Little Cub Eats: Chipotle

Chipotle (you know where Chipotle is)

Flashback to the beginning of the semester when I said I already knew the typical eateries of Pennsylvania in my first RCL blog post... I lied. I, believe it or not, have never actually been to Chipotle. Where I come from (as if it's particularly far), there is a Moe's right next to my high school, and being a cheerleader and in the marching band, we never really strayed very far from school. There wasn't much interest to try Chipotle, since we would have to drive farther and just over be inconvenienced.

Jump forward to 2016 and the closest Moe's requires a bus ride and more precious money dollars. Unsurprisingly, I would rather walk to Chipotle a mere few minutes from my dorm than catch the bus to Trader Joe's Center. My cravings for a burrito bowl were real and Chipotle was on the way back from my shopping so... here we are!

Ease of Access: 10/10

Chipotle is only about a five minute walk from Pollock, so two thumbs up!

Bank Account Happiness: 80%

My chicken bowl, chips and salsa came to around $9, but I could never finish a whole bowl, so once again, you could think of it as $4.50 for dinner and lunch the next day each. A little more pricey than I would prefer, considering it's just rice and some toppings (I don't like beans and didn't even really want to get meat), but overall decent price. Also, what's with this paying for chips and salsa business? Pretty sure Chipotle makes enough money to include the chips...

Big Group or Study Spot?

Honestly, I would say neither, although it is definitely better suited for big groups. Perhaps it was just the time I went, but it was very crowded there. For sure, do not attempt to get any thoughtful work done here.

The Food

As mentioned, I ordered a chicken bowl:

Hi yes I'm eating Chipotle in bed.

I like to eat my bowls with chips instead of a fork or spoon, thus the chip wedged in the corner. Overall, I was satisfied with my meal, so please keep that in mind as I relentlessly compare this to Moe's, my baby. 

For starters, I'm not a big meat person, so I never really look forward to these kinds of places that serve a large selection of meat and not much else. And as mentioned in my last post, I absolutely hate peppers, so their veggie option was out the window as soon as I saw those little green buggers in the bucket. As a default, I chose chicken, because I've ordered a rice burrito from Moe's before (I also don't like beans) and I never want to experience the look the server gave me ever again. 

The chicken, while easy to chew, unlike most grilled chicken I come across, was decently spicy. Don't get me wrong, I love spicy food, but for a burrito/taco/bowl I prefer the fresher, lighter tastes of sour cream, cheese, and tomatoes, so this came as a slight shock. Two things I prefer in my bowls from Moe's: grilled mushrooms and queso. Chipotle does not serve either, as far as I'm aware, which led to my grudging ordering of chicken, as I would have gladly substituted the mushrooms. I'm also a cheese fiend, so I like the added flavor of queso on top of the other cheese. 

On the plus side, the lettuce was fresh, a nice mix of leafy green and crunchy, I enjoyed the salsa, and the rice had a nice flavor to it. The server also loaded my bowl with sour cream without me having to ask, which is automatic points in my book. 

The one thing I do prefer from Chipotle over Moe's is the chips. They have nice big chunks of salt and a nice hint of lime that, combined with my bowl, made for a refreshing meal. They also complimented the medium salsa I got as well. 

Once again, overall this was a satisfactory meal, and the location is convenient enough to make me open to going again. Beware, though, the line gets pretty long, so don't be in a hurry if you try it out.