Chipotle Mexican Grill looking at downtown Louisville

http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/n ... ng-at.html

I'm excited about this. Chipotle is hands-down the best in its niche, the fast-burrito joints. The freshness, free-range-ness, and quality of their ingredients blows Qdoba and Moe's out of the water, IMO. It's never made sense to me why Chipotle had locations in places like Lexington, Florence, and Bloomington, but not in Louisville.

And it's another new development for downtown, which is always a good thing in my book.

[Robin Garr]

Good catch, Jeff, thanks!

Meh. I've heard such wonderful things about Chipotle so we tried the location in Florence and I was underwhelmed. I wouldn't put it at any level above the rest of the "Subwayesque" quick serve burrito joints. There are too many other places such as Taco Punk, Sante Fe Grill or any of the joints out on Preston Hwy that do this sort of thing better and cheaper. But for downtown lunches, I'm sure it will be a big hit.

Qdoba has long held the city and it has been viewed as impenetrable by Chipotle. I have eaten in many Ohio locations as well as the one in Florence and I'll stick with Qdoba. Qdoba has a better menu and some additional options not found at Chipotle.

That said, Chipotle has cultivated a mystique about their brand that seems to do well for them. It will be interesting to see if they can break the Qdoba's hold.

They won't get my money, though

Everytime I think that I might want to try Qdoba I just go to J Gumbo's instead. Thanks for the lifesaver of Drunken Chicken Po' Boys Ronnie!

I've been to Chipotle. I don't get the hype. Seems pretty much like Qdoba to me.

Everytime I think that I might want to try Qdoba I just go to J Gumbo's instead. Thanks for the lifesaver of Drunken Chicken Po' Boys Ronnie!

Ed, you just made my week. Thank you, sir!

Chipotle is also opening up in St Mats.

Chipotle is also opening up in St Mats.

Where?

Serious question (and apologies if it's too off-topic): what does "naturally raised beef, chicken, and pork" mean? Does "naturally raised" have a legal definition per the USDA or some other government agency, or is it one of those terms like "natural" or "fresh" companies can use on practically anything?

I do like that 100% of their pork is antibiotic-free and that their dairy products come from cows that haven't been given growth hormones. The site also mentions 40% of the beans they use are organic (and 80% of the cilantro! Fellow cilantro lovers, rejoice! )

http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2012/05/24/chipotle-mexican-grill-looking-at.html

I'm excited about this. Chipotle is hands-down the best in its niche, the fast-burrito joints. The freshness, free-range-ness, and quality of their ingredients blows Qdoba and Moe's out of the water, IMO. It's never made sense to me why Chipotle had locations in places like Lexington, Florence, and Bloomington, but not in Louisville.

And it's another new development for downtown, which is always a good thing in my book.

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." So I will not criticize your love affair with Chipotle. From my vantage point, I happened to eat at a Chipotle in Philly last weekend close to our hotel where food choices were less than inspiring. My wife and I were very unimpressed. I can't understand the hype. These people must be marketing geniuses. Frankly, I advise anyone looking for this type of food downtown to walk past Quedoba and Chipotle and stop at Bazos on Market. But if I were really advising, I would recommend the Ethiopian, the two Middle Eastern, the Cajun, etc. restuarants conveniently located and in the same price range.

To jump on the bash Chipotle wagon, I find their tortillas consistently doughy and in general, their food is not all that inspiring (categorically speaking). My preference in this category is Qdoba. Besides, their mole-esque BBQ sauce is pretty good.

Gonna be tough to knock out Sante Fe for me.

In my opinion, this category (Qdoba, Moe's, Chipotle, etc) does not include the higher caliber of Santa Fe, Lolita's etc..

[Robin Garr]

In my opinion, this category (Qdoba, Moe's, Chipotle, etc) does not include the higher caliber of Santa Fe, Lolita's etc..

I think most of us would agree with that. In fairness, though, they're very different niches. Quick-service "fresh burrito" franchises vs indie Latino taquerias. They each have their place, but comparing them side by side is kind of like comparing Olive Garden and DiFabio's side by side.