Stuff 'n Save Your Money

Since we eat Mexican food no fewer than three times a week, I'm always looking to try something new. So I bought these Old El Paso Stand 'n Stuff taco shells.

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The concept behind these flat-bottomed shells is that you can set your taco down upright and the filling won't roll out. It's a good idea, in theory. These shells do exactly what they're supposed to. But the design was just poorly executed.

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I'm not a physics expert so I'm not going to pretend to give a scientific explanation. But something about the not-so-gradual folds in the taco shell make for a weaker product. When Q bit into his first taco, the shell cracked on the creases and the whole thing fell apart on his plate. He had to eat the rest of his taco mess with a fork.

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I had slightly better luck. It was cumbersome, but I managed to hold the shell together long enough to eat the entire taco. My spillage was limited to some meat and a slice of avocado. But I did have a problem with the fact that the above-average width of the shells made them difficult to bite into without the ability to unhinge my jaw.

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One positive attribute is that since the Stand 'n Stuff shells are wider, they hold more taco filling than traditional round bottomed variety. But in my opinion, that alone is not worth the price of admission. Next time I'll go back to the smaller, rounder shells. And if more food is desired, we'll simply help ourselves to a second, third, or fourth helping.