Chipotle's???

Anyone ever been to one? A few of our employees are from Cleavland (where Chipotle must be everywhere) and they rave about it. All I know is that Chipotle used to be owned by McDonald's and now they are not and its sort of like Q-doba. We were discussing how one should enter the old Just Fresh location on Bardstown. What's the deal with Chipotle?

Just tried the one in Florence on the way back from Cincy....I'm not big fan of Qdoba and from what I tried at Chipotle, Qdoba smokes them. I just don't understand the draw to this place when there are so many other authentic Latino places scattered about

I have been to the one in Lexington and was not impressed. I don't care for Qdoba either.

I liked Chipotle and my sister goes on and on how they love them. But it doesn't seem anything really that much different than Moe's or Qdoba. I hate that they don't give you chips w/ your order.

[Robin Garr]

I just don't understand the draw to this place when there are so many other authentic Latino places scattered about

I hear you, Dan. Personally, I would always go to a taqueria in preference to Chipotle's or any other chain. That said, I think the buzz isn't a matter of comparing Chipotle's to authentic Mexican. It's about comparing them to other chains - with a little extra kick from Mickey D's having picked them up but then found them indigestible. I think the conventional wisdom is that Chipotle's was too good to meet McDonalds' profit requirements.

We've been to a couple of them in different places and were not impressed. We don't like Moe's either, for some reason my wife and I both end up feeling queasy after we eat there and the yelling when you enter have to go! On the other hand we both love Qdoba and have enjoyed eating at any one of them they've ever been to! They are all basically the same style but for some reason we like one and don't like the others. We also have tried Salsaritas (sp?) and well we thought the food was pretty good for some reason we didn't care for the atmosphere.

I'm not a bit fan of any other these chains, though my eldest daughter like Qdoba.

One advantage of Chipotles is that they use "natural" meat. Not organic or sustainable, but no hormones, no antibiotics, and no animal by-products in the feed. Also, no rBGH given to the dairy cows. So I guess you're being moderately better for the environment.

Back a couple of years ago Chipotle Grill was one of the title sponsor's to a pro cycling team. Check out the graphic of the back of the jersey--always gave me a chuckle.

The place was unimpressive to me and much like Q-doba they are far inferior in my eyes for not offering tofu or some other meat substitute like Moe's.

I love authentic Mexican food places, but I also love Qdoba. In my mind, they are completely different types of places and there is room for both in my belly!

Funny that you mention your people are from Cleveland. I used to live there and found it very unique. If you didn't live near the foodie area (an area like the Highlands), or were willing to travel there, then the majority of the food places were chains. Maybe it was just the suburbs around where we lived, but that was our experience. For the first 15 months we lived there, unless we wanted to drive 30mins (one way), then all we had was steakhouse, like Outback. After much searching we finally found an 'authentic' Mexican place and we were extremely disappointed. So, when Chipotle opened up near us, we were thrilled for some 'diversity'. It was ALWAYS packed, but we went once and didn't return. We were not fans....Qdoba blows them out of the water (mainly b/c of their options...veggies, guac, etc). Chipotle's menu is more limitted.

Jess

I had pretty much the same experience as everyone else, blah food, and even though it was 15 minutes till closing they put up the chairs around us. I hope never to go back.

Lived about the same distance from a Chipotle in DC as I do from a Qdoba in Louisville. I go to Qdoba about as often as I went to Chipotle and in my mind they are very similar - nothing spectacular but they both have reliably decent burritos if you don't have time or inclination to cook.

Despise Qdoba....can't imagine I would even go inside a Chipotle's. That said I find Salsarita's food edible but with all the other authentic options....why?

Can't see why anyone would "despise" a place like Qdoba. What's not to like about grilled steak/chicken, your favorite toppings, wrapped up in a tortilla, drenched in Cholula, and loaded w/ 3 cheese queso sauce?

I love an authentic Taqueria as much as anyone, but that's not always an option........Qdoba satisfies my lunch burrito craving just fine.

Kinda like eventhough I love a great backyard-style grilled burger, sometimes a Big Mac sounds even better...

i rarely post but i had to chime in here. i happen to think that chipotle is hands-down the best chain burrito joint by far. simple, fresh ingredients, no gimmicky burritos or fake cheese sauces - in contrast, i think qdoba is disgusting. if the qdoba at bardstown and eastern was a chipotle, id go once a week because it so close and, in my opinion, delicious!

for the record, though, i favor local taquerias whenever possible and definitely have a las gorditas run scheduled this saturday!