Regular visitors to ROOMOFZEN know that I recently announced my intention to make my first ever pilgrimage to Chipotle. Upon reading the post asking for advice LaRocque offered to meet me at the Cleveland Circle Chipotle in Boston.
Couple of factors to consider:
1. I received parking tickets during my last 2 visits to Boston. One was due to a misunderstanding of how late Boston's meters are monitored. The other was out of sheer disregard for parking ordinances during the Celtics rolling rally. However, this did motivate me to seek out free parking, which will be important later. As a side note people who spend their days giving out parking tickets probably hate their lives. I believe this strongly.
2. I was a little nervous about the Cleveland Circle meeting place due to the number of Bowdoin graduates who frequent the area. I did not want to be derailed by some random acquaintance that would not understand the importance of the Chipotle visit.
To satisfy my quest for free parking I found a spot on Washington Street. Those familiar with the Boston area are laughing at how far that is from Cleveland Circle. Still I made the ten-minute walk, with plenty of time to spare. In fact as I rounded the corner into Cleveland Circle I saw a number of class of 04’ Bowdoin grads. I made brief eye contact with one and kept moving at a steady clip to avoid the aforementioned acquaintance derailment. I found the Chipotle and then walked a good 15 minutes beyond it to kill some time. And then it got dicey. Just as I was about to turn around and head back I ran into a girl who if she had her way would be a friend of a friend. I hope that makes sense. Well she talked to me for about 5 minutes and even called a mutual acquaintance before I could say a word. Right there in front of me the dream was dying. Thankfully she got the answering machine and was on her way shortly. I hung back for a bit so as not to go to the Chipotle with her and possibly ruin everything. Of course she was a neurotic speed walker and I am, well I'm not. I headed back to towards the Chipotle and met LaRocque right on time. Once inside he took charge and ordered a burrito with the following:
chicken
black beans
Mild salsa (a must because of the diced tomatoes)
a little bit of hot salsa
sour cream
corn (can't skip it, it can make or break your burrito)
cheese
lettuce
guac (extra charge, but can't go without it)
chips and guac on the side
I simply said, “I’ll have what he’s having.”
My Chipotle Experience:
- I thought LaRocque was a regular because the guy behind the counter said, “Hey buddy how are you?” Then he proceeded to use variations of that greeting with every other customer. Only the “buddy” was constant.
- However, I soon realized I was with a pro regardless of what the guy behind the counter said. LaRocque explained that the good people at Chipotle, for whatever reason, choose not to mix the burrito ingredients up as the make the burrito. As a result the rice and the chicken are in different compartments if you will. This is by far the biggest disappointment about the institution, which all things considering is a minor one. Yet as LaRocque noted on some occasions the burrito rips open due to the massive amount of ingredients they throw in it. On those occasions everything mixes together as they use a new flour tortilla. Unfortunately that did not happen with us. Yet it’s impossible to get that kind of insight from a novice.
- Towards the bottom third of the burrito I foolishly discarded the foil only to watch the entire thing fall apart. Obviously I followed LaRocque’s example and did not grab a fork or spoon. No problem. I had the side chips to scoop it up the remains. I bounced back from a rookie mistake with a little veteran guidance. As a side note napkins did not make the cut either.
- All first timers should go with a Chipotle mentor. This could actually be an incredibly successful advertising campaign for them.
- As I mentioned earlier, my car was not right outside. Nothing like a little stretch of the legs to recoup after a solid Chipotle outing.
Lingering Questions:
1. Does Taco Bell have any shot at this point? I can’t imagine ever going back there.
2. How was Babcock’s trip to the Hagerstown, MD establishment?
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15 comments:
"LaRocque explained that the good people at Chipotle, for whatever reason, choose not to mix the burrito ingredients up as the make the burrito"
This doesn't mean they wont mix the ingrediants if you ask. At the end of the line, once your guac has been inserted, ask them to mix up the ingrediants with a spoon and they will gladly oblige.
How would your experience compare to Anna's or some other pathetic excuse for a burrito place?
A few things:
1) That was a good Chipotle trip. And, I'd be happy to offer my mentoring services to any other first timers out there.
2) Ted is right. They will mix the ingredients. However, I always feel bad asking because when you get a burrito as loaded as what we have descibed, mixing it while keeping it within the confinements of the wrap is quite a task. Some day I may do it, but as someone who works in a fast-food like establishment, I can't bring myself to do it. Also, not asking makes those rare times when the wrap rips that much more memorable.
3) I believe that Babcock is preparing a post on his long and arduous trip to Maryland. It sounds like the boss has really been riding him.
4) Anna's is a very good value. The burritos are inferior to Chipotle (although they do melt the cheese). But, their quesadillas are great. So, if you go to Anna's, get the carnitas or steak quesadilla. If you get the burrito, and you've been to chipotle before, you may be a little bit bummed out.
The education continues...
Also, since we're talking about our "first times", it is worth mentioning that Ted was my mentor for my first time.
It was the early spring, which means that the ground at Bowdoin was still covered with snow. So, on a whim, Ted and I packed up and took off on a weekend road trip that took us from Brunswick, ME to Alexandria, VA and back from Thursday afternoon to Sunday night.
Somewhere in the middle of numerous drinking binges, pushup contests, and crushed cans, we found ourselves at the Chipotle on Wisconsin Avenue in Washington DC. I have since dined at this one many times.
As I did with Weeksy, Ted set me up with a great burrito. When we returned to Maine, I was haunted by dreams about this burrito for about four nights straight. That Sunday, Gerson and I drove all the way to Cambridge to go to the Porter Square Anna's (note, at this time the closest Chipotle was in NYC).
Also, I remember discussing on the way back from that trip how screwed we were financially from going on it (Bernie paid well in the cage, but not well enough for that trip and the first Monkey Butt Love Festival). So, we got the idea to put signs all around Brunswick advertising that we would basically help anybody do anything.
A family hired us to help move them from one apartment to another. They paid us like 200 bucks each and bought us pizza. That was huge. So, if anybody's looking for ideas, that's a good one.
As far as my experience in the Hagerstown, MD Chipotle, I ordered the exact same thing, as instructed by LaRocque and it was delicious. One thing I noticed however was that a lot of people were there by themselves. Now, were they already experienced Chipotle diners? Or were they just fearless? I'll never know. I know I personally needed some guidance my first time. Ahhh, I'll never forget it.
Oh man, those were the good old days..some highlights from that epic trip include:
1. blasting 80's hit "working for the weekend" about 200 times in a row, on repeat, in the car; you driving literally 30 hours that weekend
2. you sporting a mullet while visiting a rather prestigious university for partying
3. us racking up about a 100 dollars on goody's speed-pass
4. multiple chipotle burritos
5. awesomeness
d. you're a gimp
amd let's not forget that you sprained your ankle. And, that Saturday night UCONN beat Duke in the final four, setting the stage for a dismantling of Georgia Tech in the national championship game.
I was also with Ted on my virgin Chipotle visit and it was in DC. Let's just say that Ted has popped a lot of cherries at Chipotle. I am addicated to burrito joints and they have become my preferred fast food. I have eaten at a few more and am interested in opinions if anyone has eaten at these:
Qudoba: There are a ton of these springing up now. I love Qudoba for one reason: the queso burrito. They add ridiculously good queso sauce to the burrito in addition to similar ingredients to Chipotle. I give Chipotle the edge on ingredients but you have to try the queso burrito.
Frisco Burrito: I hate to say it but this is the best of the best. Still a very similar style, but just the best and freshest ingredients. This one is on the west coast primarily (I think) but there is one location that I used to frequent when I was working in MD. It is in Columbia, MD, so I think Ted is the only one who can realistically check it out. It is great.
Moe's: This one is in the Pittsburgh area and I am not sure how far it reaches. It is pretty good and worth trying. I think people around here hype it more than neccesary, but it's definitley the worst on the list and their shells are a little on the tough side.
Anna's is good but also overrated. I'm sure everyone has had Anna's...
Either way, I do love Chipotle. I ate there every day for dinner for two weeks when I was living in Baltimore.
I recommend getting the chips with guac also, however, I usually then put most of the guac on my burrito. I never feel they put enough guac on it....but can you ever really have enough?
I know what you mean. It's not a bad idea to get 2 orders of guac. If you only have one for your chips, then you really have to be careful to ration it. There are a lot of chips in that bag, and if you get carried away, you'll be eating half of them without guac.
Frisco Burrito, huh? I'll have to check it out sometime soon.
Look for a full report coming soon.
Ted,
It's actually called Like Frisco Cantina or something, but here's the address:
8865 Stanford Blvd
Columbia, MD
It's in an office park area and should be a 30 minute drive from DC unless the traffic is bad...
awesome, will check it out
thanks
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