Features --> Restaurant Reviews
Chipotle
19 St. Mark's Place
New York, NY 10003
chipotle.com
Several months ago, a sign appeared on a reconstructed store-front at 19 St. Marks Place. It announced that a new place called "Chipotle" would be opening, and in large letters said, "Burritofication in Progress." Well, far be it from me to stand in the way of the burritofication process, so I waited. And waited.
And waited.
Finally, a week ago, a sign went up announcing that on November 20th, burritos would be 100% off. Finally, I thought. A Mexican restaurant with a dry sense of humor.
The day arrived, and I passed by as soon as the place opened, looking to pick up my free burrito for lunch. But it was not meant to be. After the long build-up, and the not entirely surprising fact that New Yorkers will do anything for a free meal, the line was down the block.
I cried a lot, and then decided to come back later. That night, the line was still down the block, so I pulled out my trusty copy of "Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla" and read while the line slowly, inexorably, moved towards it's spicy finish.
So was it worth the half hour wait? Well, yeah. First of all, I learned some surprising revelations about Roland and his Ka-Tet. Second, it's a free burrito. Free food never tastes bad. One time, someone gave me a piece of garbage, and I ate it, because it was free. True story.
Chipotle is a pretty gigantic space, and on the night in question, it was pizacked to the rizafters. There was also a frenzied line of workers doling out burritos almost non-stop.
The menu is small. First, you choose the type of burrito you want: Burrito (beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, etc.); Fajita Burrito (peppers and onions instead of beans); Taco (same as burrito, but four soft or three hard); or in a bowl.
Then, you choose the filling: Vegetarian, Pork, Beef, or Chicken.
Then, you choose your salsa: Tomato Salsa; Chili Corn Salsa; Lime Tomatillo; or Hot.
Then, you're done.
The burrito was actually pretty good. I got a veggie burrito with tomato salsa, and everything tasted just fine. The rice was okay, the guac pretty good, and I liked the salsa quite a bit. Not very spicy, but more like a tomato salad that a runny, mushy tomato sauce.
They also gave us a free soda, but that was a Coke, and the syrup to soda ratio was off so it wasn't that great.
In any event, I knew that the excitement of the first day of a new burrito restaurant, and free burritos, would sway my normally journalistic integrity, so I decided to come back the next day. Which was today. I'm actually still eating a burrito while I'm typing this.
The store was completely empty. Gone were the long lines, the fifteen servers behind the counter. In their place was one guy wearing a green t-shirt that said, "The corn is MEDIUM." He said, "How you doing man," and I said, "Okay," and you would have thought that would be the end of our relationship, but it wasn't. More on that in a second.
This time, I got a veggie fajita burrito, with corn-chili salsa. You know, for variety. The burrito, which seemed to have an incredible amount of integrity the night before, burst open several times during the making. I guess they must have brought their A game the opening night, and only had their second string left for the second day. And that's all the sports metaphors you'll get in this review.
On the way out, Mr. Dude in the Green Shirt said, "Take it easy, man." I was this close to spinning around and shooting back, "Hey, I had a great time. Thanks for having me over." But I didn't because I had a burrito to try.
This time, the burrito was not so free, and also, not so good. The night before, I hadn't noticed how completely non-flavorful the whole package was. Yeah, it's a huge burrito, but it also tastes like air. And air I still get for free; this gigantic nothing bag was $6.25.
It wasn't bad, it just wasn't good either. It tasted like mall food, the sort you'd eat between seeing a movie at the Cineplex, and heading off to the Gap and Nordstrom for more shopping.
I'm all for snarky good advertising and free food, but honestly, you guys are in New York now. You're playing with the big boys. There are several other Mexican restaurants not just in the neighborhood, but also on your block. Have the advertising, but also have the product to back it up.
I'm not ready to write Chipotle off yet. Maybe the meat is excellent. Maybe tomorrow, I'll stop my eight plus years of vegetarianism just to try a meat-ridden Chipotle burrito. But for now, its a so-so burrito place that costs a lot of money... That just happens to employ my best friend in the world, Mr. Dude in the Green Shirt. I miss him already.
- Alexander Zalben
