Critic's Review
Chipotle has added "Carne Asada" to their meat choices; it was time to give it a try. I hadn't been to this location since it opened.
At 3:15p there was a line of cars round the parking lot for Starbuck's drive through; I was wondering if Chipotle would be packed. This is the after school crowd; apparently teenagers either go to Chick-Fil-A or Starbucks after school. I never had that kind of cash when I was 16.
There was a time when there was a line out of the door all day for Chipotle, that time is over.
No waiting today; they're pushing the carne asada hard.
I get that it was past lunch hour, but 2 people with 20 cars on line for Starbuck's? People would rather have a $5 coffee than a bowl of stuff.
Chipotle still has no fresh lemon for iced tea; a shot of lemonade suffices, but I really don't want the sugar, so not too much.
Chipotle is pushing "both beans"; I've been doing both beans since Day 1. Nice to see that they're reading my reviews.
And here it is. No Rice. Both Beans, Veggies, Carne Asada, salsa, lettuce, sour cream and cheese.
Guacamole on the side. I wasn't going to eat the whole thing so I wanted options with the leftovers.
I don't usually spring for the Guac; this was over $13. No tipping.
A few more people can in around 3:30. The Early Bird people no doubt.
They used to play good music at Chipotle, now they play garbage. Maybe that explains the crowd? "Guapa" and Royal Arctic Institute. Pure junk.
The reason for the visit was to try the carne asada and it is truly quite good.
I usually get the chicken, which is little more than protein fuel. The carne asada is very tasty; tender. Put this on a plate with some lettuce and they'll charge you $18 at Rocco's.
I ate exactly half of the bowl in the restaurant; and had the rest 4 hours later. To reheat a bowl, you have to strip off the lettuce and as much sour cream as you can; 90 seconds in the microwave, and then put back the lettuce. I added some salsa and sour cream I had in the fridge. And a splash of the guacamole.
The leftovers were even better than the bowl. And I still had half a container of Guac for a snack.
Conclusion
Everyone knows what Chipotle is, so why bother "reviewing" it? Some things have changed; they changed their recipes after the E. Coli scare, and have now added a new meat choice. Get the Guac and you're getting 2 full meals for $13. Still a very good deal; and easily the best bowl of all of the bowl restaurants.
Review 9/7/12
A second Chipotle opened in Fort Lauderdale this week; this one is just south of E Commercial on US1. It shares a building with a drive-thru Starbucks. I guess Starbucks was badly needed in this part of town, because the parking lot was full at 3pm. Chipotle wasn't so crowded; there must have been a lot of people in Starbucks.
On thing about Chipotle is that they're all pretty much the same. They seem a little cheap with the ingredients; most of the time when I get a bowl it's filled to the rim, but this one was not so much.
My usual no-rice bowl with chicken. I went wild and had some sour cream today. If you read Yelp don't be fooled into thinking that this is a five star anything. It's a bunch of stuff in a bowl (or in a tortilla).
