We tried everything on Taco Bell's new $1 menu and ranked them - here are the only things worth ordering

Hollis Johnson/Business Insider

• The fast food value menu wars have flared back up with the release of McDonald's new dollar menu and Taco Bell's overhauled value menu.
• Taco Bell's "Dollar Cravings" menu has 20 choices on it, including breakfast items.
• The majority of items are delicious, but there are a few that are definitely not worth the trouble.

With the unveiling of its new $1 $2 $3 Menu, McDonald's fired the first salvo of the second Fast-Food War. But Taco Bell has been quick to respond in kind.

Enter: the chain's newly expanded $1 value menu.

There's a lot of competition among fast-food chains to grab the attention of dollar-conscious diners, and the spate of new value menus has sped up the race to the bottom of the value barrel.

And while many chains are slashing menu items left and right in an attempt to simplify customers' choices, Taco Bell's menu bucks the trend. With 19 food choices (and one drink), it far eclipses McDonald's tiered menu's comparatively puny selection of 10 food items.

There are 11 all-day items and 8 breakfast items - an embarrassment of riches. But don't be fooled by the deal; not all that glitters is gold. We've tasted every item on the menu and ranked them so you know what to fork over a buck for, and what to avoid at any cost.

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