Finally!  You can get a good taco in Mexico City.

The folks at YUM brands that own KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have come to the conclusion that Mexicans need a little help with their food preparation.  So they’ve announced the opening of a new Taco Bell franchise in Mexico’s capital.  The city is already overrun with Starbucks and McDonalds, and Mexicans are huge fans of all things gringo.  But many are scoffing at the idea of reverse-marketing Mexican food to the people that invented it.  In an attempt to make the place more “American”, the joint also sells other items like cheese fries and ice cream.  But so far the locals aren’t impressed.  Marco Fragoso, a 39-year-old office worker sitting down for lunch at a traditional taqueria in Mexico City, said, “They’re not tacos. They’re folded tostadas. They’re very ugly.”  Complained pop culture historian Carlos Monsivais, “It’s like bringing ice to the Arctic.”

And here’s additional evidence of America’s grotesque marketing hubris:  Hardee’s new Country Breakfast Burrito.  This baby’s got everything you need to start your day off right.  Two egg omelets, bacon, sausage, diced ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy, all wrapped inside a flour tortilla.  It addresses a real market need, says Brad Haley, marketing guru for the chain.  “It makes this big country breakfast portable,” he said.  Fair enough.  But the problem with the thing isn’t that it has an obscene 60 grams of fat; it’s that it has only 920 calories.  C’mon, why stop 80 calories short of a grand?  Add a dollop of sour cream, you could easily push this thing to an even 1000 calories.  That’s a much easier number to punch into your stair climber at the gym.

No word yet on whether YUM plans to open frankfurter stands in Frankfurt, or sell dog-kebabs in Seoul.

But Mr. Haley, your defibrillator is on its way.