One of my old Open Text buddies has informed me that the chili-cheese burrito has been dropped from the menu of Waterloo-area Taco Bell restaurants.  Mike and I were perhaps the last of the local chilito fans, always tacking one on to our lunch combo for good measure.  Within our small circle (technically with two points I guess it’s a line segment not a circle) there was not only an appreciation for the venerable concoction, but a set of guidelines that went along with the lore:

1. Never open a chilito and look inside.  Never.
2. A chilito is to be dipped in hot sauce.
3. Even though it is probable that one of the bandaids fell off of the scary cashier-lady’s fingers into the burrito-steamer, it is not to be discussed while consuming the chilito.
4. It’s best to drive an extra ten minutes to the Kitchener Taco Bell to avoid having to discuss #3 (she works at the Waterloo location, has for what I assume must be the last 85 years).

We are not the only ones who are chilto fans, indeed there is an entire website dedicated to its tracking and pursuing its eventual return to all North American stores.

Some interesting chilito facts:

• In 1986, Taco Bell acquired the Faux-Mex restaurant chain known as Zantigo, known for their Chilito, a chili-cheese burrito. The chilito was added to the Taco Bell menu, then later quietly dropped after comedian Paul Rodriguez pointed out the negative connotations of the word chilito (a slang for penis) in Mexican Spanish dialect.
• A chilito contains 383 calories, not bad for about a buck!
• Until recently, it was on the menu in Ontario taco bell restaurants as the “Chili Cheese Burrito”, I haven’t actually seen “chilito” used since I was a kid but still call it that to this day.