The Mexican Pizza, originally called the Pizzazz Pizza, is a menu item at the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

-based chain

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

. It consists of two

tortilla A tortilla (, ) is a thin, circular unleavened flatbread originally made from maize hominy meal, and now also from wheat flour. The Aztecs and other Nahuatl speakers called tortillas ''tlaxcalli'' (). First made by the indigenous peoples of Me ...

s with a filling of seasoned beef and

refried beans Refried beans (from es, frijoles refritos, ) is a dish of cooked and mashed beans that is a traditional staple of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, although each cuisine has a different approach when making the dish. Refried beans are also popular ...

, topped with

tomato sauce Tomato sauce (also known as ''salsa roja'' in Spanish or ''salsa di pomodoro'' in Italian) can refer to many different sauces made primarily from tomatoes, usually to be served as part of a dish, rather than as a condiment. Tomato sauces are c ...

, three cheeses, and diced tomatoes. It is not found in

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...

and it does not particularly resemble

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

History

The item was introduced in 1985 as the Pizzazz Pizza, when its recipe also included

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s and

green onion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...

s. It was renamed "Mexican Pizza" in 1988. The owners of a

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

-area pizzeria had sued Taco Bell's then-owner

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

, claiming

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...

, in 1985, although Taco Bell did not mention the lawsuit as being related to the renaming. Because the beef could be substituted with beans, making the Mexican Pizza suitable for

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

s, the item became popular among

South Asian Americans South Asian Americans are Americans of full or partial South Asian ancestry. The term generally excludes Afghanistan, referring specifically to those who can trace back their heritage to the Indian subcontinent, which includes the countries of Ba ...

. On November 5, 2020, Taco Bell removed the Mexican Pizza from its menu, saying that its

paperboard Paperboard is a thick paper-based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker (usually over 0.30 mm, 0.012 in, or 12 Inch#equivalences, points) than paper and has certain ...

packaging had a significant environmental impact. In response, Krish Jagirdar, a vegetarian

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

, started a

change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...

petition for Taco Bell to reinstate the Mexican Pizza. The petition attracted more than 170,000 signatures. Taco Bell announced on April 18, 2022, that it would reintroduce the Mexican Pizza on May 19.

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...

, who had partnered with the company on an advertising campaign, told the audience during her performance at the

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

on April 17, "I brought back the Mexican Pizza, by the way," in the middle of a song. Taco Bell thanked Jagirdar personally for his petition. Due to unforeseen demand, Taco Bell experienced supply shortages after it reintroduced the Mexican Pizza. The company reported that one customer bought 180 pizzas in one order. On August 2, 2022, Taco Bell announced that the Mexican Pizza would return to menus permanently on September 15. The company denied that the sudden disappearance of the item following its May 2022 launch was a stunt, saying that demand was seven times higher than when it was previously available.

Musical

Taco Bell commissioned ''Mexican Pizza: The Musical'', which it had intended to premiere on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

on May 26, 2022, as a promotional

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

for the item's reintroduction. Taco Bell said in a press release that the musical is a "satirical musical about the 'harrowing' story of those who fought to bring back the Mexican Pizza."

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

, Doja Cat, and TikToker Victor Kunda appeared in the 15-minute production. The musical was written by

Hannah Friedman Hannah Friedman is an American writer, producer, musician and director. She is known for writing and producing roles in film and television, including projects with ABS, Amazon, CBS, Comedy Central, Conaco, Disney, DreamWorks, Hasbro, Imagine, ...

, with music by Abigail Barlow and

Emily Bear Emily Jordan Bear (born August 30, 2001) is an American composer, pianist, songwriter and singer. After beginning to play the piano and compose music as a small child, Bear made her professional piano debut at the Ravinia Festival at the age of ...

. Taco Bell announced on May 26 that the release of its musical would be delayed. The musical streamed on TikTok on September 15, 2022.Wellen, Brianna
"Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza Is Back in the Works—and So Is Its TikTok Musical"
TheTakeOut.com, September 1, 2022; and Pomranz, Mike
"Taco Bell's Mexican Pizza Musical Will Finally Debut the Same Day the Beloved Menu Item Makes Its Return"
''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'', September 1, 2022

References

External links

* {{Official site, https://www.tacobell.com/food/specialties/mexican-pizza Pizza Taco Bell Products introduced in 1985 Products and services discontinued in 2020 Products introduced in 2022

History

Musical

See also

References

External links