I know I shouldn't but every once in a blue moon I go to Chipotle. Usually late at night when I'm by myself, tired and I don't feel like having a sit-down dinner for one nor do I feel like going through a drive-through.
Saturday night was one of those nights. I went to the Chipotle by my house and ordered a barbacoa burrito, chips with salsa and a drink. I've gotten it several times before but now was a little shocked to see the register ring up above $10. When I ordered it in the past, it was always under $10.
So Chipotle raised its prices, nothing wrong with that. That's the way business works. But if the company is going to charge me more, I expect the same serving size.
What I received was instead a very big rice and bean burrito with very
little meat. I didn't measure it but it was below a four-ounce portion
size of barbacoa. Alarm bells started ringing in my head. Of all the
costs on a Chipotle burrito, the only significant one is the meat. The
tortilla, beans, lettuce and salsa costs pennies. Sour cream and cheese
may cost a dime each but no more. In essence what you're paying for on
a burrito is the meat and when burritos have little meat, there's a
problem.
I am not the only one who's encountered these problems. After my meal, I did some sleuthing and found a popular blog basically reiterating my experience.
A few weeks ago, when the employee dropped about 3 pieces of chicken onInmy bowl, I asked him for more (not "double" meat, just the appropriate
amount for a single serving). He put more on for me but then said, "I'm
really not suppose to do that, they have cameras watching us."
addition to the above scary statement, the more research I've done on
Chipotle, the more irksome things I've discovered. The
chain brags about sustainability and healthiness but after spending 10
minutes trying to find nutritional info on its Web site,
I gave up. Turns out they do list but only under the FAQ section and
only in pdf form. (For a better Chipotle nutrition guide try the
independently run ChipotleFan.com.) Then there was this tomato farmers holdout from a few years ago.
Chipotle is a chain but it felt different from other chains. As the
company grows and more stores appear, it's quickly losing its coolness
luster. Meat thing aside, considering nearly every local Mexican
restaurant throws in chips for free and it's hard to justify going to
Chipotle over a local joint on price reasons. Next Saturday, if I get
the quick-Mex urge expect to find me at Pancho's on Main Street.
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Burrito bros is bad and has no flavor. I wouldn't eat there again. It was a weak version of a bad taco van
Burrito Bros is good, but only open for lunch. Chipotle is the only place at this point that makes you pay for chips. Moe's and Burrito Bros both give you chips, so does Baja Fresh which is no longer in the metro.
On the meat thing, I think it totally depends on the time of day and how busy it is. I just had lunch there and got a small portion all around, not just meat. But if I go to the one by my house, they always hook me up.
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