It’s Saturday afternoon, and you’re in the mood for some quick Mexican food. Taco Bell’s not your thing, especially with the green onion scare. What will you do? Ignore the craving? No, don’t do that- grab a burrito!
So, now that you’ve figured out what to eat, you need to figure out where to eat. There are two chains that are battling it out for your burrito bucks- the well known Chipotle and the up and comer, Moe’s Southwest Grill.
How do you choose? Well, it depends on what you are looking for. Both restaurants have very similar offerings. At Moe’s and Chipotle you can get burritos, tacos, and salads. However, at Moe’s you can also order nachos, quesadillas and fajitas. The ordering system is similar at both, you order in line at the “burrito counter.” You proceed down the counter letting your servers know what you would like on your burrito. Chipotle has a wider selection of protein- chicken, pork, steak or shredded beef compared to Moe’s selection of chicken, steak, ground beef or tofu. After picking your protein, you are given a choice of beans (either black or pinto at both eateries), and continue on down the line.
However, at Chipotle, the line is pretty short from there. They offer a choice of 4 salsas, ranging from a mild pico de gallo to a hot tomatillo-red red chili. The medium corn salsa is quite tasty, and the servers are ok with doing whatever combination of salsas you’d like. After the salsas, you can add sour cream, cheese, guacamole (for an additional fee) and lettuce (if you are able to let your server know in time that you want it).
Because Moe’s has a more diverse menu, they also have a longer line, allowing for more choices of additions. You can add pico de gallo, olives, jalapenos, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, guacamole (extra charge on some of their burritos), and several special dressings. Finally, at Moe’s there is a salsa bar that has 4 different salsas ranging from a mild red salsa to a hot brown salsa. Although the prices are similar at both restaurants, it seems like you get more bang for your buck at Moe’s since all orders come with chips.
Even though these restaurants are so similar, they have serious differences. The vibe at Chipotle is a little funkier, especially with the music that is played there- Chipotle takes their music seriously! Moe’s is more welcoming as all who enter are greeted by the servers yelling “Welcome to Moe’s” as soon as you walk in the door. But it really comes down to taste. I prefer Moe’s. The food tastes better, more fresh (even though both restaurants pride themselves on the freshness of their ingredients), less salty.
Either way you go, both restaurants offer you a great alternative to the typical fast-food experience and you’ll get a filling meal that is made exactly the way you want it. Just be sure to have lots of napkins on hand! The burritos can be messy.
