They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but sometimes, it’s not always the case. At times, the clone is seen as an inferior product to the source material, lacking in various areas that makes the original a fantastic product. I recently ventured to a local Taco Bell on my lunch break and saw they were advertising their brand new products, the Cantina Bowl and Cantina Burrito. I had previously seen commercials and various adverts touting these new items, and at first glance, they looked strangely familiar to something else I had eaten before. If you already know where I’m going with this, these new Cantina products are meant to be a blatant knockoff of rival company, Chipotle. But I tend to be a sucker for new products, so I figured I’d give the Cantina Bowl a try. Going back to my office with an empty stomach and an open mind, I anticipated chowing down on something similar to a product from a restaurant that is not within a reasonable driving distance from both my home and office.
As I ate my Cantina Bowl, my optimism slowly downshifted to a bittersweet feeling after each bite. As I sat there chewing, I contemplated the comparisons between the original product to what I was consuming. I thought about things like quality and presentation, taste and overall value of the products.
The Wired Fish Network 