Double Decker Taco
Refried beans glue a soft tortilla around a hard-shell taco, turning one fragile shell into a two-layer build that survives being carried. Launched 1995, permanent by 2006, cut in 2019, revived since.
Andrew Lekashman
Doritos Locos Taco
Taco Bell's shell is dusted in real Doritos Nacho Cheese seasoning, licensed from Frito-Lay and engineered for years to survive frying, shipping, and a fold without losing crunch or dust.
Danger Dog
LA street hot dog; bacon-wrapped hot dog with grilled peppers and onions, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, jalapeños. Sold outside bars and ...
Crunchy Taco
Hard corn shell taco; U-shaped crispy fried corn tortilla, filled with ground beef, lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream. American inventi...
Crunchwrap Supreme
The Crunchwrap Supreme is a circle folded into a hexagon: six overlapping pleats sealed on a griddle, with a fried tostada disc inside acting as a dam between the hot layer and the cold one.
Crispy Taco (Ground Beef)
The American hard-shell taco traces to Lucia Rodriguez's Mitla Cafe, San Bernardino, 1937: ground beef, cheddar, iceberg, tomato in a fried shell. Glen Bell watched the lines and industrialized it.
Completo Mexicano
The maximal Mexican loaded hot dog: a bacon-wrapped frank in a split-top bun under beans, grilled and raw onion, tomato, jalapeño, and three sauces, every topping the cart carries in one pass.
Combo Fajita
Mixed fajita; combination of steak, chicken, and/or shrimp.
Christmas Style Burrito
A New Mexican burrito sauced with both red and green chile across the same plate, named for the two colours together: the third standing answer to the state question of red or green.
Chipotle Burrito
Assembly-line fast-casual that scaled the Mission rice-and-bean wrap to a national chain. Steve Ells opened the first store in Denver on 13 July 1993.
Chimichanga
Deep-fried burrito; flour tortilla burrito fried until crispy, topped with sauce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole. Possibly invented in Tuc...
Chimichanga de Machaca
Dried beef is the reason this works. Machaca holds almost no internal moisture, so the fried shell sets hard and rigid without being steamed soft from within the parcel.
Chile Relleno Burrito
A whole battered, fried, cheese-stuffed poblano rolled into a flour tortilla with rice and beans: a finished dish folded inside a finished format, where Puebla's relleno meets the northern burrito.
Chihuahua Hot Dog
Chihuahua-style hot dog; regional variations.
Chicken Quesadilla (USA)
American chicken quesadilla; grilled chicken, cheese, peppers, onions.
Chicken Fajita
Grilled chicken fajita; chicken substituted for beef.
Cheesy Gordita Crunch
Taco Bell's Cheesy Gordita Crunch wraps a soft flatbread around a crunchy beef taco and welds the two with melted three-cheese: soft, then crisp, then beef in a single bite.
Cheese Quesadilla (USA)
American cheese quesadilla; often with cheddar or Monterey Jack.
Chalupa
One name, two unrelated fried builds: a shallow-fried Puebla masa antojito dressed hot with salsa, and Taco Bell's rigid deep-fried flatbread shell, launched in 1999 off Gordita dough.
Cemita
Pápalo lands on a cemita raw, torn from the stem at the last second, its soapy-green sharpness gone the moment it meets heat. Around it sits Puebla's sesame egg roll and a tangle of quesillo.
Cemita Roll
Puebla's sesame-topped egg bread; slightly sweet, used for cemitas.