Taco Bell to the rescue (urrrp!)

"The food's bad," a relative once told me about a restaurant she had experienced, "but they sure give you plenty of it."

That's the way I feel sometimes about many of the chains, which almost universally (and successfully) play on diners' affection for large portions of mediocre food. I'm fond of the occasional cheap-food splurge -- more so in these economic times -- but I believe the best way to approach the urge is not with the 3 pounds of pasta platter at Olive Garden, but with a tidbit or two of the occasional decent menu item.

There's the 3-wing special at KFC, for example (not on the menu, but they'll sell you one if you ask for it). The fried mozzarella sticks at Burger King can soothe a junk-food yearning quite nicely, and cheaply.

This week, Taco Bell gets into the cheap-tidbit market in a big way. Thursday, its new menu of under-a-dollar goodies arrives, and I have to admit, I'll probably check it out. God help my stomach.

Here's the menu:

At 79 cents: Triple Layer Nacho, topped with red sauce, beans and nacho cheese sauce.

Melted Three Cheese Roll-Ups, a flour tortilla with three cheeses.

At 89 cents: Cheesy Double Beef Burrito, a warm flour tortilla filled with two portions of seasoned beef, Mexican rice and nacho cheese sauce.

At 99 cents: Big Taste Taco, a flour tortilla with beef, lettuce, cheddar cheese and crunch strips.