I Tried The Taco Bell Cantina Chicken Menu Because Ted Lasso Said To

There is one very important rule that I live by, if there is life advice recommended by Ted Lasso, then I listen. You may have noticed Jason Sudeikis starring in relatively new Taco Bell commercials discussing the Cantina Chicken menu.

The newest of these promos starring Sudeikis, who, as a spokesperson, has been the face and voice of a few spots, also brings LeBron James into the mix for a Taco Tuesday special. Many of the items featured showcase the new Cantina Chicken items. There's a crunchy taco, soft taco, burrito, and quesadilla cantina option.

"The menu debuts a new flavorful chicken that's been slow-roasted with a savory seasoning of Mexican spices including garlic, onions and a variety of chilies," TacoTuesday.com explains of the Cantina items.

So, Sudeikis got my attention, and the intriguing look of these Cantina items kept my attention due to the savory look of this chicken taco.

On a recent trip across town bringing my son to a hockey tryout, I realized I had 20 minutes to kill. It was dinner time and conveniently right around the corner was a Taco Bell. Ding!

I opted to order one of the cantina chicken crunchy tacos and one of the soft taco variations. The seasoned chicken is mixed with in a three-cheese blend. On the crunchy taco, the three-cheese blend is also supposed to be baked onto the outside. I made sure to ask for the avocado verde salsa that comes with it because, again, the commercial got me and suggested it.

The cantina soft taco was just okay. Not terrible, but also not very memorable. I found myself having to dip each bit into the avocado sauce, which served as a nice accent.

The crunchy cantina deserves most of the attention here. It seems this item is the best suited to highlight how all the unique flavors complement each other into one delicious handheld. The appearance of the taco shell was a bit startling at first, not having that grilled look to it, but it was hot and packed a different punch.

It's important to note here that the photo attached to this review is a quick iPhone snapshot. But it does not look anything like it does in the commercial. Nonetheless, the judging is done by taste.

The star of the cantina show is the chicken. It is very flavorful, not overbearing, and carries the weight of an authentic kitchen as opposed to fast food (with all due respect).

Overall, I am going to give the my Taco Bell cantina chicken experience what I think is a fair and respectable B+. If you are curious, it is worth the try and reasonably priced at roughly $3.49 per item.

Jason Sudeikis and Ted Lasso on the other hand remain at a grade of A+.

After three seasons, Apple TV's Ted Lasso ended after dropping its series finale yesterday (May 31). The producers have always said that it will end after three seasons. Jason Sudeikis, who stars as the title character, developed the series with Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt (who plays Coach Beard) and Joe Kelly, told Deadline that, "This is the end of this story that we wanted to tell, that we were hoping to tell, that we loved to tell." But Sudeikis and his team have expressed being open to spinoffs. And surely Apple TV would love to continue the stories of at least some of the characters. On the other hand, Apple is a company that prides itself in innovation. Many streamers put a lot of work into bringing back old characters (Disney+ mostly lives off of new stories in the Marvel and Star Wars universes, Paramount+ has done well by spinning off The Good Fight from The Good Wife and preserving the Star Trek universe). But Apple is a company that the iPod revolutionized; and when the iPod became obsolete, they quietly said goodbye to it.

On the one hand, the finale neatly wrapped up the most compelling storylines. It may not have been perfect, but neither is life - that's sort of Ted Lasso's message. But unless you're a troll, it was a pretty satisfying ending. They nailed the landing in a way that few series have. On the other hand, they certainly left room for more stories to be told.

So we thought it would be fun to look at where our characters ended up, and how their stories can continue in potential spinoffs or specials. It should go without saying but we'll say it anyway: There are spoilers ahead, so don't read this unless you've finished the series.