Qdoba, Moe's or Chipotle

baja fresh has the best of the semi-fast food mexi places, but chipotle is the best overall.

 

1. Moes
2. Chipolte
3. Baja

Never have had the other one.

 

Not a fan of either.

 

All very interesting responses. The 3 Baja Fresh's that were here all closed. I thought they were okay and definitely had the most menu choices. Also had very authentic employees.

 

Bleh, all three are gross. I will never understand the hype over Chipotle. Baja Fresh is passable.
The best quasi-authentic burrito comes from Freebirds in Santa Barbara, CA, but nothing will beat REAL, non-chain Mexican food.

 

If I only had the luxury of being near REAL mexican food again. That's what I get for leaving the West.

 

I think I ranked these in another thread, but here you go.

1. Baja Fresh. Get the Burrito Dos Manos enchilada style. It's enough for two meals even for my fat ass. They also have Pepsi, whereas everyone else has Coke. And they also have a good chicken chipotle tossed salad with pineapple and corn and avocado and those flauta things. Haven't gone wrong there yet.

2. Qdoba. Gets a slight edge over Moe's for the No. 2 seed because they have more specialty burritos. I'm a fan of the chicken queso burrito with corn-chile salsa myself. No free chips is a bummer, though.

3. Moe's. Inoffensive; they don't really offer anything that you can't get elsewhere, but it usually fills you up. I do like their queso, though, and you get a thing of chips with your burrito, which Qdoba and Chipotle does not offer gratis.

4. Salsarita's. Extra credit for offering shrimp in their tacos/burritos/quesadillas, as well as the flavored sour cream, but they really manage to fuck up the chips by overseasoning to ridiculous extremes.

5. Chipotle. Surprised at the reviews it's getting here, because I've been pretty disappointed the times I've been. The rice is too sticky and sweet, almost a jasmine-like rice that doesn't go well with burrito eating. Decent corn salsa, and there's more of them here than the other chains, so occasionally I'll go there in a pinch. But I'd rather be at Baja Fresh. Also: Drop a card in their bowl; I won a burrito lunch for 10 a week after doing so.

6. California Tortilla. Serious letdown. About the only thing I can point out in their favor is the myriad of sauces like Ass in Antartica and Dave's Gourmet Insanity Sauce and about 200 others that you'll see at your Le Gourmet Chefs and the like. But their burritos don't live up to their billing (the Jamaican jerk burrito was more punchless than a bad Family Guy episode), and the queso is store-brand quality.

Bonus observation -- Habanero. A independent restaurant in the Clifton section of Cincinnati, a city I've been to twice in my life. Ate there both times. This was my introduction to the massive burrito concept in 2000. Both times got the same thing, a monstrous chicken burrito with black beans and, for 50 well-earned cents extra, an etherial green apple/green chile salsa that hasn't been touched. Came with the best chips I've had by a factor of seven.

EDIT: And don't forget to drop a lime slice or two in your cola at any of these places.

 

Qdoba kicks ass, although I had to eliminate burritos from the diet.

Did make an exception at Xmas, though.

 

I've never had Qdoba, but Chipotle beats the rice out of Moe's.

 

I'm sorry, but a burrito from a place named after every senior class song since 1974 in a yuppie coastal city doesn't count as "real" Mexican food.

Find me a half-condemned shack in El Paso with no place to sit but a line out the door, where they don't accept checks and the refritos are still cooked with a scoop of lard.

 

The best semi-fast food burritos I've had lately come from a place called Taco del Sol in Missoula, Mont. No checks accepted, and everything is fried in lard. Actually, I would willing kill for one if the bean burrito cost more than $2.50.