Strategy: Taco Bell is taking aim at McDonald's with $1 fries — and they're like nothing else in the fast-food industry

We taste-tested Taco Bell's fries and found they were like nothing else being served by fast-food chains right now.

• Taco Bell started serving fries on Thursday.
• The fries are served either with cheesy dipping sauce or nacho-style, smothered in cheese, beef, sour cream, and more.
• We taste-tested the fries — and found they were like nothing else being served by fast-food chains right now.

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Taco Bell is finally serving fries.

On Thursday, the fast-food chain added $1 nacho fries to the menu. Instead of taking the classic fast-food route, Taco Bell's fries are topped with a spicy seasoning and served with a side of nacho cheese.

Customers can also order "Supreme" fries for $2.49, or the larger serving of "Bell Grande" fries for $3.49, served with even more toppings: beef, pico de gallo, nacho cheese, sour cream, and other add-ons like guacamole, bacon, and jalapeño peppers.

If you're McDonald's or another burger chain, you need to think about the power that these fries could have. The influence that they have. The business implications that they have.

In an effort to see how Taco Bell's new fries measure up to the competition, we decided to try them ourselves.

For $1, customers can get a handful of fries and a cup of nacho cheese sauce for dipping — the first sign that Taco Bell isn't trying to imitate competitors' fried offerings.

Instead of ketchup, Taco Bell's emphasis is on the cheese. It's the right decision. While the nacho cheese isn't gourmet by any means, it provides a rich and gloopy satisfaction and immediately sets the fries apart from their ketchup-dipped rivals.

The fries also diverge from fast-food norms with an impressive mix of spicy seasoning instead of the typical salt bomb. They taste exactly how French fries from Taco Bell — and only Taco Bell — should taste.

Taco Bell's fries are fairly hefty and a bit floppy — certainly less crisp than offerings at chains like McDonald's. Had the fries been classically seasoned with salt, this would have been a major misstep. However, the thicker cut is a smart move in Taco Bell's case, as it guarantees that the potato can balance out the spices and rich nacho cheese.

The nacho-ified fries are a mess — but a highly-rewarding one, especially for $2.49. While you can dip each individual fry in the nacho cheese, you'll end up shoveling the Supreme fries into your mouth with a fork.

It's a quintessential Taco Bell creation — a bunch of delicious and semi-embarrassing ingredients mixed together in a bizarre way that you're going to end up craving at 2 a.m.

Overall, Taco Bell's fries have the potential to be a huge win for the fast-food chain. They're like no other fries in the industry, swapping ketchup for cheese and salt for spice.

We taste-tested Taco Bell's fries and found they were like nothing else being served by fast-food chains right now. Read Full Story