Tell Good Stories…..

The family and I went out for dinner last night at the new Chipotle Mexican Grill up the street from our house, our first time at this mexican chain restaurant (spun off from McDonalds - the purveyor of all that is wrong in fine dining).

It had two strikes against it before I walked in:

1. It’s not Armadillo Grill. This is my favorite Tex/Mex place in the world, and the restaurant that our family frequents most regularly. It’s inexpensive and feeds the family very well. The Queso is the best I’ve ever eaten. Unfortunately, there isn’t one near our house. It’s near work, and near our church, but if we’re at home, the options are limited.

2. It’s part of a huge chain, albeit one that proclaims it’s freshness and lack of chemicals - IT’S ORGANIC! WOOOO! Any chain, by its very nature, is not going to be as good as the local “mom & pop” or small local chain. That may be a personal bias, but I have never found an exception to this rule.

It did have one thing going for it prior to our arrival.

It’s not Moe’s. We would eat here when the Tex Mex addiction needed a fix, and we weren’t downtown or in Wake Forest.

Never again.

Our first impression was when we weren’t screamed at when we walked in the door “WELCOME TO CHIPOTLE”. Good thing.

The menu is limited. Very limited. Worrisome thing, but we’ll see.

There’s no queso? Uh oh.

We got burritos, the wife and I steak, oldest son, chicken. Surprisingly, they were very good. It’s all about the options - similar to Moe’s - you tell them how you want it (burrito, tacos, etc.) and what you want on it. That’s pretty much it. You buy chips as a side with your choice of 4 salsas or guacamole. The guacamole was very good.

The bottom line is this. It was good. It’s certainly no Armadillo Grill, but it is better than Moe’s, if for no other reason than they don’t well at you as you walk in. I think the meat used as filling may be better than the ‘Dillo’s, but the total package at the Armadillo Grill, with the phenomenal queso and chips, will keep me loyal to my favorite. For a quick fix, convenient to home, Chipotle will do just fine.