<p>I really like Chipotle and I don’t think it’s particularly expensive. Heck…a full MacDonalds meal can be expensive these days. I get their taco salad (not sure if that’s what it’s called) but it has taco chips on it…and I really like it.</p>
<p>It’s a bit of a trek to the nearest one where I live so I save my Chipotle trips for when I go see my family in Ohio.</p>
<p>I ask the same question about Baja Fresh. Tried it just the other day and I wasn’t impressed. Have never been to Chipotle but from the looks of their website, it looks about the same as all those chains. Maybe a step above Taco Bell. But we live where there are many real Mexican restaurants and there is no comparison.</p>
<p>I like Chipotle (which I am actually having for dinner tonight, LOL) simply because I think it is less greasy and better tasting than other Mexican food. I think the psychology of thinking that it is “better”/healthier food, organic, etc. helps their success. And I like the food being made right in front of me :)</p>
<p>Personally, I order the Carnitas burrito with mild salsa, corn salsa, lettuce, cheese and sour cream. And its amazing :D</p>
<p>I have never been to Chipotle, but there is one that I pass pretty frequently. I have yet to go in. I have tried Taco Bell and I did not care for it at all, but the rest of my family loves Taco Bell. They do view it as fast food, like BK or McDonalds. I try not to eat in those chains either. I have tried Baja Fresh while out of town, and I thought it was absolutely a step up from Taco Bell. Im a going to try Chipotle at some point.</p>
<p>Moes is where its at!</p>
<p>I like Chipotle but rarely eat there because the lines are usually so long.</p>
<p>My favorite is the salad, with steak as the meat.</p>
<p>I am not a sophisticated consumer of Mexican food, though. I also like Taco Bell.</p>
<p>We don’t have a Chipotle in our town. We do have Salsarita’s, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Qudoba.
I generally prefer Moe’s.</p>
<p>We like Moe’s, Chipotle and Qdoba. We don’t consider any of them “real” Mexican food (coming from Texas), but like them anyway. We get the burritos. I don’t eat meat, but there are plenty of options for me. I don’t think any of them are overpriced. I can usually get 2 meals out of a burrito.</p>
<p>^^^MOWC: what do you think of Chuy’s? I know all the TX transplants went crazy when one opened here; I’ve been once and while I thought the salsa fresca was amazing, the rest seemed good but pretty standard; not worth an hours wait for a table for me. Now that one is opening up in Nashville, I thought I’d give it a try again.</p>
<p>Cant stand Taco Bell and have never heard of Qdoba. Chipotle is fine once in awhile but I’m not a big fast food fan. My kids and all of their friends love it.</p>
<p>The ingredients are local and fresh ! The guacamole is excellent ! I have eaten at at least 10 Chipotle’s , and I know I will get a quality product when I go there . I hope more restaurants follow in their methods . I LOVE their food . It’s the only thing I eat that is close to a fast food experience !</p>
<p>Freebirds beats CHipotles any day. More choices of everything. I can’t eat raw onion, so Chipotle is out - they have no tomato that is not mixed with raw onion. Love Freebirds!!</p>
<p>It’s okay for fast food but I prefer authentic Mexican.</p>
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<p>And taste 10 times worse.</p>
<p>The lowest price isn’t always the best value.</p>
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<p>It’s got to be more than that because I live in San Diego, a town on the Mexican border. Authentic Mexican is available everywhere around here, and people love it. But Chipotle is still very popular. </p>
<p>Maybe, like me, other people here regard Chipotle as good food but don’t view it as very Mexican. If someone said let’s go out for Mexican, almost no one would think to suggest Chipotle. It’s a different sort of beast and not in competition with authentic Mexican.</p>
<p>RobD- We loved the original Chuy’s in Austin and the Dallas one. The one here is good, but I also won’t wait an hour or more to eat there. We’ve been twice. It’s a huge amount of food, too. Great margaritas, though. I also think Cozymel’s is pretty good. Let’s face it- we aren’t in Texas, but I can still get the Mexican fix here.</p>
<p>I don’t really think of Chipotle as fast food. It’s sort of medium food.</p>
<p>I was near a Chipotle’s today, and I decided to try it. Observations:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cheaper than Baja Fresh, though of course more expensive than Taco Bell.</li>
<li>They had a choice of white or brown rice. Very impressive!</li>
<li>You could customize your order as you can at Subway.</li>
<li>I agreed with others here who weren’t too crazy about the way the meat was seasoned. It was by no means awful, but in my opinion it wasn’t great.</li>
</ul>
<p>I will probably eat there again and try a vegetarian bowl. I was pleased that I was able to get something fast and moderately priced that let me easily avoid dairy (which I’ve developed a sensitivity to) and the kind of “empty” carbs that are in flour, white rice, etc (I’m avoiding them for weight loss reasons).</p>
<p>As for Baja Fresh, it depends on the franchise. I’ve noticed differences in a few I’ve been to. The ones in California were all good, especially the one on Valencia Blvd. in Valencia, probably because of all the competition. However, I’ve been to one outside of Chicago that I was very disappointed with. A good Baja Fresh franchise beats all the fast food Mexican I’ve been to, including Chipotle.</p>
<p>We view Qdoba, Chipotle and Moe’s as burrito restaurants- we never order anything else (maybe the bowl). It doesn’t compete with tacos or other Mexican food in our lives!</p>
<p>H says he likes Qdoba best but isn’t sure why. He likes Moe’s for the free chips. The dog likes Moe’s for the free chips, too.</p>
<ol>
<li>Fresh high quality food</li>
<li>Custom orders</li>
<li>Large quantites</li>
</ol>
<p>Prettt easy recipe for success in my book.</p>