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Adventures of a Burrito Eater

September 24, 2007

A view from a burrito noob.

by Manny Perez

HUNGRY.gif There is a formula when going to Chipotle. It consists of several straightforward steps:

- Step One: Locate and enter line.
- Step Two: When reaching counter, ask for a burrito: chicken, black beans, cheese and sour cream, no salsa.
- Step Three: Pay, take food, and fill soda.
- Step Four: Eat!

    This has been my setup for the burrito joint since the time my father took me to the first Denver Chipotle on Colorado Blvd when I was nine years old. I can remember thinking,  “This thing is huge!” and “Mucho Bueno” as I inhaled the tortilla wrapped gem. Since then I have never diverged from the same routine. So, never having touched any of the other meats, vegetables, or salsas, I went on a journey (to E. Hampden) to finally take the leap.

    My first step was a steak burrito, filled with pinto beans and Roasted Chili-Corn salsa. This, being my first digression, tasted extremely awkward, as if someone swiped my holy trinity of chicken-cheese-cream for this… this… ripped up cow. It was similar to the experience people who have been in comas have when they begin to learn to walk again. They become aggravated and feel intensely averse to the change. The subject is then overwhelmed with joy after he takes the first step. I learned to like the steak. The pinto beans seemed decent. The Corn Salsa was the only thing I disliked, as my teeth collided with some un-tasty, unidentified substance every so often that wasn’t corn or cilantro.

    On my second excursion I tried a carnitas burrito (pinto beans and all three salsas), a quesadilla, and a bag of tortilla chips, which had eluded me heretofore. The shredded texture of the meat in the burrito was interesting and ultimately crave-inducing, a definite re-try. The salsas forced me to grab for the nearest drink more than once (though, I’ll go lighter next time). The quesadilla was adorably small compared to the Godzilla wrapped in foil next to it, and actually tasted rather bland. I opted to fill it simply with cheese instead of chicken, as the server suggested, so I suppose I missed out on something.  But the surprise winner of my taste-test was the chips. They come in a simple brown bag labeled “Chips” and attacked the taste buds with a wispy flavor of lime.

    Looking into the actual nutritional value of these delicious burritos, I was directed to the Chipotle website at Chipotle.com by a friendly burrito artist. Now, while I was fully enamored with their web design, I couldn’t find a satisfying answer to my query. It seems Chipotle would be unable to post any nutritional info because of a new regulation passed by the New York Department of Health which states that if an eatery puts the info online, it must also place it in the same gigantic Chipotle font with the rest of the menu. Seeing as there are thousands upon thousands of combinations, I can fully agree with Chipotle’s disposition (although one could argue that a print-out with the figures would not be unreasonable), but my question burned on.

    Turning to a less official source, I found myself on ChipotleFan.com, a quaint fan site dedicated to everything Chipotle. On the site they have a way to find ones burrito soul mate (someone who eats the exact same burrito as you), recipes to create Chipotle burrito clones, and most interesting, a nutritional calculator for each combination of food item you might eat there. The info is taken from a PDF handout given by the chain that has been long gone for some time now, and is placed in a simple nutrition table. The results after punching in my “usual” were shocking.

    By the Daily Calorie Intake recommended by the FDA, most people should be on a diet of 2000 calories per day. My chicken and black bean burrito came in with approximately 1149 calories, over half of the suggested amount. There was also 47 grams of fat, 166 milligrams of cholesterol, and 119 grams of carbohydrates: very high numbers. But most outrageous was the sodium content: 2429 milligrams! At first glance these numbers seemed scandalous, and the overall thoughts of some sort of “burrito conspiracy” rapidly arose, but after factoring in some common sense and some quick math, my rash disgust was changed to reasonable sensibility.

    What most Americans can’t grasp in today’s culture is the pure amount of food they consume everyday. An example of our growing ignorance is the constantly expanding size and increasing numbers of cup holders in cars, due to the explosion in popularity of fast food since the 50’s. Chipotle has only capitalized on this growing trend and was, and still is, being met with glowing comments on their large burritos. The individual burritos crunch in at about 21 oz, which, compared to the icon of unhealthy eating, is almost 3 times the size of an ordinary Big Mac. Putting the two side by side, one Chipotle burrito vs. one McDonald’s Big Mac, the Mac clearly is the “healthier” choice at 540 calories to the burrito’s 1149.

    What is happening here is just a simple underestimation of size. Because we see the uncomplicated and compact aluminum pill that is a Chipotle burrito, we instantly see it as an ordinary and healthy meal, as the chain often boasts its organic and untreated ingredients.

    These ingredients should of course be lauded. Most of the menu can be switched around to include only vegetarian foods, and with certain match-ups, can cross into vegan country. There is of course the praised insight to include all natural and unprocessed food; a number of items being purely, or at least partly, organic. But the result is a turn to quality when choosing food we believe is good for us, and leaving all thoughts of quantity behind. If one were to, say, eat 30 apples, the product would be harmful to one’s health no matter the benevolence of the fruit.

    Now, imagine a 21 oz Big Mac, with all its grease dripping, heart-clogging goodness, the same size as a Chipotle Burrito. The result is clear, as the Mac is topping in at 1512 calories compared to the 1159-calorie burrito. This is where the naturally raised pork and the 0 grams of sugar shine through. But it still is a very large burrito. And while the Chipotle of today will always be one of my favorite lunchtime eateries (sorry Qdoba), it is not to be taken lightly.

    Aside from the car-swerve-causing burritos, I believe Chipotle's ultimate success lies in its reputation of being one of the few respectable companies thriving today. From its complete attentiveness to healthy and natural pork, chicken and beef, to the simple recyclable logo on all the bags and napkins, even the design in every restaurant is modern and a breath of fresh air. Each aspect of the eatery, whether or not positive to the company, is always positive for the customer and THAT is why I could never picture Chipotle ever going away. And if the final Chipotle were to ever close, there could be a bet on my life that I will be there to order my last chicken and black bean burrito. Unless, of course, I were to find a new favorite.

    My only question left is what to order next.

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Written by Manny Perez · Filed Under Food, Headlines, Living & Arts