Friday, October 2, 2009

I love Chipotle.

This might be a cop-out since we’re only on the second day of Vegan MoFo, but I feel the need to extol the virtues of Chipotle. (I’m not gonna link to them, though. They don’t need any help.) It is, as far as I know, one of the only chain restaurants where a hungry vegan can get decently healthy food now. No scouring the menu or asking for substitutions. When I crash-land into Chipotle with my stomach growling and blood sugar dropping, I know exactly what to order, and I get it. It is an uncommon comfort in the lives of many vegans. I enjoyed it again last night, with Red and Don Draper as dinner companions. We snuggled up on the couch and I painted my toenails in between bites of rice and veggies.

What, you wanna know what I order? Fine: burrito bol with rice, black beans, fajita veggies, tomato salsa, and guacamole. It’s yummy, filling, and comes in under 500 calories. For dinner, that’s not a bad deal. Of course, it’s also full of salt and guacamole is certainly not low-fat, but once a month or so, it hits the spot. Chipotle is also one of the few places where Red and I can grab food together. Actually, Mexican restaurants in general are pretty good for that. We’ve happily chowed down at Baja Fresh, too—most notably after a massive, filthy group effort to help a friend move—but Baja Fresh is no Chipotle. Although, I still do remember that Baja Fresh burrito, so that’s a good sign. Plus, their mango salsa is pretty sweet.

I’ll stop singing Chipotle’s praises in a minute. I don’t want to get started on happy meat or welfarism or any of that stuff, because it’s Friday and other, smarter people hold forth on those subjects far better than I do. When Red and I are out running errands and realize it’s past dinnertime and we have nothing but pasta and apples in the fridge, Chipotle is there for us. We’re lucky they don’t deliver, or else we’d be shoveling in burrito bols of guacamole-coated goodness twice a week. For now, it’s an indulgence we can justify. Pass the guac.

My Chipotle Burrito:

Chipotle Fan.com

4 comments:

  1. That lime rice sounds great! I think I would get a bowl just like yours, I adore black beans and guacamole anything is the BEST.

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  2. I love Chipotle. However, I've always found the information they put on their cups rather frustrating: "all the cows are fed a vegetarian diet," for example. Well, what else would we feed an herbivore? What were they feeding the herbivores prior to this shift? Every time I speak with people about that kind of information their half-thinking stuns me. Something deeply disturbing is detailed right there on the cup, and yet, nothing.

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  3. You're right, Alex. That distresses me too. Don't they also have a "Vegetarians Taste Better" billboard or something? Ugh.

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  4. I love Chipotle, too. I eat there often -- my office is literally upstairs from one!

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