Chipotle Fan

Matt Featured on Washington Post Biz Blog

2008-07-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

Check out a recent article by Thomas Heath on Matt and how he created ChipotleFan and how he started his new viral video venture.

First Tomatoes, Now Jalapenos. What next . . . Cilantro?

2008-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

It has happened again . . . another recall prompting Chipotle to pull ingredients, or in this specific case, cook a product that is usually served raw. Yes, raw Jalapenos are not being used in Chipotle Restaurants, instead they are grilling them.

Here is the official notice from Chipotle:

http://www.chipotle.com/assets/jalapeno_notice.pdf

This is what you may see in the restaurants next time you order . . .

The CDC hasn't quite got a grasp on what is causing the salmonella illnesses that have so far affected hundreds of people across the country. As you may well remember, the first culprit was tomatoes, both plum and slicing. Now it is raw jalapeno peppers. I read that the CDC is also considering that raw cilantro may also be a culprit.

Hmmm . . . tomato, jalapenos and cilantro . . . chop them up and what do you get? SALSA!!!

Is salsa to blame? If it is, why don't they just come right out and say it?? I don't know about you, but I love, and hence, eat a lot of salsa. So far I haven't gotten sick . . . so far so good.

Let's hope it stays that way. In the meanwhile, isn't it nice to see that Chipotle cares so much about our personal health?

Thanks Mom, I mean Chipotle!!

2008-06-20T05:01:00.000-07:00

Chipotle to use more local ingredients?

According to this article at BusinessWeek . . .

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D91CM3R81.htm

. . . it appears that Chipotle is trying to appeal more to Locavores by sourcing some locally grown ingredients to supplement their menu. Locavores are people who seek out locally grown food, usually trying to eat food from within a 100 mile radius of their home.

Thanks to Sam Fromartz at ChewsWise for the heads up on this issue.

TOMATO SALSA IS BACK

2008-06-13T04:19:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that most of you heard about the nationwide tomato recalls due to salmonella concerns.

If you haven't (where have you been), here is a story about it . . .

http://kdka.com/national/tomato.salmonella.outbreak.2.747062.html

Here is what Chipotle had to say about it . . .

http://www.chipotle.com/assets/tomato_notice.pdf

TOMATO SALSA IS BACK

"We will begin serving our fresh mild tomato

salsa again in some of our restaurants starting

today and expect to be serving it in all of our

restaurants shortly.

The tomatoes are grown in the United States

and come from safe sources approved by the

Food and Drug Administration.

While Chipotle did not have any issues with

our tomatoes, we did voluntarily remove our

tomatoes last week for your protection when

there was an indication of a problem with the

tomato supply.

Thank you for your patience, and we hope to

see you soon in our restaurants."

ChipotleFan.com on the News!

2008-06-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Skip to about halfway through to the part about Chipotle. See the original article as well:

http://www.ksn.com/news/health/18743384.html

National Chipotle Day 2008

2008-04-10T13:50:00.001-07:00

We just created a page to dedicate to National Chipotle Day. This year it will be June 1st, 2008. Read more here.

No Free Burrito On Tax Day 2008

2008-04-07T13:45:00.001-07:00

We just received the official word that there will be no free burrito promotion for Tax day (April 15th) 2008. Chipotle says that they may plan an alternate promotion for another day, however. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Thanks to Jessica H. for the info.

Free Avocados at Chipotle on Tuesday!!

2008-03-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

Free Avocados at Chipotle on Tuesday!!

For those of you in the United States, it was just announced that Mexican Avocados will be given away in all Chipotle, Mexican Grills across the country tomorrow, to commemorate the Mexican, National Avocado Awareness Day.*

In addition, if you live or eat in the Chicago area, the Chipotle Train (see photo) will be free to all customers going to Chipotle for free avocados . . . all you need to do is show your Chipotle receipt,** and the fare will be waived.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEXT STOP BURRITOPIA !!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fine print down below . . .

. . .

. . . (keep going) . . .

. . .

*Otherwise known as APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

** Double April Fools . . . Fool!!!

Why do you love Chipotle?

2008-02-22T11:29:00.000-08:00

Matt Ragas, a researcher at the University of Florida, is currently conducting a study about Chipotle Mexican Grill – as it relates to the Chipotle brand, its customers (that's you!) and the media. As part of the study, he is conducting an online survey and would appreciate your help.

The survey is just 14 questions and should only take a few minutes of your time. This is your opportunity to share what you love (and don't love) about eating at Chipotle. How long have you been a Chipotle customer? How did you first hear about Chipotle? What are the top reasons you support Chipotle? What problems do you see facing Chipotle? You get the idea.

Here's the survey link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wPVmHrsNhAhwqiey8y_2bHcA_3d_3d

Things to keep in mind: Matt is not affiliated with Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.; this study is only for academic purposes and your responses will remain confidential. You can only take the survey once. Finally, Matt intends to share the final results with us in the future.

Thanks for your help!

Chipotle Valentines Day Promotion

2008-02-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Between February 1st and February 12th, buy a Chipotle gift card of $10 or more from any Chipotle location and save the receipt. Bring back the receipt on February 13th or 14th and get a FREE burrito! You can see Chipotle's official announcement here. Last year you only had to buy a $5 gift certificate, but hey, no complaints here. A free burrito, is a free burrito.

Chipotle Commits to Serving 50 Million Pounds Naturally Raised Meat

2008-01-21T08:10:00.000-08:00

In 2008, Chipotle has committed to serving over 50,000,000 pounds of naturally raised meat in its stores across the country, which will be a 40% increase from 2007. Chipotle continues to set the bar for ethics in the food industry, and while some prominent businesses are divesting from organic and natural food, Chipotle is only increasing the natural offerings at their restaurants.

Brown Rice at Chipotle?

2008-01-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

If you've read the forum at ChipotleFan, you'd see a lot of people have been asking for Brown Rice as a healthier option for quite some time.

Well, Chipotle must have read those requests because in November, in an effort to make their burritos healthier, Chipotle did some testing in 20 of their Denver area locations, by replacing the standard white rice with brown rice. Apparently, the tests didn't go so well.

According to this article, Chipotle found that in addition to a longer cooking time, a lot of folks wondered why Chipotle would change their tried-and-true recipe. I guess the tests results weren't conclusive enough. It seems that Chipotle plans to do this same test in other markets, so look out, and maybe you will get a chance to be part of the next test. Let us know if you find any brown rice out there, and as always, feel free to post your comments below.

Thanks to ChipotlLog for the heads up on this article.

Men's Health rates Healthy Chipotle Choices

2008-01-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year,
As people tend to make resolutions in the new year, and eating healthier/losing weight is usually high on that resolution list across America, I thought I would start off with my first post of the year by talking about health. I ran across this article today . . .

http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/chipotle.html

. . . . and it claims to show healthier dining choices when eating at Chipotle.

As you can see, when you remove the cheese, rice and the tortilla, you get healthier food.

I don't agree with everything this magazine says though.

When you start removing ingredients, what you don't get are the extra fat and calories. What you also don't get are the good tasting ingredients that you love so much. For me that includes guacamole, which isn't even mentioned in the article, but based on taste alone, it is a very important part of my burrito. And if you are talking fat, don't forget that guacamole is made from avacados, a good source of the healthy fats that your body craves and needs for good brain function.

This magazine is also of the opinion that Taco Bell is healthier than Chipotle just based on calories and fat. There is more to food than just calories and fat.

It doesn't even talk about how Chipotle has healthier ingredients (naturally raised meats, mostly organic beans, non-gmo sour creme) than Taco Bell when it compares the two here . . .

http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/15swaps.html

. . . The choice is basically up to you, so read it and decide for yourself.

What do you think? Please post a comment.

THANKS, and good luck with those resolutions for 2008!

Chipotle New Year

2007-12-28T04:12:00.000-08:00

Wishing everybody a Happy Chipotle New Year!

This is the start of a new blog that will discuss the finer points of one of our favorite restaurants, Chipotle Mexican Grill. In the New Year, we hope to feature stories, discussions, photos and other interesting ideas here for you all to enjoy, and we hope that you will participate by giving us feedback and hopefully posting comments.

Keep checking back to see what kinds of Chipotle ideas we can come up with.

THANKS, and Have A Happy 2008!!

Troy & Matt, the Chipotle Fan Blog Team