Mexican food ¡ª or at least a Japanified version of it ¡ª is having a mini moment in convenience stores. More limited-edition items riffing on hard-to-find items are arriving in stores, with mixed results.
Seven-Eleven Japan has been at the forefront of this nascent trend over the past year, with taco rice bowls and tortilla wraps. One of the chain¡¯s most recent offerings is the taco meat wrap, which takes seasoned, spicy ground beef and combines it with a sauce and lettuce (?321 after tax). In theory, this should make for a passable attempt at a taco ¡ª far from authentic, but somewhat satisfying. The problem is it¡¯s meant to be served at room temperature ¡ª no microwave instructions at all! ¡ª and that makes it feel like a sad bachelor meal. The flavor is (basically) there, but the temperature unsettles.
FamilyMart at least understands the importance of keeping a taco warm. Its awkwardly named ¡°Faru Maki¡± line of spring rolls now features a ¡°taco meat¡± variety encased in a turtle-green wrap (?120 after tax). Don¡¯t let appearances scare you away though, because the actual spicy meat and cheese within is pretty good. Coupled with the crispy shell, it makes for a nice ¡ª albeit a bit small ¡ª snack. It¡¯s no Mexican food breakthrough, but it¡¯s a small-scale step in the right direction.
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