<p>I live in an area that is severely lacking when it comes to Mexican food…most people are satisfied with the local place ( which is horrible in my opinion ) I make it better at home. I have never been to a Chipotle , but we do have Moe’s. Moe’s is halfway decent, and much better than two actual Mexican restaurants with table service.</p>
<p>hardballdad- You are probably reacting to the salsa. Certain salsas give my H the same problem, and he views salsa as a food group!</p>
<p>Like lje, our local Mexican food choices are not that great. At least at Chipotle the food tastes fresher than our usual salt and grease Mexican. Actually we don’t even have a Chipotle or a Moe’s or even a Taco bell in town. We do have a Barberito’s (which we like to call faux Moe’s). We have lots of barbecue joints and fresh seafood and the beach down the street so I can’t complain.</p>
<p>And who says Taco Bell is not real food? How can my guilty pleasure chicken quesadilla not be real food?</p>
<p>I wonder how many of those in the long lines realize that a basic chicken-rice-black bean-pico burrito (before cheese, sour cream, or guac) has 750 calories. Add 2 toppings and you’ve reached nearly 1,000 calories in one sitting! My college athlete has the metabolism to burn that off, but I sure don’t anymore. I have stay away from Qdoba and Chipoltle as a waistline protecting measure…</p>
<p>^^ But half of one is plenty of food for most females, and that isn’t bad calories for a meal.</p>
<p>MereMom: just went to the Chipotle web site to verify that calorie count ([Chipotle:</a> Nutrition](<a href=“http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/menu/nutritional_information/nutritional_information.aspx]Chipotle:”>http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/menu/nutritional_information/nutritional_information.aspx)) and noticed that 290 of those calories in a burrito come from the flour tortilla. If you get the burrito bowl, they use a bowl instead of the tortilla. I always ask for extra veggies instead of the rice. Even with guacamole, which I adore, that comes to 500 calories. Not so bad.</p>
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<p>Hardballdad, the Chipotle website says that they are able to buy about 85% of their beef from producers that meet their standards and are working hard to get the percentage up to 100%.</p>
<p>They say that 100% of their pork is naturally raised, whereas they are still working toward that goal with the chicken and beef.</p>
<p>[Chipotle:</a> Food With Integrity](<a href=“http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/animals/animals.aspx]Chipotle:”>http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/animals/animals.aspx)</p>
<p>I think the fact that they try pretty hard to keep up the quality of their food and to be environmentally friendly really helps a lot. I won’t eat fast food, but I’ll eat Chipotle, and it helps a lot to know I’m supporting these types of practices.</p>
<p>Chipotle does not use “free range” chickens. They use the definition of “naturally raised” but the definition is far from “free range.” They define it as their chickens having more room to move around than conventionally raised chicken. Is that a few extra inches? Who knows but it’s not free range. Additionally, their definition of “naturally raised” hogs includes deep bedding. They can still be raised in concrete pens as long as they are bedded. Just because the pictures on the website are of pastures, doesn’t mean the animals live there. </p>
<p>“Naturally raised” says little about the living environment of the animals and doesn’t mean that any of them have ever been outdoors. Beef cattle are kept outdoors but that doesn’t mean they have ever seen or tasted grass. Chipotle uses grain fed, not grass fed, beef so they have not likely ever been in a pasture.</p>
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This is true with Mexican food and if you’re trying to be careful with calories skip the tortillas - get the bowl (that’s what I do) or just empty the innards out of the tortilla and toss the tortilla. This is especially true at the more authentic Mexican places which may be making the tortilla with lard. Same thing with a tostada - you can eat it down to the shell but leave the shell. Of course, the more cheese the more calories.</p>
<p>And skip the sour cream but don’t skip the quacamole which is good for you if they make it right (just avocado and salsa - no sour cream - I don’t know how Chipotle makes theirs) and besides, you should always support the avocado growers (of which I’m one 
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<p>Interesting information, cartera45. I’m planning to have the veggie bowl next time anyway!</p>
<p>What the heck is an UN-naturally raised chicken, btw! Hormone-free? If so, just say that!
I just “love” all these marketing gimmicks… I cannot keep track of them as they keep morphing!</p>
<p>Still, I can see that Chipotle’s is trying harder and succeeding on the sustainable/local food front more than most other chains, so I give that a good grade.</p>
<p>We LOVE Chipotle! Like mentioned before, it is fresh. They make their guac several times a day. I am a vegetarian so I love my options. I opt for a burrito bowl. What I like most is that it is simple and unprocessed and reasonably priced. It has to be one of the healthiest “fast” food options. They have an iPhone app so I can order ahead, they charge my card, and I walk in and pick it up.</p>
<p>Yes, the term “naturally raised” is simply a marketing ploy - allowed by the USDA. Here is the definition and why Chipotle can claim “naturally raised.” Chipotle has done the best job I have ever seen in leading people to believe the livestock they use is “free range.” Even the definition of “free range” is misleading. There is very little control on who can use the term “free range.” The USDA really only uses “free range” with regard to chickens and it just means they have “access” to outdoor. It doesn’t even mean they have ever had to spend time out there. “Free range” says nothing about what they are fed. </p>
<p>The bottom line is that eating at Chipotle’s should not make you feel better about how livestock is treated. It’s claims about naturally raised are meaningless in that regard. On its egg producing farms, the male baby chicks are still scooped up and thrown - alive - into a grinder for dog food. Video is available for anyone who cares to see.</p>
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<p>I never knew Freebirds was a chain. I have been to the Freebirds in Isla Vista (UCSB) and it is very good. Huge burritos.
We also have Chipotle, La Salsa and Baja Fresh. La salsa and Baja Fresh are hit or miss. 2 of my kids love Chipotle, the other loves mexican food but doesn’t like the seasoning at Chipoltle so goes vegetarian there. The lines are always long. I find Chipoltle to be a great choice while traveling. I know what I am getting and I don’t feel sick when I am done.
Granted I don’t consider any of them Mexican Food. When we want mexican food we have numerous local places to go.
Would never consider Taco Bell or Del Taco in the same field as Chipotle or Baja Fresh.</p>
<p>I wish Chipotle would add shrimp as a protein. I like the other choices but would prefer shrimp.</p>
<p>(Cartera- isn’t all shrimp farmed now? and pretty “dirty”??)</p>
<p>That’s probably why Chipolte doesn’t offer it. I doubt most would want to pay what it would cost to eat wild caught shrimp. You certainly can’t get it at any other chain restaurant.</p>
<p>The Chipotle where I live popped up near our high school so high school kids would go there. Eventually it became popular for no other reason than being popular, if that makes sense. The food is overpriced but the only other option for mexican is taco bell. And if you are not high or its not 3am there is no reason to get taco bell.</p>
<p>I always thought my affection for Taco Bell was a dirty little secret. Surprised to see it mentioned here, mostly without scorn. Years ago, they were my client- and they made efforts to ensure produce was fresh, delivered overnight, etc. That was years ago, before the locavore thing. I’ve also been to to the gi-normous food distribution warehouses and, though it is quite a sight, it readily shows that the more hands a product goes through, the less control is feasible. </p>
<p>In my state, there is a co-op fresh/local delivery system in place. It streamlines delivery of all the local goods direct to restaurants. I have to wonder what Chipotle is doing to ensure they get fresh to all those locations, with all those different suppliers, in a daily, timely manner. You can’t have a “no tomatoes available today” situation.</p>
<p>But, based on this thread, I’ll check out the C near our local U. Maybe my one bad experience was just that.</p>