Chipotle sucks.

http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php

(Though I don't know how easy it'd be to figure out the ingredients list. Good luck, though.)

http://www.fastfoodsource.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=245

"We found many burritos, nachos, quesadillas and platters with more than 1,000 calories and at least a half day's saturated fat and a whole day's sodium," said center director Michael Jacobson, referring to federal nutrition guidelines.

The non-profit consumer health group used nutrition information provided by three Mexican restaurants - Rubio's, La Salsa and Baja Fresh. The organization purchased food at Chipotle's and had it examined in a lab because the company did not supply nutrition information.

The findings reveal that Mexican isn't always healthier than regular fast food. A Chicken Burrito at Chipotle, partially owned by McDonald's, was about the same as eating one-and-a-half Quarter Pounders and a large Coke at the burger chain, in terms of fat, sodium and calories. Chipotle's Vegetarian Burrito had 1,100 calories and 75 percent of the recommended daily intake of saturated fat.

Too bad.

"mexican restaurants"

I liked Baja Fresh ok. So that's bad for you too? SHEESH!

'compared to the carnitas and pastrami burrito at chano's, chipotle burritos only have 50% of fat, sodium, etc'

i go to chipotle out of necessity once or twice a week becuase working in a nightclub, i need something quick to eat when i take my ten minute break (we dont serve food). my options for something quick (the neighborhood has mostly upscale, sit-down places or other clubs) include fudruckers, subway, local chain burrito brothers and chipotle. is it that odd to assume that ordering a chicken burrito with rice, black beans, chicken, lettuce and tomato is somehow healthier than going to fudruckers to get a quarter pounder, fries and a milkshake? obviously mexican cuisine in general has plenty of high-cholesterol and high-fat foods, but what i order seems to be on the healthier side of the spectrum of what is available, and i am a little pissed that it isnt, especially since i have been so angry at myself for subsidising a large corporation (the food at burrito brothers makes me feel like shit). god i hate dc sometimes.

also, this line:
chipotle, i learned last night, is owned by MCDONALD'S. so yeah, no surprise about the lack of info.

is a little odd, seeing as McDonald's nutrition information (while not good news), has been available in detail and for a long time.

i eat chipotle a fair amt (i don't have a good excuse either) and i try to go vegetarian and skip the sour cream and cheese (still a sucker for guac tho, which is more lethal). i'm guessing the problem is in the other ingredients in everything, like whatever they do to give the rice its lovely viscosity, sweeteners in the salsas, who knows...

Haha, man, I wasn't saying I was surprised that it made it less healthy, I just didn't know it'd be 900 calories more!

is there lard in there?!

You're not gonna believe this shit...real Mexican food often has lard in it! I don't know what's in the Chipotle tortilla, but soy flour can ramp up the protein count a lot.

I believe McD's sold off Chipotle ownership, not sure. Chipotle is very good though, and makes some efforts to source pork and beef from small producers. It's still fast food, not health food.

rereading this paragraph, i think fast food might be slightly inevitable, although last night i didnt eat dinner and instead saved myself until 4am for chicken kebab at the 24-hour pakistani place in crystal city. the problem with this approach is that i am eating hours after the constant stream of drinks that are inevitable at my job (especially on a slow night) (a place where leaving at 4am on a saturday night/sunday morning is considered leacing early).

Not necessarily. Real FLOUR TORTILLAS have lard (or, like I said, vegetable shortening) in them, but the great majority of actual, authentic Mexican food is actually supposed to be healthier than what American food is supposed to be. Mexican cooking relies a lot on grilling and spices in order to make things taste really good, and a lot of the sauces are really not that bad nutritionally.

It's when you get to the Tex-Mex type things (and when real Mexican food is prepared incorrectly, e.g. frying fajitas in tons of oil instead of just grilling them -- and yes, fajitas ARE authentic) when you run into health-oriented problems.

p.s.: I would not trust a Mexican restaurant that touts itself as "authentic" that's located anywhere aside from California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Denver, or Chicago. Or possibly even Oklahoma or certain areas in Alabama or Georgia.

People seriously need to get over their lard fear.

I mostly make my own food. I admit I love my cream and cheese but at least I know how much and where its gone.

Wahoo Combo 2 blackened fish extra salsa and rice-- that's lust.

I don't really think of them as Mexican food though.

Chipotle's first ever joint is about two blocks from the law building at DU, so I get that a lot more frequently than Wahoos. No complaints.

(Thanks for the OTM-ing, Chris. You're probably as big an expert on this cuisine as I am.)

Mexicans are the third largest hispanic community in NYC.

See, I was ALMOST going to mention NYC, but thought otherwise because I didn't think the Mexican-American representation was going to be all that much. (I know there are a TON of Latinos in NYC, but I always think they're mostly of Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or South American extraction, so it's kinda cool to know the makeup of this ethnic category is changing in America's largest city. Thanks for the information!)

And I didn't know Detroit or Minneapolis/Wilmar had heavy concentrations of Chicanos. Okay. This must mean that the obvious, i.e. the Latino populations in MI and MN are pretty much concentrated in the large cities and surrounding suburbs of the two states. (And if I were ever to live in Detroit or Minneapolis and felt homesick, I'd be able to satiate that homesickness temporarily through the power of food.)

(BTW, we just recently got our first three local Chipotle Grills in. There's one close to the house I'd been wanting to try out, out of pure curiosity. Though not anytime soon, since I had a filling bowl of fideo and beans for dinner tonight.)

YOU ARE A WISE MAN.

I don't really think of them as Mexican food though.

It's a classically American story, I think -- son of immigrants becomes a surfer dude, parties down with friends in Baja, gets hooked on fish tacos and wonders what he can do about it. Wing Lam, hero.

Personally, I like Chipotle. I don't see how people can quibble about notions of authenticy anyway, when, if memory serves, burritos aren't even Mexican. I always thought their origin was American, by the border.

"In the 1950's, spicy food began to appear in the mainstream American diet for the first time. Salsa, burritos, nachoes, tequila, tacos....Many of these dishes were Tex-Mex inventions. In Mexico, only people in Durango knew what a burrito was. It was a locals-only treat."

Spencer totally owns this thread, btw. Brilliant.

The one in Brooklyn Heights is about the only decent, cheap food to be had on weekends... And their guac is very good.

not true! how about a salad or sandwich from garden of eden or lassen & hennigs? also, my little pizzeria on court street makes a serious slice.

what about Grand Canyon Burgers! Those are great hamburgers! I used to go to the one in park slope, then I moved to cobble hill. The day I discovered there was another on montague, was a great day.

lauren otm re damascus. i've been going there forever.

damascus's tahini bread is a tasty treat.

-- adam...

bullshit, there are like 5000 places to eat around there! your coworkers are lazy!

*begging forgiveness for ignorance*

Thanks for the reminder ILX.

we don't have no chipotle here in new england.

not bad fat?

I try to eat as much good fat as I can.

tons and tons of it.

You're joking, right?

I don't make it to montague st. much since I moved from Court to wyckoff and nevins. My fave foods in the area are Zaytons on smith st., Aunt Suzy's and Bonnies on 5th Ave, Calexico on 5th, Soul Spot on Atlantic near Smith is GREAT...many others. Very happy in this area, thank you. And the bodega on hoyt above atlantic that makes killer tacos.

http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/lr/losbros/jaime/jaime.html

love & rockets/yummy fur = harder to come by

copies of Young Lust and Binky Brown = not what you expect to see on montague street.

you can order carry-out online now!!!! OHHHHHH SHIIIIIIIIT

thread title completely off base btw

i meat more chiptole than i want to because it's so close to campus but it really isn't all that good

it's good but it's def not as great as people make it out to be

Yeah. Grading fast food has to be done on a steep curve.

you guys totally have to go check out the online ordering app. SimBurrito

i have never had a chipotle.

burritoville

that ordering app is pretty great (especially the prep line overhead view), but what's the point of online ordering if you have to call the place to confirm?

I fuckin' love Chipotle, other than the burritos being a little too salty. Good lighting and tables for reading the paper.

cutty otm

seamless, web, order

No need for Chipotle in my neighborhood, there are a half-dozen great taquerias within 5 blocks.

but how many burritorias?

burritoville menu making me jealous

the secret to chipotle happiness is to skip the rice

Is this thread about NYC or Chipotle?

^i want to try this every time but then don't for some reason
xpost

it's not about NYC, but it is about Chipotle sucking

As you now know, Todd Barry is a big fan of Chipotle, and he’s not the only one that considers it one of New York’s “great restaurants.” The Tex-Mex chain is just one of five joints (along with Tia Pol, wd-50, Hearth, and the Spotted Pig) that Momofuku lists as “friends” on its Website, and in this magazine’s profile of David Chang, he makes clear that it influenced Ssäm Bar:

“I tried to get a job at Chipotle when I got back from Japan, but they wouldn’t hire me,” he says. “They knew what I was up to.” It’s easy to see the parallels between Ssäm Bar and the Tex-Mex monolith that’s invaded Manhattan. “A lot of this is premised on what Chipotle’s done: Make affordable, good food, and do it with integrity.”

We've noted that Bobby Flay is also possibly a fan of Chipotle (indeed Bret Thorn overheard him calling it "good food"). And we're sure Chang and Flay aren't the only ones. So when will Chipotle’s founder, Steve Ells, finally be nominated for a Beard Award?

They're all burritoerias. Also, tortaerias, tostadaerias... They have better hot sauce too.

it's good but it's def not as great as people make it out to be

-- J0rdan S., Monday, 31 March 2008 19:40

how dare you

Grand Opening of the BurritoVille in Westbury, Long Island

WHAAAAT!?

this place is fucking nasty

how dare you

-- BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, March 31, 2008 3:01 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

^likes "anything but country"

I can imagine lots of vague and tiresome "not as good as this mom n' pop taco stand right by my 400 sqft apartment in upper west hipland" arguments against chipotle but "fucking nasty" was not something I expected. explain?

it's not even better than other huge mexican subway chains like moe's or qdoba

whoa whoa whoa there son it is approximately 400x better than qdoba

it's certainly no worse, i was ultimately saying that both leave me full but usually unsatisfied

yah dude moe's not even on chipotle's radar

and i don't even really like chipotle's

moe's > chipotle and i don't even think it's close

i'm an og moe's stan and an ex-employee though, so grain of salt

the problem is the ingredients are so compartmentalized. i take one bite, all rice. another bite, all beans. another bite, all meat. might as well wrap each ingredient seperately

^tb

that's why i only eat the burrito bowls at chipotle

some coworkers took me there once and the line was super long and the food was whipped out in like 15 seconds and there was too much sour cream and flavorless salsa and it was just a lot of mass produced yuckiness. McD's owning it makes total sense. and yes I live in a latino neighborhood lovingly referred to by the locals as "upper west hipland" and heavily populated with roach coaches that are 9,000x tastier and better for you than this glop.

x-post

guys can we at least agree none of these various burrito establishments are all that good and that they tend to lead to other taco mistakes

Qdoba is like an MBA grad's idea of ripping off Chipotle in red-state areas, doing something with more familiar beige colors and Fleetwood Mac on the sound system instead of steel and Orchestra Baobab. They do have pesto, though, and mole, so that's a little something, but they're much more of a traditional, unimaginative fast-food joint. (And do any off the non-Chipotle places offer organically raised meats?)

McDonald's sold their share of it years ago.

I'm guessing the companies that distribute meat to the taquerias are no more appealing than Chipotle is as a company in the food industry.

I had Burritoville recently and it was Not Good -- I mean, edible but srsly not a burrito I'd go out of my way for. Will try once more, maybe, but when there's Taco Santana in Wburg and LA Taqueria in the Slope I don't know why you'd get yr fix anywhere else?

as far as i know mcdonald's no longer owns it. in fact, i don't think it was ever an "ownership" as much as a partnership.

but in any case i heard maybe a year or two ago that chipotle was successful enough that they were able to break ties with mickey d's.

oh okay, wikipedia sez:

In the past, McDonald's Corporation owned a majority interest in Chipotle. McDonald's has since sold their entire stake in Chipotle; full divestment was completed in October of 2006.

Will try once more, maybe, but when there's Taco Santana in Wburg and LA Taqueria in the Slope I don't know why you'd get yr fix anywhere else?

-- Laurel, Monday, March 31, 2008 3:19 PM (12 seconds ago) Bookmark Link

BECAUSE WE DON'T LIVE IN NYC

The online ordering is bullshit. Tried it twice for family meals, neither time had they noticed the order at the store when I called to confirm (bullshit in the first place) and the second time they hadn't even bothered to make it by the time I got there.

in any case, i like chipotle. it's fairly inexpensive, the food generally tastes pretty fresh, and it's by far the best fast food place for a good, solid vegetarian option.

There's no Burritoville anywhere else, though, is there? I guess I was swinging a wide cat, there, but I was mostly badmouthing Bville for cutty's benefit.

never heard of burritoville. i wasn't a fan of qdoba and i thought california tortilla was pretty gross.

if you are asking for sour cream on your burrito you deserve to hate your life

california tortilla has okay tacos for fast food

xp No, that's okay, I'll just take it on the side.

Taco Cabana is okay, kinda halfway in between Bueno and Chipotle/Qdoba

since clemente has testified to the veggie options I will now state for the record that barbacoa is king

I think Chipotle's an encouraging phenomenon, as reflected in mizzell's passage, and it's among the better greasy fast food options, but I can't deny that my limited experience hasn't been nasty-free.

I don't go to B'ville for mexican food, I go for merkin-style burritos. my local offers actual corn tortillas for the merkin-style tacos, tho.

tacos tom, I had tacos.

x-post

yeah laurel eat one burrito and slander such a wonderful chain

do some more research

tacos > burritos

the barbacoa sucks ass, the chicken is usually overpowered by onions, steak is good if rare enough

I haven't tried the carnitas, as I don't dig pork.

I pity the fool

barbacoa + red chili salsa = awesome

i dont really order burritos at all any more ... two tacos is enough, and cheaper. i usually get two chile rellenos if i'm at pasadita, or steak if im at picante, and anywhere else i buy a torta

deej OTM, tortas ftw

all day i've been trying to decide if i'm having tacos (3) or a torta for dinner.

two tacos is enough, and cheaper

Me too

i made some tortas yesterday.so good

PS LAUREL:

http://nyc.everyblock.com/restaurant-inspections/by-date/2008/2/23/825117/

oh, i've seen that. doesn't bother me. the food is too good.

milaneza tortas <3

omg foodie lauren shows up

Those citations don't seem like the gross kind, really? I mean, how many times a day are you supposed to wash your utensils, when they sit in the pot of beans at a near-boil? And so delicious.

My problem with the Burritoville product was with general stuff like really starchy, tasteless rice, not specifically my variety of burrito. But I'll try again, sometime when it's less inconvenient.

SIGNS not posted? I'm hardly going to stop eating somewhere because their "International sign for choking" poster is missing.

hi cutty.

uh, PERSONAL CLEANLINESS INADEQUATE

and it says no utensil.. they were using their hands to scoop the beans out the pot

u do the maths

i wonder how taco places in mexico would do if inspected by nyc heath dept.

really starchy = short-grain, brown, i.e. healthy, even moreso w/ wheat tortilla. beans stewed in beer don't appeal to laurel?

my only problem is light on the acid, but that's easily solved w/ xtra pico de gallo and/or lemon (i reserve for beef)

Tacos made by white people "less skanky," say Williamsburg indierockers

Actually they have a spoon for the beans, but I've seen her use her hands to scoop up the servings of lettuce, tomato, and lime wedges that garnish the platters. I suppose it would be okay if she had plastic gloves on and changed them after every serving? But oh well.

Chipotle is finally coming to Des Moines. I am preparing to find housing closer to its proposed site.

This is all.

chipotle is good; i have burrito places i like better but if chipotle is my only option i'm perfectly okay with it. i appreciate that they keep it simple and don't try to trick it out baja fresh style.

I might just be a total slut for Mexican food, but given the choice of Chipotle, Baja Fresh, Qdoba, and any of the small local places, I'm good with all of the above (and probably go to each roughly once a month). I like Chipotle's burritos because they have that corn salsa and you can go heavy on cheese/guacamole, but the burritos are pretty much the only thing I like there and they're a little limited. If I want a quesadilla I'll go to Qdoba. And if I want to pig out and get a side of chips and a bunch of extra sauces & peppers I'll go to Baja Fresh. California Tortilla is kinda nice for the novelty of their different flavors, but I don't like them enough to go there unless someone else wants to. And of course there are pros and cons to local places but like Tombot said it's pointless to explain what those are on a message board full of people who mostly live far far away.

Cannot condone this place. Get something 94x better at 1/3 the price at a good taqueria. And even better, you don't have to go inside a Chipotle.

^^for realz

agreed, i love my neighborhood taqueria.

Guys the lamest place in America is WELCOME TO MOE'S - except! that they have fish tacos. They are pretty much the ONLY place here that serves fish tacos.

I am lucky to live 2 blocks away from a great little Mexican place called CIELITO LINDO that does a LUNCH BUFFET! Also there's this little taqueria down by the courthouse that I for some reason only go to after court dates/paying fines/etc. Which is a shame because it's excellent.

best mexi-fast food place I can think of is Rubio's but I think they're strictly Cali.

and their specialty is fish tacos

yeah I basically lived my entire life up to 6 months ago thinking fish tacos were gross on a conceptual level, before actually trying one and being SUPER into them now.

ha! My friend's cat is named after Rubio's...because of their fish tacos! Everyone just calls him Ru now though.

I had Burritoville recently and it was Not Good -- I mean, edible but srsly not a burrito I'd go out of my way for

I got banned from noize broads for saying this!

I think Baja Fresh is the best fast food mex chain in my area, but I think the nearest one to me closed down and I haven't even had reason to go to that one since I worked at Kaplan a while back and would pass it on the way home. There's a Qdoba in Hoboken, but there's a good taqueria walking distance from my place so that's pretty much where I get my fix.

don't go to B'ville for mexican food, I go for merkin-style burritos. my local offers actual corn tortillas for the merkin-style tacos, tho.

-- gabbneb, Monday, March 31, 2008 8:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

i can't decide if i'm impressed or disappointed that no one said anything about this

MERKIN STYLE TACOS guys come on

it's not even better than other huge mexican subway chains like moe's or qdoba

-- J0rdan S., Monday, March 31, 2008 8:08 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

ding ding ding

(except with the added "why does everyone but me think this place is so great?" wtf-annoyance factor)

every taco or burrito I ate in California, including random fast food ones >>>> Qdoba/Baja Fresh/Chipotle. Maybe I was just lucky.

I think maybe we need a 'your local taqueria/taco truck' thread.

the most average mexican place in CA would give those chains a run for their money

forget about any local favorites

Does El Pollo Loco exist anywhere besides Chicago and SoCal? It's pretty good.

(and Mexico obv.)

by "random fast food ones" I meant "random CA chain ones"

one of the many reasons I live in California.

x-post

true,freakin taco bell is even better in california
xpost

I haven't seen 'em (El Pollo Loco) for a while, but there used to be a few here in Austin.

oh man totally going to chipotle for lunch in 15

There's Pollo Loco in the Bay Area

looks like the only place pollo loco isn't is the mid-atlantic.

I don't get california dining. you guys have no crab cakes. fuck that noise. plus why so easy on the hot sauce? pussies.

one of my faves

In the phrase MERKIN STYLE TACOS it feels like "merkin" is a verb (synonym of accumulating) and "style tacos" is like some obscure fashion industry term for street cred.

Man, check out this guy with his crazy use of straps and leather...dude is MERKIN STYLE TACOS I'll tell you what.

I'm hungry.

but "merk"(/"murk"/"merc") already means something!

pube wig tacos

I don't get california dining. you guys have no crab cakes. fuck that noise.

dude there aren't as many crabs here. altho I do like crabcakes and eat them regularly. also hot sauce.

see hot sauce thread, I'm sure there's lots of Cali posters on there

''They all ate burritos''

the count is up to 400-something now
they blame a "norovirus" spread by a sick employee

aka "someone shit in the beans."

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/norovirus-foodhandlers.htm

''Some ate chicken, some ate steak, some had rice and some had beans; there was guacamole, so we're not sure,''

aka "someone shit in the beans."

hey, it's organic!

aka "someone shit in the beans."

i'm hoping for the agatha christie-like "EVERYONE shat in the beans."

one thing is for certain: they all ate burritos

"Ten Little Burritos"

Chipotle's professional cycling team is going to be in the Tour de France 2008. Yay!

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/

Kent State Burrito Massacre

OUTBREAK AT CHIPOTLE

two in one month?!?

The exposure has been limited to the La Mesa restaurant, located at 8005 Fletcher Pkwy., so students should feel safe dining at other Chipotle restaurants.

i beg to differ!

I used to go to Chipotle in college but then I discovered the shrimp tacos and burritos (with the white sauce!!!) at Taco Del Mar and never looked back. Although I went to Taco Del Mar yesterday and they don't have shrimp anymore :(

they have an El Pollo Loco in jersey now!

Chipotle having signs in its restaurants encouraging people to see Food Inc. is very smart of 'em.

they still suck

Chipotle Mexican Grilled Chicken Burrito

1,179 calories
47 g fat
125 g carbs
2,656 mg sodium

Compared to what at a taqueria or other burrito house?

(speaking as someone who doesn't choose sour cream, guac, or cheese)

To make too broad a sweep, I remember 10 years ago, 1999, a lot of my friends complaining about Starbucks and saying how Bush and Gore were the same.

Now, here's a chain that treats its employees well, pays them fairly, is careful about sourcing their food, and it's just not enough.

i don't think chipotle sucks. burritos are pretty good imo, not mindblowing obv but i'm always satisfied, not horribly expensive at ~$6, taste fairly fresh etc

xpost to Eazy: ??? - just sayin. But portion sizes at most taquerias I've been to are smaller, at least. Maybe not when you factor in the rice & beans, but I rarely eat all the rice & beans.

The problem for me w/ Chipotle burritos, portion-wise, was that one half a burrito *should* have been enough for a meal, but I would always tell myself I was going to save the other half & then take a bite or two & then rationalize housing the whole thing b/c what would the point be of saving less than half of a burrito for later? Once I found out what the actual caloric content was, I stopped eating there. I guess I prefer my Mexican food to in more manageable, compartmentable portions is all.

I've been posting too much about Mexican food today, driving myself crazy with longing in the process. I'm going to do something about this tonight (but not by going to Chipotle).

Then get the tacos at Chipotle!!!!! And say no to sour cream and cheese!!!!! And they sell tacos individually!!!

they don't know how to roll burritos at chipotle

xpost: No, if I'm going to Chipotle, I'm getting a fucking burrito. I'll just make sure those experiences are few & far between (my metabolism sucks).

Even w/o cheese, sour cream, guac and meat, this shit is still terrible for you. I have no idea how that works

Anything with a big flour tortilla and white rice is going to be high in calories! If caloric content is your reason to hate Chipotle, have the salad. Chicken+beans+romaine+tomato salsa - it really doesn't get healthier than that, dudes. Or only eat half the burrito.

My only beef with Chipotle is that a lot of their items (chicken, salsas) get overwhelmed by onion.

so there's no actual chipotles involved in anything this place sells??

SCANDAL

You mean there aren't any actual McDonalds' working at McDonalds? SHAME

burger king actually just a guy who really likes burgers

seinfeldgrapenuts.wav

lol guys but don't you think it's odd?

theres no chipotle peppers in their salsas?

could be, but I couldn't taste any

Genuine chipotle chilies are not cheap. Most commercially made sauces in the USA just have unsmoked ordinary chilies and some "genuine smoke flavor" added. Wretched stuff. In fact, when I saw the thread title I supposed this is what the thread was saying sucks.

i kinda like chipotle

Considering the dearth of places for a decent burrito whenever I'm stuck way out in the burbs, Chipotle isn't really a horrible option.

Genuine chipotle chilies are not cheap.

They're just jalapenos, aren't they?

chipotles pretty great frankly

have a suspicion that ppl are operating under a kneejerk corporate-fast-food-sucks type opinion but wvs

definitely better than yr avg mexican joint in new york city

definitely worse than yr avg mexican joint in la

it pretty much does xp

this place sucks (not a kneejerk, also fuck a Baja Fresh) but you know what i've really warmed to is Poquito Mas for mexichain food.

youre weird

Chipotle is the best national fast food chain.

i'm not weird i just know what good mexican food tastes like!

^^^otm

I used to work in an office above one of these in downtown SF. perhaps I mentioned this upthread. All the staff could be foudn on their lunchbreak at the REAL Mexican restaurant round the corner.

Anyway, it's all lard.

Um, to be fair, I could never eat at any of the food places I worked at, even if I typically loved the stuff. Most people want to leave their place of employment to get lunch.

I mean, I've heard that argument before about "the employees go eat somewhere else so the food is awful", but I really don't think thats a valid point at all.

definitely better than yr avg mexican joint in new york city
definitely worse than yr avg mexican joint in la

There goes Rhymin' Maxin'

yeah but they could go get a turkey sandwich or something after staring at tortillas all morning

xp - OK I'll try to make a valid argument next time I argue something. It just struck me as funny

They're just jalapenos, aren't they?

They are chilies, usually jalapenos, that have been smoked, in a smokehouse, or over a smoky fire, until they are dark brown, dried up and shriveled. The variety I have used look like petrified cigar butts.

The idea that "jalapenos + commercial smoke flavor = chipotle" is the same sort of thinking that leads to "fat-free sour cream" and "cheese food products".

mmMMm, cheese food products

i'm not weird i just know what good mexican food tastes like!

― _▂▅▇█▓▒░◕‿‿◕░▒▓█▇▅▂_ (Steve Shasta), Thursday, July 15, 2010 4:00 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

so do i

chipotle tastes like pretty good mexican food

How come mexican food leads to so many arguments.

re: the expense, I dunno man, I go to divey Mexican places w/prices just as cheap as Chipotle and there's chipotles galore in their stuff.

Most people have eaten Mexican food and formed an opinion. Naturally, these vary. But, because these opinions are founded on personal experience, people are loath to cede ground to anyone else's opinion on the subject.

I think they just decided Chipotle sounded authentic enough to lure in their desired customers, but tasted too "weird" to keep them there?

shitty mexican is really easy to make and everywhere

they have chipotle flavored tabasco sauce on the utensil/soft drink counter, does that count?

Just went there for lunch. Seemed like they dialed back the "Chipotle" seasoning a bit today. Tasty.

anyway yeah this place isn't that bad for chain fast food mexican. main gripe is they are super skimpy with the fillings. (for tacos at least, i never get burritos)

i saw an in-n-out about 50 meters from a mcdonalds and wondered how the mcdonalds could stay in business, but they both seem to do well.
i wonder if a taco bell could get some symbiotic benefit by opening next to a chipotle.

aren't they owned by the same parent company (pepsi iirc?)

Taco Bell next to McDonald's = P!nk "Get The Party Started"
Starbucks next to Chipotle = Cat Power "The Greatest"

nope:

In 1998, McDonald's made an initial minority investment in the company. By 2001, the company had grown to be Chipotle's largest investor.[10] McDonald's' investment allowed the firm to quickly expand, from 16 restaurants in 1998 to over 500 by 2005.[17] On January 26, 2006, Chipotle made its initial public offering (IPO), after increasing the share price twice due to high pre-IPO demand. In its first day as a public company, the stock rose exactly 100%, resulting in the best U.S.-based IPO in six years, and the second-best IPO for a restaurant after Boston Chicken (now Boston Market). The money from the offering was then used to fund new store growth.[14]

In October 2006, McDonald's fully divested from Chipotle.[18] This was part of a larger initiative for McDonald's to divest all of its non-core business restaurants – Chipotle, Donato's Pizza, and Boston Market – so that it could squarely focus on the main McDonald's chain.[19]

Taco Bell's parent co. is Yum Brands

this thread feels kind of ILX retro

bermuda triangle of [chipotle - taco bell - $1 taco truck] would be fantastic. behavioral economist's dream!

i've only ever had the burrito bowl with chicken at chipotle but it's fantastic every time.

"burrito bowl"

i think it's weird that ppl call out chipotle for calories and using lard and stuff just because they have statistics you can see online...how healthy do you think the divey awesome mexican places you like are?

chipotle does a way better than average job of a nat'l chain in getting more responsibly sourced meat...the "real" mexican places i love i guarantee don't give shit abt that kinda stuff

but yeah obv a real awesome mexican place is better but it's not like in a strip mall in the burbs when you need lunch on the fly

haha except in the burbs here in an old Long John Silver's is an really good tacqueria w/like a dozen unique homemade salsas every day, al pastor on the spit, etc...and though it gets a fair amount of business, the Taco Bell across the street is always swamped.

lard really isn't that bad for you. alton brown told me so last night.

i think it's weird that ppl call out chipotle for calories and using lard and stuff just because they have statistics you can see online...how healthy do you think the divey awesome mexican places you like are?

I've often wondered this to myself, sadly. Esp. after the last place I went for Mexican food gave me a side of homemade tortilla chips (= hella fried) floating in enchilada sauce.

Maybe the beef is that hey, if you're gonna use lard and your stuff has tons of calories, it should taste more awesomer.

i think it's weird that ppl call out chipotle for calories and using lard and stuff just because they have statistics you can see online...how healthy do you think the divey awesome mexican places you like are?

I like divey awesome mexican places but this is really otm.

I might be imagining it but didn't old chipotle ads push the idea that they were health food?

Like I posted a year or two ago, they sponsored screenings of Food, Inc. Can't imagine any other national fast-food chain doing so, or having practices, like Chipotle's, that would make it wise for them to do so.

whole foods maybe? their burritos are about the same price.

Whole Foods near me has niice breakfast burritos for $3.99.

I used to get breakfast burritos at Whole Foods but then I found eggshells in em a couple times.

eggshells are so authentic

Feckin' cage-free eggshells, bro.

I really don't like the 'breakfast burrito' concept.

GTFO

breakfast tacos are puro pinche amazing

i don't like burritos but heartily endorse breakfast burritos

http://www.fastandfood.fr/2011/03/05/chipotle-arrive-en-france-a-paris/

sign of end times?

not sure if this is good or bad for my long-term plan to open up a good burrito shop in paris

Moi, j'aime le Chipotle.

on the veggie burritos they give you free guacamole, so I like them

yeah they give me free guac + free fajita peppers and it's a pretty great and filling veg option for $8.50 in nyc

they have opened a bunch of these in la lately which just seems bizarre to me

haha i knew kids in college who used to drive from eagle rock all the way to pasadena to eat at the chipotle there

one of them was from san diego!

*shakes head*

i like chipotle

ban kelstarry

chipotle is not poison or anything, but it's way too expensive for what you get

I sometimes enjoy Chipotle. Last time I went it was really bad. Then a few days later another friend commented to me that he had also had bad Chipotle recently, and I wondered if they've maybe changed their ingredients due to rising costs or something.

omg, you're not supposed to get excited about free guacamole and faj peps on veggie burritos, they owe you that shit!! I pretty much like chipotle but matrix_end_credits.wmv

I always get the fajita peppers on my meat burritos and they give it to me free anyway

their burritos are too big.

"Romney even left behind a $1.75 tip on an $18.25 tab"

Wow, 9.5%. Noblesse oblige, dude.

― a shark with a rippling six pack (Phil D.), Wednesday, October 3, 2012 3:41 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah hate to defend the guy but djp otm, this is precisely how you tip at chipotle.

― balls, Wednesday, October 3, 2012 4:12 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not to derail the debate thread, but this is OTM. Surprised by the folks who wouldn't think to tip, though if I remember right the NYC Chipotles don't have tip jars unlike elsewhere.

I tip on chipotle if I pay with a card and have to fill out a slip, b/c it's an auto-habit with slips

Is the Taco Bell Cantina menu really comparable to Chipotle?

http://www.thereformedbroker.com/2012/10/02/damon-vickers-einhorn-is-wrong-on-chipotle/

wait do you really tip at chipotle?

the chipotles here only sometimes have a tip jar, it's totally a tipping-not-standard place, just a nice gesture

have I mentioned I eat at Chipotle too much and they've started giving me kickbacks, even though I usually pay with a card and don't tip? o_O

The Chipotle near me used to have a tip jar; now it's one of those business card dealies where you can win a free lunch in a drawing or something. I put a tip in there anyway, because why not, dude made my burrito.

xp it seems to be a practice at chipotle for them to give kickbacks. i've heard several such stories.

oh and once a buddy once had his card drawn so 40 of us got free lunch.

wait do you really tip at chipotle?

― barthes simpson, Wednesday, October 3, 2012 2:18 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

40? holy shit

yeah i can't remember what the exact deal was but he rounded up everyone at work who wanted to come and we all got free burritos.

My sense is that the tip jars depend on whether a region or location wants to deal with the tax business of tips. Like, all Starbucks have tip jars, but the Starbucks inside supermarkets don't and, I'm guessing, pay a different wage.

Those aren't Starbucks locations, they're licensed Starbucks kiosks owned by the grocery store so they're paid grocery store wages :(

i never ate here until this year. they're not bad in a pinch

i like chipotle as its own fast food entity separate from authentic mexican food. had a carnitas bowl for lunch recently and with enough hot sauce it was pretty good.

but most things are pretty good when you add hot sauce.

last time i went to one, stereo played "uptown top ranking" followed by Fela, thumbs up.
tipping here seems silly, unless you're gonna tip at every fast food place.

chipotle radio is about 80% the middlebrow stuff I can approve of and 10% awesome and very rarely bad

chipotle is having some kind of free festival in denver this weekend. best coast is playing.

ha the one in chicago had g. love and the special sauce headlining. this was like a month ago, not 18 years ago.

yeah I don't know about these live music events, no endorsement or opinion implied

chipotle is a food and it is good for me

faux chipotle has overtaken the world. it is created by the expedient industrial method of adding "natural smoke flavor" (sic) to inferior but otherwise quite ordinary hot sauce. it is an abomination not to be tolerated.

i presume spazzmatazz speaks here favorably of the traditional product, produced by hanging hot peppers in a smoky place until they are wizened and as dark as roasted coffee beans.

no i think he means bigass burritos

Certainly one may acquire a big ass by eating burritos, but surely there are better ways to reach that goal. Brioche comes to mind.

Juliette?

no i mean like damn

death to false burritos

rice-filled bland bullshit DEATH TO FALSE BURRITOS late great otm

A 13" tortilla is almost five times larger than a normal-size 6" one (28 vs 132 inches squared, roughly). Of course it's gonna have a ton more calories. You don't need lard to explain this.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/fa48b95a8c37fc0becf0df4ce161470c/tumblr_mpu3f4XGCz1sohnyoo1_500.png

hehe

i like chipotle.

Treeship do you have an opinion about everything

ouch

Sorry man I went through the same posting phase too

i have a lot of free time right now so i guess i am spending a bunch of time here.

while i'm here though i should add that i have an opinion on thom yorke's ponytail and it's unfavorable.

xpif so, Treeship has that in common with me, and many others. We are the opinion leaders of this fair earth. We sow them freely and reap the rewards.

tbf, having lots of opinions is pretty rewarding on ilx. sometimes people get irrationally angry at you and then you get to feel the thrill of defensive self-righteousness and other times they say "otm".

I have warmed to Chipotle quite a bit. I like the bowls and sometimes get double chicken. Also, I found they're not stingy with salsa - all you have to do is ask.

Weird thing to read because they played "Karma Police" for a good year or more.

it seems like for a moment there they lost themselves

Chipotle

chipodle

Thom says "you've got to TAME the chipotle" with that ponytail

And chipotle is the worst unless you get queso and then it's the best. But if you put queso on a napkin I would roll it up and eat it happily. Yet we all know this queso'd existence is not sustainable.

Anyone had their weird looking tofu gunk yet? Sofritas?

i miss chipotal. i do not miss the fucked up chairs.

I ended up eating at one a couple nights ago... I think playing Radiohead in there should be mandatory

chipotle is mandatory

this thread title sucks. how can you not like chipotle? how the hell was it around in 2004 and i didn't know? maybe it wasn't in massachusetts back then. haven't been in a while tho

chipotle has the best mexican food in manhattan

has anyone had chipotle's nachos

chipotle has the best mexican food in manhattan

― J0rdan S., Wednesday, July 17, 2013 12:31 PM (10 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is pretty crazy. hecho en dumbo, pinche, tacombi, tehiutzingo, and probably a lot of the more authentic places in harlem are all better.

what about dos torros? seems similar to chipotle.

Banning Radiohead in public places... here's hoping others follow and it becomes a trend!

You haven't had a burrito until you've sat where Jim Rome sat at Free Birds

<3 chipotle forever

free birds is good

i find it hard to believe there isn't one good mexican place in manhattan

chipotle is pretty great.... the other mexican places i've been in manhattan -- right now i can just think of this really overpriced one in greenwich village, on mcdougal street i think -- and it is better than that.

Chipotle is appalling, and I say this as a guy who's basically in favor of chain restaurants. To be fair it's better than Qdoba if those are your choices. But a typical randomly chosen Tex-Mex place in a suburban strip mall is going to give you a better meal than Chipotle.

For one thing, I think rice has no place in a burrito. I know people differ on this important point. But if I were going to eat a burrito with rice in it I'd still bet it would be better at the strip mall.

wtf no way

As for New York City, I don't even live there and I know Rocking Horse Cafe is way better than Chipotle. I'm sure there are lots of other places, too.

there are two mexican places in gettysburg, pennsylvania that are better than chipotle: titos' mexican restaurant and store and el costeno. this in mind, i'm sure there are plenty in nyc that are better than chipotle.

still, for a chain restaurant, chipotle is great.

every time I've eaten there the rice is halfway done and I always end up with at least 1 uncooked bean that I almost break my tooth on. and it's just not really that good

chipotle is perfectly adequate which makes it 10x better than most chain restaurants

Chipotle needs to learn how to marinade meats

Hot rice in a tortilla. Qdoba is better. Qdoba has the queso. It's all coming back to me now

still, for a chain restaurant, chipotle is great.

I will concede that chipotle is the best fast-casual or fast-food Mexican-styled place, but that's because I can only think of Chipotle, Qdoba, Taco John's, and Taco Bell in that category. OK, looking it up, I see Baja Fresh, Moe's, Panchero's, etc., which I haven't tried. It seems perfectly possible that Chipotle is the best of these but so what? It's still depressing. The last time I was there, with a big family group, I got a bowl instead of a burrito and it was like staring down into a goopy cauldron of sadness, flecked with cilantro.

America needs a fast casual torta chain. Why isn't there one?

otm re: no rice in a burrito. reminds me of the fake SNL commercial where they keep wrapping different foodstuffs around one another til it's a monstrosity.

I think Rick Bayless has eyes on expanding Tortas Frontera

the tortilla diapers they serve at Qdoba have no place even being mentioned on the same thread a Chipotle

there's a new chain called Rusty Taco that's expanding that's not too bad

qdoba and chipotle are incredibly similar institutions

otm re: no rice in a burrito. reminds me of the fake SNL commercial where they keep wrapping different foodstuffs around one another til it's a monstrosity.

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, July 17, 2013 7:05 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

uhhh or its a totally traditional regional variation STFU

yes in the scheme of like, the universe, they are more similar to each other than, say, qdoba is to a chinese restaruant or w/e but qdoba is fucking HORRIBLE and chipotle is totally decent

had this there a couple months ago and it's fucking vile

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CDAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.qdoba.com%2Fmenu-nutrition%2Fancho-chile-bbq-burrito-menu-nutrition&ei=LezmUdGoIqfRywHoxYCwDw&usg=AFQjCNHEc7DvFmuttPbaAxhYNCUGgw3ogQ&sig2=syHfMKeYoaWgcWBuIq6utA&bvm=bv.49405654,d.aWc

I feel like there should probably be a freakonomics type name for this phenomenon, but I always find with chipotle-style food places (where you choose all the ingredients and toppings), you wind up with a disgusting, clashing mess of a meal and its your OWN FAULT. Because you take already heavily-flavored meat and then add flavored beans AND three different kinds of salsa AND corn AND sour cream AND cheese AND guacamole because fuck it it's all free and why wouldn't you take it.

granny dainger is from suburban michigan I think he gets to be the authority on authentic mexican food

QDOBA often has this weird herby (rosemary?) taste that doesn't go well with tex mex food.

Chipotle does not serve heavily flavored meats

the worst of any of these places is local boston chain BOLOCO. there is some taste in all of their food that i can't identify that is disgusting

Anyone put BBQ sauce on a burrito?

well idk, somehow I always wind up with too many different flavors fighting it out. It's also just super salty.

There's a place in midtown manhattan that I think is a chain called Oaxaca that does a slightly better version of Chipotle. But it still has the too-many-tastes problem and is too salty.

haha, regional variant idk. denver gave you chipotle, but you really need the mexican hamburgers from chubbys

I knew someone who called "a burrito" wherever it was made "a chipotle"

I think Rick Bayless has eyes on expanding Tortas Frontera

If this is actually true it's the most important fact in this entire thread. Tortas Frontera crushes Chipotle like a grape.

I knew someone who called "a burrito" wherever it was made "a chipotle"

i assume you say "knew" rather than "know" because you have killed this person

Chipotle does have terrible chairs.

Rick Bayless is opening another restaurant in Chicago and he's expanding into LA.

Did not like that dude's restaurant

there's a chipotle in berkeley that has patron margaritas for $6.50, which is a better deal than almost any other place near here

bayless makes these premade Frontera sauces they sell at grocery stores and they are really fucking great

69 I am, as always, very happy to see you on ilx, however chipotle stanning from someone from SF is absolutely horrifying to me!

I mean, what next? "7-11 has good coffee" wtff

"Central Florida has an awesome gay scene"

"So many great bands from Lancaster, PA"

have you checked yelp, reviews are solid

"So many great bands from Lancaster, PA"

I had a whole thing ready to go about how Live was the Chipotle of grunge but it turns out they are actually from York

Also, if you're getting burritos in Berkeley, Picante is way better. Their Patron margarita is $8.50 but on the other hand you can get Mexican coke there.

isn't chipotle secretly from sf or something guy was working in sf and liked the tacquerias? so the correct lame grunge band will have to cut its teeth in seattle before going to pa. if that's live, then well, sometimes youre just fucked, sorry chipotle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_burrito

it's not mexican or tex-mex you knobs, it's a regional variation native to san francisco.

I don't really consider Chipotle as "mexican food" per se. Also, their chicken/steak are typically grilled much better than the other burrito chains (at least here) and the seasoned meats are actually cooked and packaged sous vide-style for consistency and to cut down on kitchen work

I want to check out that experimental NYC Chipotle some day.

Also, it's one of the few fast-casual chains with beer and their margaritas (lol) are actually decent

granny dainger is from suburban michigan I think he gets to be the authority on authentic mexican food

from Chicago and live in Arizona, you know it all jag.
not saying anything about what is authentic, rice in a burrito is just dumb and doesn't work for me.

Chipotle is from Colorado originally, not California, though.

then don't fucking go to chipotle or just get like the tacos or a salad you knob, Granny

apparently you can get a burrito bowl at chipotle and ask for tortilla on the side and by some magic you get 30% more food at the same price or something.

that's what I do. fucking hell sorry I voiced on opinion on an internet message board, loosen the fuck up.

I hope they put rice in your tacos

rice in your salad

no worries, acting all defensive about chipotle is part of my ilx "persona"

did you think i was just going to Chipotle all the time and ordering a burrito anyway and being all "fuck if there was only a way to avoid this!!!"

I love rice in burritos. I blame early exposure to Taco Bell seven-layer burritos.

new york's just more of a taco town really

yeah rice in burritos is great. it's mealier.

so i'm asking, do any sf tacquerias do rice in burritos, because ellis claims sf as the origin story, he was a chef at stars according to chipotle inc website.

they almost all do. except la taqueria I think

man I ate a burrito there at least once a week I miss it so much

you wind up with a disgusting, clashing mess of a meal and its your OWN FAULT. Because you take already heavily-flavored meat and then add flavored beans AND three different kinds of salsa AND corn AND sour cream AND cheese AND guacamole because fuck it it's all free and why wouldn't you take it.

Always felt this way about "mongolian" places, where you point to a bunch of random ingredients and some barely-trained cook heats it all up, whammo here's your meal. I guess that's good for control freaks. Big part of why I'd eat out instead of at home is to have someone who knows what they're doing being the guiding force behind the flavor/texture combos.

http://www.westword.com/2012-04-05/restaurants/denver-greatest-mexican-food-united-states/

i don't think chubbys is really representative of what i get in colorado, but he's right about the smothering thing. i didn't even realize that was a colorado thing.

smothering=red or green salsa on a tamale?

oh I loathe places that want to have you, the customer, figure out what goes in your meal
xpost

xp the article actually describes it pretty well. green salsa (often looking quite red), over everything. check out the smothered gorditas at el manuel in denver. friends swear by the buche, i stick with the non offal.

so i'm asking, do any sf tacquerias do rice in burritos, because ellis claims sf as the origin story, he was a chef at stars according to chipotle inc website.

― a hand, palming an ilx face forever (Hunt3r), Wednesday, July 17, 2013 3:16 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_burrito
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_burrito
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_burrito

*resumes listening to live*

ah ok I didn't know if it was just for tamales or in general. Haven't had much Mexican in CO but the regional thing there I noticed was a slathering of guac as standard on tacos.

guys, it's green chili, not green salsa, that you pour over everything in Colorado/New Mexico, gah.

don't blame us, we're all from suburban Michigan

no rice burritos at farmer jack?

Always felt this way about "mongolian" places, where you point to a bunch of random ingredients and some barely-trained cook heats it all up, whammo here's your meal. I guess that's good for control freaks. Big part of why I'd eat out instead of at home is to have someone who knows what they're doing being the guiding force behind the flavor/texture combos.

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Wednesday, July 17, 2013 4:19 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I just had some Chipotle just now and I tried to be restrained but it was the same problem -- I always wind up with this excessively 'zingy' taste that's like super acidic and kind of vinegary.

you should learn to embrace it. in ten years there won't be any other restaurants.

Ha, yeah I didn't mean to write green salsa for smothering. It's green chile. On everything. Way xp

i do like chipotle, but the celebration of chipotle is weird to me. it's damn good fast food, but no more than that. in the seattle area (of all places), there are quite a few mexican restaurants and even taco trucks that serve better, more interesting food. some are dirt cheap and some gentrified; some are traditional and some not. relative to chipotle, the food provided by these places generally isn't as massive in portion, as industrially consistent, or as expertly engineered for maximum public appeal, but those qualities aren't terribly important to me.

but to be fair, i can't think of a better national fast food chain. five guys is in the ballpark, though very different.

yeah I guess I take it for granted and I'm ultimately glad it exists and that I didn't have to eat mcdonalds or diner food for dinner.

i like chipotle, but occasionally i have a meal so salty that i just can't imagine what's up. from 96 to 2000 I probably ate it once a week, now once a quarter maybe.

I ate at qdoba every day during a relatively dark period last summer and lost something like ten pounds

you should see if you can get an ad campaign based around you

and that I didn't have to eat mcdonalds or diner food for dinner.

see in my world the only reason ever to eat fast food is that there's no diner around

For one thing, I think rice has no place in a burrito. I know people differ on this important point. But if I were going to eat a burrito with rice in it I'd still bet it would be better at the strip mall.

― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, July 17, 2013 2:50 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark

Just order your burrite without rice, Jesus

When I worked near Grand Central I got a Oaxaca burrito abt once a week and always with brisket bc it was the saltiest.

Also with red beans and brown rice, so suck it, haters.

Chipotle should introduce a half burrite option. I never eat there because it's just too much food for lunch

it comes in a foil wrapper. you can save some for later.

or you can get tacos. you can get less than 3. they will even put rice in tacos.

The tacos are a good idea except they cost as much as the burrites and my chinese side simply won't let me pay the same amount of money for less food

I physically fall to the floor in convulsions as I hand my credit card over

i guess they are, but in practice if you get them loaded up you can still be like, damn, that's a lot of tacos

I think the main problem with Chipotle is my 'feeling of fullness' sensation seems to have slowed down so I tend to chug down these huge burritos and then feel like Violet Beauregarde 30 mins later.

But the point is I want less food for less money xp

dayo have u considered taco bell, u can get like 6 bean buritos and fuse them together for ultimate 'rrito experience, same price as a 'pote

There are like 2 taco bells in manhattan

theres not even that high a risk of dying if u think abt it. like 4% mortality rate is not a big deal, 96 times out 100 you finish those burritos and regale your best internet buds about the time u looked death square in the face and said....fresco style

2 taco bells x 6 burritos = 12 manhattan projects

Taco Bell has that 99 cent spicy potato wrap thing that looks good. Cheap veggie meal on the run

Oh wait it has bacon in it

Get a crunchwrap. Eat it on your fixie cuz ur good 2 go

Chipotle near my work has an interesting playlist. I have heard The Slits' version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" on two occasions. Kinda odd for a corporate franchise, or has post-punk entered the coffeeshop classic realm now?

that article says taht all chipotles have the same playlists

au bon pain would play the style council and echo & the bunnymen, not quite as cool as the slits tho

http://www.westword.com/2013-07-11/dining/chipotle-music-christopher-golub/

was this posted? radiohead not banned?

I keep trying to cram all the syllables of this thread title into the song "Ska Sucks."

Chipotle sucks.
You don't put rice in a burrito you stupid fucks.
McDonalds owns this chain and is only in it for the bucks.
And if you don't believe it you're a schmuck.
If you like really salty meat then you're in luck.

I love you Carl agatha

Pretty sure I've never eaten at Chipotle, but really wouldn't want a burrito w/out rice.

you should go to chipotle. become a part of the critical conversation.

sub poutine for rice and you can go two days on one burrito, beating Taco Bell value

one burrito from chipotle is enough food for one day, i think. if you wake up really late and eat at 4pm or so.

there were some burrito maximization tricks going around where you are supposed to ask for one ingredient and they take a scoop size big enough to fill the burrito then as soon as that is deposited you go "ooh wait could I have this too?" and now you have a bursting burrito

one weird trick just to relax with

i've found a well-placed wink and smile can yield you extra guac no charge

I don't like guac in a burrito, but I often wink them into free fajita peppers

If pickup artist and burrito maximization communities merge...

my favorite fast food, making no claims for healthiness, quality or basic edibility = fish burrito from taco del mar (depressing surfer-themed seattle chain of "mission-style" burrito joints):

fishsticks
cabbage
cheese sprinkle
beans
rice
salsa
"white sauce" (thin, lime-flavor mayo)
jalapenos, sour cream, guac, etc. if you want

supposed to have rice, but i always made them take it out. point being that sad non-mexican fake burrito can be pretty damn good without rice.

I don't know about Chipotle, but at Qdoba (there is one of those a few blocks from my house so I tend to patronize that more than Chipotle and honestly they are pretty interchangeable for me, not to be all challopsy) if you get a vegetarian burrito and decline the fajita vegetables, the guacamole is free.

If pickup artist and burrito maximization communities merge...

neg your burrito artist = get extra guac

Mcdonalds doesnt own Chipotle.

They used to. now it is just propagandhi

i don't think "negging" works with food service workers.

what does work is "peacocking." i never go into chipotle without a feathered boa.

I just need to say -- combining guac with salsa (let alone multiple salsas) and cheese and sour cream is fucking gross. Guac is supposed to be its own self-contained thing. It already has all the flavors it needs. It's like those people who put ketchup on their pizza imo.

tell that to this delicious acre of nachos

rice guac prawn rocket and ketchup burrito ftw

Damn it, now I want a burrito. Grilled chicken, roasted green chile, rice, beans, onions, jack cheese, thx.

rice guac prawn rocket and ketchup burrito ftw

would eat

yes, without the ketchup i would too.

my chipotle is chicken/black/white rice/.5 hot .5 pico/no sc/no cheese/+ lettuce. if i feel i want more starch i'll sub corn salsa for pico.

McD's never owned more than 60% of Chipotle, but they made a killing

McDonald's invested approximately $360 million into Chipotle, and took out $1.5 billion

i will definitely be "hitting up" chipotle later today.

see u there treeship

I just need to say -- combining guac with salsa (let alone multiple salsas) and cheese and sour cream is fucking gross. Guac is supposed to be its own self-contained thing. It already has all the flavors it needs. It's like those people who put ketchup on their pizza imo.

― Cap'n Conserv-a-pedia (Hurting 2), Thursday, July 18, 2013 11:40 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark

guac and salsa are natural bedfellows.

lots of "insane" opinions offered on this thread

I don't understand the hating rice in a burrito thing, but being from SF that's all i ever have. that said, chipotle is too much rice. it was fine the 3 times I ever had it but it's not like I seek it out. The lines for the place in downtown SF at lunctime are epic though. that says more about the dearth of good burrito places in downtown SF than anything else, I hope

guac and salsa are natural bedfellows.

― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Thursday, July 18, 2013 10:56 AM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hungry4Guac&Salsa

guac and pico are the business

i bet you could sell a shitload of deep-fried guac-stuffed cheese balls

popamole or something

probably. but is that what i want to be remembered for?

http://images.thecarconnection.com/med/guy-fieri_100343369_m.jpg

Wow his hair is so ridiculous.

#frosted

I mean, I have enthusiastically participated in threads dedicated entirely to how ridiculous Guy Fieri is but for some reason that picture really showcases the fundamental badness of his hair.

i also have an aversion to that photo

I ate at qdoba every day during a relatively dark period last summer and lost something like ten pounds

― Treeship, Wednesday, July 17, 2013 9:18 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm imaging a bearded, shirtless treeship locked in a dark hotel room in east hollywood the camera pans over a room of Qdoba bags and wrappers to our protagonist sprawled out in bed, cigarette in one hand, burrito in the other as "The End" by the Doors plays

I got to work way late, do I eat food at my desk or go to chipotle

what does the first part have to do with the second

are you trying to make up for being a bad worker by taking a short lunch?

do you write preparatory material for the SAT critical reading section?

Chapter 1: Making Inferences

can you just quit ilx please

you are a worthless poster and human being

what the fuck

i wasn't trying to antagonize you, really. the phrasing of those two questions reminded me of SAT prep books. my job right now is to tutor kids for the SATs.

damn :(

w the f

i've found a well-placed wink and smile can yield you extra guac no charge

― Treeship, Thursday, July 18, 2013 8:15 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I don't like guac in a burrito, but I often wink them into free fajita peppers

― Cap'n Conserv-a-pedia (Hurting 2), Thursday, July 18, 2013 8:17 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

when I worked at Dairy Queen, people would frequently try to get free nuts, etc. but you can get fired for giving out free nuts. and I was saving up for a ridiculous guitar amplifier. one customer, having been denied free nuts by me, asked in a very upset tone, "are you going to do whatever the man tells you to do for your entire life?" nuts costs maybe 35 cents?

iatee morelike iateall the crabby pills this morning!

sorry I thought you were making a dumb zing out of nowhere xps

i mean, i sort of was i guess.

predictably, chipotle is tearing us apart

69 I am, as always, very happy to see you on ilx, however chipotle stanning from someone from SF is absolutely horrifying to me!

― quincie, Wednesday, July 17, 2013 7:52 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

eyo Q love u girl!

but a) we moved to oakland and it is way better than SF and b) I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW IT IS INCONSISTENT/HORRIFYING TO LIKE HAUTE/"AUTHENTIC"/FAST/CHEAP/OUT-OF-CONTROL FOOD ON THE RESPECTIVE MERITS OF EACH! taco bell rules, chipotle rules, taqueria sinaloa rules, taqueria can-cun rules, el metate rules. los cantaros SUCKS. qdoba SUCKS. BURRITO BROTHERS SUCKS. CACTUS CANTINA SUCKS. this is a merit-based tacoocracy.

sufjan - did you ever get senior citizen sundae scam? my first job was at Dairy Queen and we all laughed about it...

so a senior citizen comes up and says, "I think I'll have a small cone" and you say, "OK sir"

as you start to grab a cone, he says, "You know could you just make that in a dish for me, I don't need the cone"

so you say, "OK" and start making a cone in a dish instead

then he says, "Say while you're at it could you just put a little squirt of chocolate on that" and you say, "Oh sure" and throw a little chocolate on it

then he pays for a small cone and walks away and says "Thanks" and then suddenly you have a Usual Suspects orca fat skokie indiana drop the coffee cup moment where you realize this oldster just scammed you into making him a chocolate sundae for the price of a small cone....

you have to pay for nuts at DQ? 35cents for .5oz of shitty peanuts is outrageous, fuck this country!

My beef with Chipotle is that it has a very signature scent, the way that Subway has a very signature scent. Unlike the Subway scent, the Chipotle scent is not objectively horrible; the fact that all branches smell exactly the same, however, is somehow offputting to me.

Also the Chipotle scent exceeds the boundaries of the building and also clings to clothes/hair/car interior for hours.

ack i misread that as "cat interior"

I was scammed in every possible way at DQ. Especially by old people! One guy asked for change for a $100. I gave him 5 $20s. "You only gave me 4 $20s." eventually got the manager involved. I swore on my life that I set the 5 20s out in front of him for all to see. manager buckled and gave him 20 more, and we were 20 short that night

can you just quit ilx please

― iatee, Thursday, July 18, 2013 1:04 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you are a worthless poster and human being

― iatee, Thursday, July 18, 2013 1:05 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark

He's a better poster, and person, than you. Everything about you is trash, especially your vapid poll threads. If God is real and just, you'll fall down a manhole and break your legs and be eaten alive by sewer rats as you helplessly gurgle in pain

people who value chipotle over qdoba need to get queso. after you get queso, you'll devote a wing of your house to queso retention. you will dive into the queso and swim in it like scrooge mcduck.

I used to work at a clothing design studio/retail outlet that was in the same building as and right next to a Subway and the whole store and all of my clothes and every day at work smelled like Subway.

my beef is where's the beef? I only get tacos so I assume it's the same amount of meat for 3 tacos as 1 burrito? each of the 3 tacos has a piddly amount of meat in it, to where you could wrap the tortilla around it like 3 times. oh and they never have cilantro out, it's an afterthought. and the place is named Chipotle but chipotle isn't used in anything.

are you trying to make up for being a bad worker by taking a short lunch?

― iatee, Thursday, July 18, 2013 12:00 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well, yeah

He's a better poster, and person, than you. Everything about you is trash, especially your vapid poll threads. If God is real and just, you'll fall down a manhole and break your legs and be eaten alive by sewer rats as you helplessly gurgle in pain

tbh all I know about you is you are in film school and live with your dad so

can there be a thread where Hungry4Ass and iatee beef, this is entertaining stuff

it could be chipotle's barbacoa-style beef

GD will take the beef on his tacos. He wants it.

What kind of guitar amp was it?

glad to know it wasn't just MN senior citizens that were DQ grifters

soft serve is old people's preciousssssssss

lol ums. Xpost it was a vox valvetronix 120. I was not very gear wise in high school.

weird, I didn't even know that chipotle was a thing. I always thought of it as mcdonalds failed expansion into mexican food.

Man, where on earth has chipotle failed?

I guess it hasn't, I just didn't realize how popular it was. I tried it once and didn't like it and it's never stood out from all of the other chains in L.A. to me.

tbh all I know about you is you are in film school and live with your dad so

― iatee, Thursday, July 18, 2013 1:37 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

is this true abt h4a can jaymc verify pls

Chipotle was massively popular when I lived in San Diego, despite there being so many other/better options for fast Mexican. But I can totally see how it's somewhat ignorable in that environment. But what that does remind me of is the JBX Grill, where Jack In The Box tried to ride the Chipotle train by incorporating fast casual design elements and totally failed.

http://www.boj.com/articles/images/jbx1.jpg

I could see LA being the one place where it does fail. The one by my office is always packed though, and one opened by where I live (Queens) and it's always jammed too.

really there's one in forest hills now? I feel like this could be like a krispy kreme type bubble

jbx grill is blowing my mind right now

like the time I had my first jack-in-the-box taco and discovered a melted kraft single on the inside

"can they still call it a taco, Jim? can they really do that?"

Chipotle was massively popular when I lived in San Diego, despite there being so many other/better options for fast Mexican.

that is weird. if i lived in san diego, i would only ever eat 'bertos.

there's a chipolte in the queens center mall, in the same space that had a Qdoba for a couple of months before it went out of business, and the chipotle seems pretty popular

if I lived in the diego, I'd bounce burritos off of shamu's tail and into my mouth

I am currently at a chipotle

really there's one in forest hills now? I feel like this could be like a krispy kreme type bubble

― iatee, Thursday, July 18, 2013 2:52 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I would say not -- Austin Street is pretty heavily trafficked, and it's pretty lacking in legitimately good options.

posting to ilx chipotle thread from actual chipotle? cross it off the bucket list!

Chipotle is probably popular in LA too, but I just never noticed. I haven't worked in an office in a long time. And it's kind of low-key design doesn't really stand out on the street in the same way as a place like Baja Fresh I guess.

This thread made me oddly hungry for a burrito so I just made myself one with shrimp, cilantro & lime. It was good.

the fact that baja fresh exists / continues to do business in california is more of a mystery than chipotle

otm

baja fresh occupies a very unpleasant space somewhere between chipotle and taco bell

it'd be like treeship going to a baja fresh and posting in the rim jobs thread, "I'm actually at a baja fresh right now"

there was a brief period where I thought baja fresh was pretty good. I can't figure out if it went downhill or I just realized it wasn't very good.

5 guys bubble seems to have popped. two opened up near me and closed within a year. good riddance.

My burrito collapsed. Way too much salsa.

Whats the name of that LA chain that specializes in fish tacos?

Five Guys and Krispy Kreme both just seem like the kind of thing you can only eat once in a while, whereas chipotle is kind of a go-to, not-that-bad office lunch or dinner option for me. A lot of people around here seem to feel the same.

Hmm, I only ate at chipotle once maybe 10 years ago but it seemed very similar to baja fresh but not as good.

Whats the name of that LA chain that specializes in fish tacos?

Wahoos? Rubios?

wahoos

Rubios i think. I liked that place when i went there in 08

unwrapping foil in 3-2-1...

whereas chipotle is kind of a go-to, not-that-bad office lunch or dinner option for me.

I agree with this. It's an amazing luxury if you're on a road trip and your other options are Subway and Taco Bell and McDonalds and Dennys.

if I lived in the diego, I'd bounce burritos off of shamu's tail and into my mouth

This is beautiful.

I mean Chipotle definitely gets points for the "no radiohead" rule but if I'm eating at some shitty "fresh mex" chain I really need to hear some norteño or something.

I don't normally eat a burrito, but when I do I eat one in ...Iowa. Recommend this place if you're ever on a road trip on I80: http://www.banditburrito.com/

Hmm, I only ate at chipotle once maybe 10 years ago but it seemed very similar to baja fresh but not as good.

― wk, Thursday, July 18, 2013 3:12 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I remember (this was like 7 years ago) that I would look forward to stopping at baja fresh when I had to drive certain routes for work. It was fresh-grilled and not sitting in a steam tray, and the taste seemed closer to what you'd get in a decent tex-mex place, not the fukushima of flavor that is the typical chipotle meal. The last time I went, maybe a year ago, it just seemed bad.

I work like a mile from bandit x-post

it's a spin-off restaurant from fighting burrito, which originated in ames, but also has a downtown des moines location now

http://www.pbh2.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/dog-scarfs-burrito.gif

that was good

hit bandit and then dessert at that quaint ice cream shop across the street amirite?

Actually the best faux-mex chain food I've had is probably Burrito Brothers in DC. Is that in other states too?

There's now a Jimmy John's next door to Bandit. Shortly after it opened, Jimmy John visited and ate at Bandit.

I eat at Chipotle not because it is flawless, but because it is the lesser of various evils. I guess people already said McDonald's never owned it, and no longer has any shares.

I eat there because their meats are 'more' 'organic' and do not contain added hormones like many other (fast) food places. Sometimes I'll eat at Whole Foods, but even with them, it depends what you get.

I think the only real criticism that can be said, instead of the "I don't go/like Chipotle because people who go there have rice with their burritos, is that their food does have a lot of sodium. However, you'd be surprised at how much sodium a lot of your non-homemade food has.

I do believe their tasty add-ons (though I only get the mild tomato-and-onion and guac) should have considerably less sodium.

When I go there, people always say, "It's not even Mexican!" And I say, "Who says I go there because it's (authentic) Mexican food?" The people who usually criticise Chipotle for not being real Mexican food are often out of shape people who think authentic Mexican food should be drowned in lard, fat or oil, all in the name of "tasty food".

I guess they're also disgusted at the fact that I eat veggies steamed and greens with little to no dressing.

chipotle is the most american restaurant, really