Any thoughts on Chipotle Grill?

Yes, when I've been out and about doing errands and there is no roadfood in sight...I've weighed the choices...Panda Express, McD's. BK, KFC etc, etc...I confess, I've had the carnitas "bol" and guac. at Chipotle...and not regretted it after eating it. Anyone else care to fess up? It being Lent and all...

http://www.chipotle.com/

Neat web site too.

My husband thinks this place is the holy grail... it didn't do anything for me.. and frankly if I'm gonna have a day's worth of calories in one meal, I'll pick breakfast..

Ozzy Osbourne kept eating them on that mtv show, they looked really good. I see there are actually 2 in Rochester, MN which I'm close to. I'll give it a try. Very cool web site.

There have been other threads on this place and I think all of the regulars have expounded on it ad nausseam. But since it's BA-A-A-ACK, I'll admit I don't understand the place. There's one in the San Francisco financial district that's generally packed at lunch time. But it seems to me that the food is just a pale corporate copy of what's available in any number of independent taquerias all over town and especially in the Mission District (which addmittedly may be too far for an office worker to go for lunch). I have never tried it myself (and I indulge in a burrito fairly often--but from one of the independents), but it's owned by McDonald's for gosh sakes.

McDonald's for gosh sakes

Hard to beat #4 supersized with a diet coke. I go for what tastes good. See my bbq post tonight.

quote:

Originally posted by Theedge

McDonald's for gosh sakes

Hard to beat #4 supersized with a diet coke. I go for what tastes good. See my bbq post tonight.

If tasting good is the criterion, of the options you mentioned, I'd personally take Panda Express every time.

Chipotle - hands down... and that's coming from a woman who's 1/2 mex! thier barbacoa, guac and salsas are all great especially for fast food. everything has always been great for me and the one time they made a mistake i got treated extremely well and given several free burrito coupons to boot! of course that was prior to the buy out from MD's... a huge meal for under $6, even for fast food - is great around here... we have a lot of mex fast food here and they are the only ones i frequent.. don't care for panchero's, baja tortilla, taco bell and the like even close to as much as chipotle...

quote:

Originally posted by scarletfire

Chipotle - hands down... and that's coming from a woman who's 1/2 mex! thier barbacoa, guac and salsas are all great especially for fast food. everything has always been great for me and the one time they made a mistake i got treated extremely well and given several free burrito coupons to boot! of course that was prior to the buy out from MD's... a huge meal for under $6, even for fast food - is great around here... we have a lot of mex fast food here and they are the only ones i frequent.. don't care for panchero's, baja tortilla, taco bell and the like even close to as much as chipotle...

No Chipolte's around here that I've seen or heard of... Thats OK... My hole in the wall place (Cantina) couldnt be replaced with anything in my book! Though we have several local privately owned local, and local chains, nationwide chains still seem to thrive here...

"Chipotle" seems to be the latest food fad. Everything is "chipotle" this and that.
I'll pass on "Chipotle Grill,". . . but keep grinding chipotles every time I make enchilada sauce.
Will next year give us "Ancho Grill" and twelve brands of "Ancho" sauce and salsa?

aaaahhh - lol!! i have to say, i completely agree wit ya SHill... however, the name has nothing to do with thier food... no chipotle specialty or anything. i mean, the topic of if you 'have to' - this place, if you're in the mood for fresh made and fast mex, is the place i would choose in my upped midwest local.. i would even say they are better than Chevy's or Don Pablo for their burritos and tacos.. PLUS - they serve cervesa!!! (sp?) - lol! is probably is a fad, however, i would prefer that style food to stay the fad, vs, say - taco bell or john's etc.. no?

quote:

Originally posted by twodales

Yes, when I've been out and about doing errands and there is no roadfood in sight...I've weighed the choices...Panda Express, McD's. BK, KFC etc, etc...I confess, I've had the carnitas "bol" and guac. at Chipotle...and not regretted it after eating it. Anyone else care to fess up? It being Lent and all...

I'm generally anti-huge corporate chains myself. The food quality, service and value rarely come close to matching up with a "real" restaurant, but Wendy's and Chipotle are two chains I'll choose if I need to eat quickly and cheaply. The barbacoa with guac and their tomatillo salsa is remarkably good for something coming from McDonald's! Unfortunately, there are no Chipotle in Pittsburgh yet (that I know of) so I haven't had the pleasure since moving from Columbus last May.

Baja Fresh (owned by Wendy's) is also far better than the average fast food place.

I like the barbacoa bol at Chipotle, everything is fresh, you pick what goes in and they make it right in front of you. For an area that has a pretty high Mexican population, you would think we could do better, but I have tried many of the mom and pop Mexican here and have not found too many that are any good.

I only recently tried Chipotle's, and thought it was decent for a chain. We're not lucky enough to have oodles of taquerias and Mission burrito places here, and IMO, it's a nice bet for fast food when I'm not in the mood for a burger. I just don't mistake it for authentic Mexican food. :)

Caveat: the atmosphere seems a tad obnoxious, at least at ours. The music is so loud that you have to yell, and the dining room is noisy, too. Both times I've been there, we took our food to go. So far, I've only had the barbacoa, and I forget what salsa I chose...it was a medium heat level. I'm no chilehead, but my tolerance is pretty good and I liked the heat level. The hottest salsa has a kick to it, too.

Oh people...please. It's really unfortunate that so many of you live in areas where you are forced to be left with the impression that places like Chipotle Grill and Baja Fresh somehow should be remotely considered as authentically Mexican. I guess it's as unfortunate as it is here in Arizona that we are hopelessly deprived of any REAL good burger joints like you are peppered with back east and throughout the midwest. I sure miss those. I'll admit that the three taquitos menu item that Chipotle serves up are not bad, if you have no other alternative for real Mexican food. But Baja Fresh is nothing more than a fat, Americanized burrito. I strongly encourage anyone who makes their way to Arizona to email me and I will consider it my duty to turn you on to many wonderful, AUTHENTIC Mexican places. From small, hole-in-the-wall, straight from across the border places to nicer restaurants that serve up the whole enchilada (lol), complete with atmosphere.
ps - I'm still looking for any tips on great, mid-west style burger joints out here.
~Brian

quote:

Originally posted by bam66

Oh people...please. It's really unfortunate that so many of you live in areas where you are forced to be left with the impression that places like Chipotle Grill and Baja Fresh somehow should be remotely considered as authentically Mexican.

I don't think anyone ever said they were authentically Mexican. We just said they tasted better than McDonald's et al.

I agree with Tricky - I make no claims nor do I have any illusions that anything at Chipotle is "authentic mexican".

It's just tasty and fast and filling.....

I like the carnitas or steak in the fajita burrito style with lettuce added, no salsa.

Don't get angry, 'Twan (Tricky)! I've seen a lot of posts about these types of places being passed off as authentic. If that doesn't apply to one of your posts, then it's not being directed to you. I'm simply letting anyone know who may be venturing this way that there is a whole world of tastes waiting for them that they may not have ever been exposed to. But you are right about the comparison to Chipotle's daddy, Mickey D's.

quote:

Originally posted by SouthHillbilly

"Chipotle" seems to be the latest food fad. Everything is "chipotle" this and that.
I'll pass on "Chipotle Grill,"

Ah, it's just a name, SH. Don't judge the proverbial book by the cover :-)

We have a large Mexican population, and two very good authentic Mexican restaurants. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a visit to say Taco Johns, it's a different experience. We have two mom and pop pizza joints, on occasion I like Godfathers.

quote:

Originally posted by SouthHillbilly

"Chipotle" seems to be the latest food fad. Everything is "chipotle" this and that.
I'll pass on "Chipotle Grill,". . . but keep grinding chipotles every time I make enchilada sauce.
Will next year give us "Ancho Grill" and twelve brands of "Ancho" sauce and salsa?

There is an "Ancho's Southwestern Grill" in Riverside, CA...heheh

How would one compare "Chipotle" to "Moe's"? I have both close to me but have tried neither and you could help me decide which I MIGHT want to try first. I didn't "google" "Moe's" so I'm not sure how widespread they are.

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Originally posted by Rusty246

How would one compare "Chipotle" to "Moe's"? I have both close to me but have tried neither and you could help me decide which I MIGHT want to try first. I didn't "google" "Moe's" so I'm not sure how widespread they are.

I see "Moe's" is EVERYWHERE!

I have to agree with Bam66. Never have been able to understand that here in the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico) where the Mexican food is "authentic", we have Taco Bell and a bunch of other chains including Chipotles. We have a local chain called Chilacas here in Albuq. that will put all the above to shame. When you-all come out this way we will show you a REAL fast food burrito. Bring your asbestos tongues, lips and stomachs. You'll like it!!

quote:

Originally posted by dkp

I have to agree with Bam66. Never have been able to understand that here in the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico) where the Mexican food is "authentic", we have Taco Bell and a bunch of other chains including Chipotles. We have a local chain called Chilacas here in Albuq. that will put all the above to shame. When you-all come out this way we will show you a REAL fast food burrito. Bring your asbestos tongues, lips and stomachs. You'll like it!!

Listen, I live just about 30 miles north of the border near I-19. In my town we have several decent (not great) "Mexican" restaurants and one pretty good "Mexican" taqueria called Rigoberto's. I think it's part of a local Tucson chain. A little closer to the border there's an excellent "Mexican" place (Wisdom's) and also one across the border in Nogales (Elvira's) along with lots of fairly mediocre places there. We also have a Taco Bell. I personally find it just incredible to see folks jump out of cars with Sonora (adjacent Mexican state) license plates and go into Taco Bell and chow down but I do see it quite commonly. Apparently the food there is "authentic" enough for them. Go figure!

When McDonald's bought out Boston Market, the plan was to close many of the B.M. locations, and convert them to one of McDonald's other "brands", including Donato's Pizza and Chipotle Grill. After the nice things that I have heard about Chipotle Grill, I am still waiting to see one in Central NJ!

Some of the Boston Markets have been converted to McDonald's locations. Some have been just shuttered and closed, period. Naturally, McDonald's is too smart to try putting another "chain pizzaria" into the NJ market, where we tend to have very good "real" pizza, in addition to the junk from Domino's and Pizza Hut.

So, McDonald's, can we have a few Chipotle locations here in NJ? It might not be authentic Mexican, but from what I have heard, it is pretty decent food, and I would like to give them a try.

Would rather eat at real Mexican retaurants, Lots of taquria's in Portland that serve better food

Whether it's "authentic" Mexican or not, to these taste buds it's pretty doggone good. The fact that it's owned by Mickey D's doesn't change that. In fact, I would hope that the golden arches would learn something from its much-superior affiliate and use quality ingredients and serve everything fresh, instead of having inferior product sitting under a heat lamp.

quote:

Originally posted by rbpalmer

Whether it's "authentic" Mexican or not, to these taste buds it's pretty doggone good. The fact that it's owned by Mickey D's doesn't change that.

Now that's exactly the point.....perfect. Thank you for saying it better than I ever could :-)

FWIW, a new Chipotle Grill is opening in Pembroke Pines, FL on Friday, March 14th, at 11:00 A.M.

Free tee-shirts and a free burrito card good for your next visit to the first 200 customers.

Disclaimer: I have no relationship with the company; they sent me an email.

McDs has sold their partial ownership of Chipolte to focus on their well crafted burgers.