Chipotle

Over the years I have eaten at many Mexican restaurants: Moes, Qdoba, Los Toltecos, and Tḱila. However, none compare to the quality of the food I recieved at Chipotle. It’s no surprise that it was earlier owned by McDonalds (until 2006), as you can taste how processed and unfresh their food is, and how unsatisfactory their service is.

As I walk into the restaurant, the strong stench of burnt chicken and steak attacks my nose. Going up to order, I notice spilled ingredients all over the counter. Chicken mixed with the steak, brown rice with the white rice, and corn in the sour cream. It's as if the workers don't care.

All the workers there have an attitude and seem as though they don’t actually want to be working there. The tables are filthy and the floor is feculent, forcing me to clean the tabletop before I could even sit down.

The staff seems to be poorly trained; they wrap burritos as if they only have two fingers on both hands. Taking one bite out of a burrito completely destroys the whole thing, and makes a complete mess. It is apparent that they are not concerned with whether the ingredients end up in your food or on the floor, as I notice that when they are placing the ingredients, most of it doesn't reach my food.

Asking for extra things is almost an impossible task. The workers there have the memory of a goldfish. At the beginning of my order, I asked for a tortilla on the side, and once again reminded them as I continued with the second half of my order, but after I left and checked my bag, there was no tortilla present. Perhaps they gave it to the person behind me.

I have realized that there is only a total of five things on the menu: Burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, salads, and quesadillas. Never in my life have I ever been to a restaurant with such a limited amount of choices; even food trucks have more options.

I have just a few questions: Why is it that the brown rice tastes like soggy cardboard left in a garbage can for too long? Why does the guacamole look like rotting brains from a zombie movie? Why does it seem as if the food has been sitting out since the stone age? Why is the chicken burnt more often than the forests in California? Since its founding date in 1993, quality of the food has merely declined.

The ingredients they use are never fresh. The lettuce has brown spots, tomatoes are soggy, and corn is saturated. There is a Costco right across the street from there; maybe send one of the workers to go and buy some fresher ingredients.

And lets not forget about the E. Coli outbreak in 2016; approximately 60 people were infected by this foodborne illness. This outbreak was not only a result of the unsanitary lettuce, but also the mishandling of the chicken and steak.

Now on to the actual food.

Although their white rice has an exceptional taste, it had an unnecessary crunch of uncooked rice. It is as if the chef forgets to leave the rice on the stove for the required cooking time. However the chicken has quite the opposite problem. The taste of ash and char does not leave my mouth as I continue to eat the meal. It seems as if the only good thing coming from Chipotle is their chips, but the quantity is ridiculously underwhelming.

Considering the fact that there are only five things on the menu, I expected them to be appetizing, but I was wrong. The cheese quesadillas were as stringy as barbie doll hair, the lettuce from the salad tastes like straight water, and the burrito was so big that it couldn't even be eaten by an elephant.

As soon as I got in the car to go home, my stomach grumbled in discomfort, as if it was screaming at me for allowing myself to eat that whole burrito. Chipotle will not give you any enjoyment, but it sure will give you extreme stomach pain and at least two hours on the toilet.

Chipotle

14416 Chantilly Crossing Ln,

Chantilly, VA 20151

Works Cited

Whitten, Sarah. “CDC Declares Chipotle-Linked E. Coli Outbreak Over.” CNBC, CNBC, 1 Feb.

2016, https://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/01/cdc-declares-chipotle-linked-e-coli-outbreak-over.html.

“Chipotle Mexican Grill.” Chipotle, https://www.chipotle.com/.

Daszkowski, Don. “Chipotle Mexican Grill's Humble Beginning.” The Balance Small Business,

The Balance Small Business, 12 Dec. 2018,

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/history-of-chipotle-mexican-grill-3973222.