The first time I ever stepped foot into a chipotle was when I was living in Washington DC. It was around 1999 and was with friends and decided to try Chipotle. Chipotle first opened in 1993 in Denver, CO. The success of his first restaurant has blossomed into well over a thousand locations. One thing to note, all their stores are corporate owned locations, no franchises. Back then the concept was still the same, but naive me didn’t know what the hell I was doing and basically instead of building the burrito of my choice I shrugged and told the guy behind the counter to just build me one. All I remember is that I got a very dry burrito that was filled with rice, beans and chicken. There didn’t seem to be any flavor whatsoever and lacked any moisture whatsoever. After that point, I never walked into a Chipotle ever again.

Hard to believe right? Well almost 12 years later, I decided that it was time to try again. With Chipotle’s commitment to food with integrity and supporting meat and produce purveyors committed to growing the best product possible, I had to see what I was missing out on. They have even made a commitment to opening new stores using renewable materials and environmentally based products.

The nearest Chipotle to my house is in Lake Forest off El Toro Blvd. It was late on a Sunday and the restaurant was about 40% full. I stood in line for less thatn 5 minutes as I looked over the menu. Pretty simple, you can order a burrito, taco, bowl or salad. You then have a selection of meats ranging from chicken to carnitas to carne asada(steak) or barbacoa (shredded beef). On the veggie side you ahve lettufe, tomatoes, salas, green and red sauces, black or pinto beans as well as cheese. All in all you can make around 65,000 different kinds of items! Today, I would have the burrito. First it is warmed in a tortilla press, next came the pinto beans, carnitas, salsa, sour cream and cheese. I wish they had cilantro and onions to add to my burrito (reminiscing about the closed Chronic Taco site across the street).

From the first bite, I knew this wasn’t the same burrito I had all those years back. Shredded pork form a reputable ranch, fresh salsa, beans, cheese and a tortilla that wasn’t dry and had a good chew to it. Why have I avoided this place for so long? I gobbled up that burrito and it was flavorful from the first bite all the way down to the last. No dousing of hot sauce packets here, there was enough flavor in the fillings to keep me satisfied.

I will have to visit Chipotle again very soon and try out some of their other offerings. Could Chipotles now be one of my regular Mexican food stops? Hmmm…. one burritor and my world has changed. Well, we’ll see how it goes. Next round will have to be tacos.

Oh…by the way, rumor has it you can ask for a quesadilla even though it’s not on the menu!