3 Good Things About Chipotle

[finlero]

Over the weekend, headed over to Meffa to check out Chipotle. By and large, Tacos Lupita and Anna's have nothing to fear, however I would like to point out 3 things Chipotle does better than any local Boston tacqueria:

1) Green chile salsa - Chipotle wins by default. Other places in Boston make tomatillo salsa, but to my knowledge, Chipotle is the only place that adds green chile. Quite a bite for "medium" too.

2) Black beans - the flavor and consistency at Chipotle is better than any of the local places. A little "darker"-tasting, and significantly thicker, without getting mushy. Anna's black beans, IMO, tend to be significantly undercooked. [I LOVE the pinto beans at Tacos Lupita, but they don't do black.]

3) Beer - again, I believe Chipotle wins by default [can't remember -- does El Pelon do beer?]. Really nice to have a Negra Modelo with my burrito.

[NB - For an apples-to-apples comparison, I'm intentionally excluding table service places. This is strictly a battle of the tacquerias.]

[Stiv]

FWIW, the Picante Grill in Central Sq. also has bottled beer.

[jogo7375]

far be it for me to poke fun of Wellington Circle ... that comment was uncalled for ... and that is a good point about that area being a breeding ground for up and coming chains (I recall having a 2 hour wait for the Texas Roadhouse which is right around the corner). hopefully Chipotle will do better than Krispy Krap.

[Frank Enbean]

I went to Chipotle yesterday and had the Barbacoa burrito with the green chile salsa, black beans, sour cream and guacamole. I agree that the cheese should be melted like at Boca, but I found the burrito on par, if not slightly better than Boca.

The assembler did a lousy job putting it together. A manager stepped in and told me to wait a sec while he re-wraps it. I was a bit dismayed to see him unwrap my burrito, dump the guts into a fresh tortilla and then re-roll it. Still tasted good though.

$1.75 for guacamole seemed a bit steep since the burrito was 6.50.

I did enjoy it and I will be back.

[bitsubeats]

the exact thing happened to me last week. I believe a hispanic girl was wrapping my burrito (I picked way too many things). SHe tried to wrap it and she squeezed all of my guac out in the process. It was pretty clear that she didn't know what she was doing, so the manager stepped in and looked kinda pissed and then rewrapped it for me. I also noticed that she made the same mistake with some of the people behind me. I am wondering if the same person wrapped yours?

I think that they said the beans (refried or pinto - I forget) are cooked with bacon. I also liked that when I stepped into line, the server was very kind to explain all of the ingredients to my boyfriend and me.

[LStaff]

Improper wrapping of the burrito seems to be a common problem with Chipotle. Out of the half dozen or so burritos I've had there, at least 4 of them fell apart after a couple of bites (even with the foil still around it). Usually its just the fault of too much rice making the burrito too big.

[nfo]

I used to have one near me, and they'd let me double up on the salsa. The hot plus the corn salsa together was my fav. The pork is good, as is the barbacoa. I think Chipotle holds its own. The flavors are pretty clean and fresh in comparison to the typical Mexican joint. I hear there's one coming to Davis, so I'll be interested to try it out.

To put my comments into perspective, I think Anna's is good, but only because of the price. Not crazy about El Pelon. Only had Boca Grande once, and didn't like it. I've only had the sandwiches at Lupita.

[finlero]

What did you have at El Pelon? I shrugged off my first (burrito-based) visit.

Several years later, I was dragged back for fish tacos and fried plantains; now I can't go to a Sox game without first getting my fix.

[nfo]

I didn't really like their fish tacos. The fish was too dense and not very tender. I have to say, I even prefer the ones at Rubios (another chain) to El Pelon, so this isn't some "they're not like the ones in California" thing. Also, the guacamole was ridiculous. It was like some super-smooth puree, and there was too much lime or some other stuff that it didn't taste like avocado anymore - more like grocery store guac.

[buffet king]

They probably picked Wellington Circle in Medford because of the volume of traffic driving in that area. It's also accessible from Rte 93, Rte 16 and Route 28. You want a location that is busy and visible to the public. And maybe that wanted to compete with Qdoba which is across the street from them.

[finlero]

I actually think it's primarily about demographics. Wellington Circle has become the Boston area's ground zero for the national trend towards the "upmarketing" of middle class America.

You see it both with the local chains sprouting up there (Kelly's and Pizzeria Regina) and the nationals (Qdoba, Starbucks, Krispy Kreme (RIP), Panera, Texas Roadhouse...)

Chipotle isn't the first, and won't be the last. I'll be very interested to see how the local places do in comparison to the national chains.

[TripleBoston]

there seems to be a premise on this board that there is something wrong with chains (I know they should be discussed in a different forum) and that boston has really lousy mexican food. I could debate both these points.

Regarding Chipotle, it used to be owned by McD's (who expanded the brand rapidly these past few years) but it went public and is its own company now. I have no idea why they picked lovely Wellington Circle for their first location, but I will go there the first chance I get.

Speaking of burrito's - why no love for Baja Betty's in Brookline?

[MC Slim JB]

Mostly lukewarm-to-negative feelings about Baja Betty's here, when it gets mentioned. I had a delicious lunch of tacos (I'm not much of a burrito fan) there a couple of years ago: one green-chili roast pork, one barbacao. Loved it, but haven't been back.

[The Chowhound Team]

Actually, as long as the discussion here stays focused on comparing Chipotle to other Boston-area chow, it's fine on this board. Such comparisons help folks find the best local chow. However, general responses commenting on Chipotle are better suited for the Chains board, where the responses will benefit many more hounds, and generate much more input.

[bitsubeats]

the spiciest salsa is great, but I forget what its called. Also, I wish they would melt their cheese or something becuase it is so cold when they stick it in the burrito - as well as the sour cream. Anna's and Boca's aren't as cold in the burrito so maybe they shouldn't keep it cold for health reasons? Oh and the guac looked very brown on the outside because of its exposure to the air. Other than that it was alright.

I have to get my 2 cents in before the admins throw it into the chain board

[buffet king]

I also tried the new Chipotle at Wellington Circle in Medford. I got a pork burrito with rice, pinto beans and cheese. The burrito was rather small and more expensive than Tacos Lupita in Somerville. However the pork was very flavorful. I wasn't impressed with Chipotle. I'll stick with the pork burrito from Tacos Lupita.

[Prav]

I really think Chipotle's pork is delicious.

[autopi]

i hope they open one closer to me soon. i actually don't mind the steamed tortillas. and in my experience, they are about on a par with anna's. better than boca grande in my (limited) experience. having black beans really is a nice option too; and i like their corn salsa. reliable, cheap and filling--fine by me. i would probably go to tacos lupita over them, all else being equal, but that's because i really like tortas and tacos. but i would go to them over most any other national chain fast food i can think of at the moment.

[lisa13]

I tried it a few weeks ago and while the filling was not bad (I had a chicken concoction they called "mole" - not bad if you don't mentally compare to real mole). But the tortillas were the most disgusting soggy mess I have ever seen. I think they steam them or something - the one I had was gluey and sticky and just nasty.

I agree the beans were pretty good. And it was great to have a beer!

[LStaff]

What taqueria in the area doesn't steam the tortilla? Picante used to grill it after filling the burrito, but since their departure from Davis Sq., they don't exist for me anymore.

[Dax]

The one in Central is too far?

I was never impressed with Picante but I do like the option of a beer with my food.

[buffet king]

Taco Loco on Broadway in Somerville doesn't steam their tortillas. After filling the burrito they grill it. A large chicken or steak burrito costs $5.99.