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tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption
CHAIN -- Chipotle
Mexican Grill Chipotle's description of its interior design, lifted from their very own website: "Simple ingredients put together in creative, new ways, elevating them to a higher level." I thought it looked more like a room in a Trading Spaces episode where they ran out of money for paint, but the idea Chipotle is trying to present is that their interior design is like their food. Chipotle talks a lot like that on their website. It brings a whole new meaning to overanalyzing. Chipotle is another one of those "Fresh-Mex" burrito joints. Steve Ellis founded Denver-based Chipotle in 1993, focusing on a simple menu with fresh food and many of the same cooking techniques found in full-service restaurants. For awhile, Chipotle had a significant investor in the form of McDonald's. Today, Ellis still heads the publicly traded chain. Enter Chipotle and look at the menu. It's big and sparse. Choose between Burritos or Tacos. The only variable on this is you can get a fajita burrito (which substitutes sautéed peppers and onions for the beans) or a "Bol Burrito" (the burrito ingredients in a bowl, no tortilla). The tacos can be hard shell or soft. Don't like the choices thus far? Get out. Once you've chosen the form, choose the filling. Four meats...chicken, steak, pork, shredded beef, or go vegetarian. The burritos also include rice, your choice of black or pinto beans, salsa, cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. There's Romaine lettuce for the tacos, or for the burritos if you want to skip the rice. Chipotle makes a lot of marketing noise about their meats coming from "naturally raised" sources (free from antibiotics and vegetarian-fed. Apparently meat is bad for chickens, but good for you.) You can buy optional sides like chips and salsa. Drinks are the standard sodas and a couple beers. Chipotle's meats are very flavorful and spicy. I prefer no salsa at all in my Chipotle burrito because it's not needed. A Chipotle burrito with nothing but steak and rice would be spicy enough. Chipotle has become the fresh mex dominant force. There's no denying their devoted fan base. Click here to return to tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption |
