Doth quoth the DaveM

Chipotle

Wednesday Jan 10, 2007

I had another hill workout near La Frontera, so I was again tempted to try Wingstop. I was waffling about whether to get wings or soemthing else. I walked into Wingstop, and there was a line ahead of me to order, so I walked out and walked a couple of doors down to Chipotle. I'd never tried Chipotle, but had been told it was along the lines of Freebirds World Burrito so I thought I'd check it out.

I was impressed in that the menu was fairly simple and the service was fast. I probably spent all of about 60 seconds in line while they built my fajita burrito and took my money. Also, the charge was $6.06 with tax, not bad for what looked to be a big burrito. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended.

I took my burrito home and started to eat. First off, the only tortillas Chipotle appeared to use were flour tortillas. Freebirds offers flour, wheat, spinach, and cayenne. Size wise I think that the Chipotle fajita burrito was a bit larger than a Freebirds regular, but not as big as a Freebirds monster. The other problem I had with the Chipotle fajita burrito was the feeling I was eating a spring roll rather than a burrito. I think it had to do with the white rice, which Chipotle calls "cilantro-lime rice" on their menu, and the tortilla had a kind of sticky feel to it. Oh, and according to the menu I should have been offered pinto beans or black beans, but I don't recall anyone asking.

So, while my experience started out well, I'm not very tempted to go back. The burrito just didn't do that much for me, especially when I can get something so much better at Freebirds.

[3] Comments
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Posted at 03:28PM Jan 10, 2007 by DaveM in Life
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Chipotle is cool, but you do get what you ask for, but if you are quiet and don't tell them exactly what you want, you get what the guy behind the counter makes for you. So tell them what you want exactly and you will be happier.

Posted by James Dickens on January 11, 2007 at 12:26 PM CST #

Yeah, I suppose, but I think they ought to ask the question "Have you been here before?" and if not, guide you through the process. Seems like their current method is going to lose customers like me who have a bad first experience.

Posted by Dave on January 11, 2007 at 01:57 PM CST #

A fajita burrito doesn't come with beans, it comes with fajita vegetables instead. A burrito (no fajita) comes with the beans. However, if you want beans on your fajita, just ask, it is free. Also, if you want a HUGE burrito, you can do so with no upcharge. What I mean is that you can have as much of anything (except meat and guacamole) for no extra charge. Of course, you have to be reasonable and can't ask for like two pounds of cheese. As for lack of tortilla choices, Chipotle' s mantra is "Simplicity." I think that they consider flavored tortillas a "crutch" for other burrito places. Chipotle (for most folks) doesn't need gimmick tortillas.

Posted by Mark on January 17, 2007 at 02:20 PM CST #

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