Are Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants really that good?

Question

The stock is or was well over $100. Are they better than really good mom and pop places?

Answer 1

I have not been impressed - they did get wome recent publicity when a news reports listed:

Worst Mexican entrée: Chipotle Mexican Grill Chicken Burrito -- 1,179 calories 47 g fat, 125 g carbs. Lots of healthy ingredients (which Chipotle touts in their ads and in-store signs) added together equal major calories. Bonus points for the 2,656 milligrams (mg) sodium.

Their food is good, but not great

Answer 2

it depends on what you like... chipotle is alright in my opinion...pretty good but not the best...but its fast food, what can you expect. the chipotle closest to me seems to be very popular though, the line is out to the door quite often.

Answer 3

I am not so fond of Chipotle. I'd much rather go to Freebirds or Planet Burrito!

Answer 4

Well, let me first say that I am not really a big fan of Mexican food, but living in San Antonio, TX I have had the opportunity to eat it quite a bit.  Coming from a person who appreciates a slightly more upscale Mexican dish (and maybe not completely authentic), I say that Chipotle is much better than ANY Mexican restaurant I have eaten at in the SouthWest area or in a few Mexican cities.

For people who really like Mexican food, maybe Chipotle isn't as "authentic" as they would like, but I would say some of the "authenticity" is simply that the mom and pop places usually look like dumps on the outside (though the inside is usually clean) while Chipotle looks like every other slightly above average strip mall restaurant.

Their ingredients are very fresh and their cuts of meats are much better quality than mom and pop establishments, generally speaking.  They also offer great desserts and "Mexican Coke" (which still uses real pure cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup).

Predict that stock to fall as restaurants are going through hard times lately, especially chain restaurants.

Answer 5

They are almost as expensive as On the Border but I think the food is high quality.  I would rather put my $3 towards a guacamole side order instead of tipping someone who gave me poor service.

Answer 6

I am with honhill on this one.

My husband and I love Chipotle when we want a fast lunch.  Their carnitas are SO GOOD, our favorite!  It's not completely Mexican far, more like Tex-Mex but it's really tasty.  All natural pork and fresh ingredients.

You CAN control the amount of calories and other things in your food if you thoughtfully choose the ingredients you'd like in your meal.  They have so many things to choose from, no one forces you to put extra cheese, sour cream, rice or the big tortillas with your meal.

As for comparison to other mom and pop places, yes.  Much cleaner.  Other tex-mex places with similar prices are very bland, dry rice and the refried beans are piles of slop with lard.

:)