Chipotle

I decided to blog about one of my favorite meals, the Chipotle burrito.  I almost always get the same thing; rice, no beans, half barbaco half steak, mild, hot, corn salsa, sour cream and cheese.  I will deviate from this occasionally by getting fajita vegetables, pinto beans, or inserting chicken for one of the meats, it depends on what mood im in really.  There are a number of things that bug me at Chipotle; here are my main pet peeves.  The biggest would have to be the look that you get when you ask, "can i some more ______ on my burrito/tacos/bowl?"  I usually don't get beans or the fajita veggies, so in this case I always ask for extra rice.  I also ask for lots of the corn salsa (love that stuff).  For the most part I will always the same look up from my burrito they are making that says, "Really? You want some more, like this burrito isn't big enough??" So the employee will add a tid-bit extra, and move on ignoring the pissed off/roll of the eyes I give them.  I do understand their employer probably tells them under no circumstances should they give a customer more then the alloted spoon-full. This measurement I'm guessing has already been decided by the firm as the "serving size" or amount needed for one unit.  All the ingredients are imput costs to the firm and every time a worker puts more then this measurement into a burrito, the firm is essentially losing money.  

I was disappointed  when they raised prices on their entire menu.  I began thinking of reasons, and two came to mind. One, perhaps some of the ingredients (imput costs) have increased, forcing Chipotle to raise the overall price.  This makes the most sense, and sure enough, by simply Googling, "Chipotle raise price" you get an article that details the rising cost of beef and chicken.  Two, by raising the price they are simply trying to get a larger profit. What's a 20-30 cent raise in their prices going to do to the number of customers? Practically nothing, I mean common, those burritos are like crack to college students, and their willingness to pay is not going to change.  I on the other hand, decided to see what other substitutes where out there on the market, ready to be eaten.  I live off 12th a little past indianola, so Chiptole is extremely close, and I pass by it just about every day.  I also walk by Phat Wraps, a little known food joint that offers a close substitute to Chipotle.  This place is awesome, if you have never tried it you should probably check it out.  Here you have the option of chicken, steak, or vegetarian, but the glitch is that you yourself can add as many veggies to your wrap as you want.  I tend to make my wrap as PHAT as possible, so it can almost be as large as the burrito you get at Chipotle.  One other substitute that comes to mind can be purchased at United Dairy Farmers.  I only mention this product because it is both a burrito, and kind of large.  I am talking about the BOMB Burrito, a massive mess that you microwave.  I highly suggest that you never try to eat one of these in any state, whether your sober,famished, or wasted, because you will forever regret the decision.