-plunk in my stomach. Guitar solo.

Cost Breakdown:
A Steak/Pork Homewrecker retails at $7.49. A side of queso is about $.99. All three Stacks are sans-rice and guacamole, with the Steak Stack using sour cream. There seems to be an extra scoop of meat on a Stack (compared to burrito) along with queso. So taking into account the fluctuating market, the threat of a double dip recession and a general lack of food for the day, the price was within acceptable levels for this frugal layman.

Nutritional Info:
The crew at the local Moe's took a guess of around 700 calories. Using Moe's Nutrition Calculator I looked up the Funk Meister Taco & Joey Bag of Donuts Burrito due to their similar basic ingredients to the Pork Taco Stack. I chose pork as the meat and added queso to both. Results: Funk Meister: 820 calories. Joey: 780. Best personal guess: 800-ish calories.

A request for official nutritional information was tweeted to "Moe's PR chick" @LBarash. There was no reply at time of completion of this post, but it is the weekend and I'll post an update once I hear back from her.

UPDATE: No official nutritional information available per @LBarash

Random Observation: 

• The corn shells were less noticeable, having mushed up a bit from the meat juice and queso. 

Suggested pop-culture referencing name for this new item:

• You're pitting it against the Homewrecker, so maybe a Cheaters reference? Perhaps "The Greco". 
• Is there any reference to Harry Potter that's not copyrighted? Hmm. "Dark Arts Defense"
• Agent of S.T.A.C.K.
• Greendale Study Group