Chipotle Mexican Grill

[clutter]

Carnitas (pork) is the mildest of the meats. All the rest have some spiciness to them.

I basically get pork, peppers and onions, rice, corn, sour cream, and lettuce (no salsa). With that combo, there is ZERO spice.

Christine, I get the exact same thing, minus the lettuce. However, the corn salsa, while wonderful, can be spicy. But I've asked before, and the carnitas is the mildest of the meats.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

My favorite "fast food" restaurant! I only wish there was one closer than 45 minutes away!

 

[Hoodie]

We've eaten in two of the, one here in Woburn, and one in Connecticut somewhere. They are the best chain Mexican restaurants in the Northeast afaic.

You must be thinking of some other chain.

Nope - it's On the Border. Absolutely God-awful food.

The Border Cafe (which is sadly only in Mass. and 1 in Delaware) is good, but On the Border is pitiful.

The one in Nashua went out of business in a matter of months - which is tough. It has to be REALLY bad to go out of business in Nashua next to the mall.

 

[bicker]

Yeah, I can't agree. We love On The Border. Very shocking that other people don't.

Regarding Chipotle - keep in mind that we order vegetarian, so that might account for why the food doesn't taste as good as some view it.

 

[Christine]

Nope - it's On the Border. Absolutely God-awful food.

The Border Cafe (which is sadly only in Mass. and 1 in Delaware) is good, but On the Border is pitiful.

The one in Nashua went out of business in a matter of months - which is tough. It has to be REALLY bad to go out of business in Nashua next to the mall.

Our On The Border isn't that great either but it's probably the *second* best chain we have in the area. The one that does better is Uncle Julio's Rio Grande Cafe.

 

[frndshpcptn]

Nope - it's On the Border. Absolutely God-awful food.

The Border Cafe (which is sadly only in Mass. and 1 in Delaware) is good, but On the Border is pitiful.

The one in Nashua went out of business in a matter of months - which is tough. It has to be REALLY bad to go out of business in Nashua next to the mall.

Agreed! I almost fell off my chair when I saw that. On the Border is terrible...I'm in the Northeast as well and we have one in NJ near me and NO ONE goes. I honestly have no idea how it's still in business.

We have some very good non-chain places here that I frequent often (Mexican is my favorite food)...but On the Border...ew. Even Chevy's (which I dont love either) is better...

to add....I really like Chipotle. Better than Qdoba...although I wish Chipotle had a Queso dip like Qdoba does. I like Chipotle's chips. I always get the pork with shredded cheese and sour cream in soft corn tortillas. One in a while I'll change it up and get that combination over rice (without the cilantro). I ask for fresh limes and squeeze them over the food - YUM.

 

[bicker]

We've got a few other chains around here. Ixtapa is just two restaurants, so really a very small chain - it is very good as well, though still not as good as On The Border. Then there are Margaritas and Acapulcos, which are basically only palatable if you're very badly sloshed, something which their very prominent and popular bar areas advocate strongly for. Border Cafe is just barely Mexican, afaic, and no where near as good as On The Border or Ixtapa.

It's got to be a regional thing - On The Borders further south being worse than the ones around here - because I've had Mexican food all over the country, including at chains in Texas and California. While On The Border isn't as good as Cozymels, for example, it's pretty close afaic.

 

[Golf4food]

Chipotle is ok, not great. Overpriced for the value to us so we don't go. Other places we like a lot better in the same price range or just a little more.

 

[chisnpeke]

I LOVE Chipotle. I get a veggie bowl or burrito with rice, sometimes fajitas, tomato salsa, sometimes corn salsa, cheese, lettuce, and black beans. I used to always get guacamole but they started charging $1.80 extra for it which I find ridiculous. The corn salsa can be too spicy for me. I was 16 when I first had Chipotle and I remember just eating the chips and tomato salsa. I thought that was SPICY. Now I love it. The corn sometimes has a bite that really is spicy.

 

[klj27]

I LOVE Chipotle. I get a veggie bowl or burrito with rice, sometimes fajitas, tomato salsa, sometimes corn salsa, cheese, lettuce, and black beans. I used to always get guacamole but they started charging $1.80 extra for it which I find ridiculous. The corn salsa can be too spicy for me. I was 16 when I first had Chipotle and I remember just eating the chips and tomato salsa. I thought that was SPICY. Now I love it. The corn sometimes has a bite that really is spicy.

The three chipotles that I go to do not charge extra for guac on the side or in the bowl if you are getting a veggie. When they changed their menu boards recently it appears that they would but not of these three do!

 

[Pushthebutton]

I love Chipotle but honestly the spicy level depends on who makes it for the day. I usually get the same thing and sometimes is spicy and other times its normal.

 

[jsmith]

both the steak and the barbacoa beef at Chipolte are spicy-and the barbacoa is very spicy. There are jalepeno's in all the salsas and in the guac all of which will give you some heat.
On the Border is just barely tolerable-but living where i live i dont really eat much chain mexican-and i prefer New Mexico or Pueblo style food to Tex-Mex ( chili rellenos should NOT ever have GROUND beef in them). I like chipolte and qdoba for just what they are-fresh fast food joints-they are great-for authentic Mexican-i go to a local hole in the wall.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

It's definitely the meat. I'm a wuss for things spicy btw. Get the pico de gallo, its made of tomato, lime, cilantro, and onions... it's not spicy. If it is then it's not what it's supposed to be. Also, it should reduce the spicy of the meat. So should sour cream, cheese and lettuce.

 

[Shyvioletisme]

I'd always heard rave reviews of Chipotle and finally decided to try it and HATED it. Nothing had any flavor at all. It really was the blandest food I had ever had anywhere. Not even the salsa had any flavor to it. (I got a chicken burrito with just about everything on it). We have Freebird's down here, which IMO is FAR superior to Chipotle in every way. More choices, lots of yummy flavors and a fun place to eat.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Wow, interesting all the On the Border fans, I've yet to meet someone who considers that food good. I haven't had it yet though, and probably won't because this the first time I've heard anyone liking it.

 

[Singleminnie]

I love spicy food, the more the better!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE Chipotle!! My favorite Mexican place to go EVER. Those burrrito bowls are heaven.

 

[Cat0727]

I love Chipotle. I always get the veggie burrito bowl. Mmmm!

 

[pixiewings71]

OK, this just shocked me. Every On the Border I've ever seen has gone out of business because they are SO bad.

Where's the one good one?

There's a good one in Natomas...which is part of Sacramento. Of course it's not like authentic Mex that we can get around here but sometimes you want something like OTB. Then again, maybe it's because it's something we don't eat much at all, we only go there once a year or so. lol I'm not driving an hour for Mex when I can get it better 10 min from home.


We pay $1.60 extra for guac, if you get it with chips it's $2.60. We can get sides of salsa at no charge so if you order a side of guac and chips and salsa you get the salsa for free and they charge for the chips and guac.
I don't know how anyone could consider the food bland, it's very good and I like my foods with spices. I've never had any complaints about Chipotle. DBF and I can go to Chipotle, get 1 burrito, split it between the 2 of us (he gets a slightly bigger piece) and we are full at the end! If we are particularly hungry we will do the chips & salsa addition and we are full when we leave. Portions are huge......and for $5.95 for the chicken, it's a steal IMO. If I get a burrito for me I have to save half for the next day, same with the burrito bowl, the only thing I can actually finish is the salad and when I order 2 tacos. Man I'm seriously jonesing for some Chipotle now! LOL

 

[Zandy595]

Well, I ended up making shrimp pad thai for dinner last night instead of doing Chipotle. Maybe we'll get it later this week.

The burrito I had with carnitas was spicy, so it must have been the jalapenos in the fresh tomato salsa. I'll have to get the salsa on the side next time. Everyone keeps saying that the corn salsa is mild, but on their site it says medium. I keep wondering about the black beans too.