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Chipotle Versus Moe's Southwest Grill

So last week in rather odd turn of events our family landed itself at Chipotle instead of Moe's for our little outing. Moe and I had something going. A relationship beyond just food, it was bond, one which I never saw much need to move beyond. After all, it was his burritos which made me find God. Oral was great as long as it was in my mouth, and covered in cheese.

I'd like to think of it more as a small fling when we walked into Chipotle over on Battleground. After all, burrito restaurants are just like men: different facades but all the same on the inside, right? Wrong. Chipotle toots itself as the tree hugger of the two, with free-range this and that, organic goodies, and a dining room set from Ikea. This makes Moe's that bad boy in town dripping in queso, and it's southwest Machismo attitude

Needless to say, Chipotle was good. I ordered a Fajita Burrito and covered it in hot sauce, ordered some chips and a nice Corona and sat down in a booth made of shingling and particle board. The experience was rather odd. The food, tasty, zesty, fresh and unique.... but is it better than Moe's?

Well Chipotle has some really good things about it. They have a great website, an apparently much easier on-line ordering mechanism, and a morally conscience menu capable of enticing the healthiest of hug-a-whalers in for a burrito. The staff was super friendly, and they quickly explained the process of left-to-right menu ordering. The burritos do also appear to be bigger. Though I'm not sure if bigger is always better.

The negatives: Chips aren't free, rather they're very expensive.... In fact, almost everything is a'la carte, and it's not cheap. There's also no salsa bar, and there does appear to be a gender bias in the customer base. In fact I did a head count that night and the female to male ratio was 3:1. It's definitely a female thing. In fact most of the men going to Chipotle were being dragged in the door by their female counterparts. Which is where I must really must be honest here. I think Chipotle is a bit of a fashion trend. There food is good, maybe even great. If I'm trying to be healthier, and maintain that trend.... perhaps I'm a bit tired of salad, Chipotle seems like a great health-conscience place where I can toss on those new pumps and go to lunch with the girls at. I'll nibble around on my fresh burrito sauteed with smokey peppers and tingy cilantro and talk about all the bargains I made shopping.... It's a different "type" of burrito. I could very easily "crave" Chipotle style burritos, but it would never, ever satisfy a Moe's "craving". Chipotle is good, normal food... Moe's on the other hand... well for those of you who understand... is the only one of the two that will solve those certain times of the month when you just need something bad.

That's when darkness falls, and I'm wearing sweat pants, trainers, and have my two kids in tow, that's when I need my bad boy across the street, where I'll drip queso all over myself, shoot salsa down my shirt, and scream at the top of my lungs while stuffing a big juicy Triple Lindy down my throat: "Welcome to Moe's".

The thing I like about Chipotle is that they have shredded pork (Carnitas) that you can get on on your burrito. To me, the ingredients have a little more taste than Moes. I used to frequent Moes quite often, but it seems they have scaled back their salsa bar a bit (or at least the ones here in the Triangle). Chipotle does try to nickle and dime youa bit (guacamole is significantly extra).

Liv wrote: In fact I did a head count that night and the female to male ratio was 3:1. It's definitely a female thing. In fact most of the men going to Chipotle were being dragged in the door by their female counterparts. Which is where I must really must be honest here. I think Chipotle is a bit of a fashion trend.

I never really thought about that, but now that you mention it, I can see the whole fashion trend thing.

And Micky D's owned most of the company until 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipotle_Mexican_Grill

Yes, thank you for mentioning the carnitas.... That is a good point as I love carnitas!!!!!!!

McDonald's did disolve their interest in the company, as they have in other non-core-McDonald's subsidiaries...

...that said, Chipotle is one of the fastest growing chains out there..... and I do love their taste but it's not Moe's.

Though I must admit, I stumbled on a little piece of information while writing my book about one of Moe's secret ingredients that gives them a heads-up on the competition.... I've yet to actually test it, since I have to special order the product.... but I will, and that would explain my difficult attempts at duplicating precisely how they flavor their meats.

(Which also explains why they don't list ingredients.)

Chipotle on the other hand is pretty straight forward, and their big flavoring difference seems to be the adobo sauce.

My son and I often visit Chipotle before basketball games in Durham. I like the value for a fast-food "meal" -- give me a burrito and a soda, and I'm good for the rest of the evening and don't have to bother with visiting the concession stands at half-time. Which is a good thing indeed when Cameron's bleachers are crowded.

SouthernFriedInfidel wrote:My son and I often visit Chipotle before basketball games in Durham. I like the value for a fast-food "meal" -- give me a burrito and a soda, and I'm good for the rest of the evening and don't have to bother with visiting the concession stands at half-time. Which is a good thing indeed when Cameron's bleachers are crowded.

Hopefully the restrooms won't be crowded when that burrito starts working its way through....

That reminds me of a union slogan when a local meat processor brought in replacement workers during a strike.

"XXXX makes weiners with scabs"