When Chipotle Mexican Grill opened its doors in West Hartford on May 20, locals celebrated - and stood in line for hours to get free burritos. Others pledged allegiance to the other national fast-casual Mexican eatery just a mile away - Moe's Southwest Grill.
Indeed, Denver-based Chipotle and Atlanta-based Moe's are direct market competititors, with similar menus and setups. Each restaurant serves up a variety of burritos and tacos with customers' choice of fresh meats, vegetables, cheeses, rice, beans and sauces. Salsas range from mild tomato to spicy verde. Tortilla chips are served as a side. In short, customers of both spots can grab a quick, filling lunch for under $10.
Among consumers, though, there seems to be a bold, delineated, "do-not-cross" line between Chipotle and Moe's for those in the know. Mexican-food lovers have chosen sides, and they're not budging.
With this in mind, we put together a blind taste test of each chain's flagship menu item: the burrito. Nine CT1 Media employees sampled chicken, steak and vegetarian burritos from both Chipotle and Moe's, recorded their thoughts and chose a winner.
(Photo credit: Diana Guay / ctnow.com)
How the test was run: We ordered burritos with virtually the same
ingredients from each restaurant. Chipotle's chicken and steak burritos
had meat, black beans, rice, cheese and mild tomato salsa. To match
this, we ordered the "Joey Bag of Donuts" burritos from Moe's, with
meat, black beans, rice, cheese and pico de gallo.
Vegetarian burritos at both restaurants included rice, cheese, black beans, tomato salsa and guacamole. Moe's version included lettuce. (Chipotle's order system allows for much more customization.)
Tasters were given portions of each burrito, labeled A.) and (B). They were not aware which was which.
What people said about Moe's:
"Flavors were a little bland."
"If you prefer a milder meat, this one is for you."
"...meat was very moist."
"...even distribution of ingredients."
"Flavorful steak/bean flavor marriage."
"Tomatoes a little overpowering."
What people said about Chipotle:
"Can't detect any cheese [in the burrito.]" This was a complaint echoed throughout the testers' notes. A leftover portion of a Chipotle burrito had a large amount of cheese concentrated in one corner.
"The veggie burrito is mostly guacamole." While the guac overpowered the burrito, this wasn't necessarily unwelcome to our vegetarian taste testers. They liked its flavor, but wished the ingredients were better distributed. "There's about $20 worth of guacamole in here," exclaimed one tester.
"The meat is very spicy...with a kick" (This was both a plus and minus among our testers. Some loved the adobo-spiced chicken and steak; others hated it.)
"Ingredients taste more 'fresh'"
"...A lot of rice in my burrito, slightly overpowering."
"Rice is a little dry, but has a better flavor." (Chipotle's rice is cilantro-lime flavored.)
Everyone voted, and Chipotle won by a slim margin, 5-4.
Among the testers, certain burrito characteristics prompted strong reactions - the flavors of rice, the juiciness and seasoning of the meats, the distribution of ingredients. Only one person admitted to being torn between the two. All other testers displayed clear-cut favorites.
Pros for Chipotle:
- Online ordering, with lots of customization options. Plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. (Moe's offers tofu, but no clear-cut veggie burrito. Seems this could be easily done with fajita peppers and onions, beans, guac, pico de gallo and rice.)
- More upscale meat options - chicken, steak, carnitas and barbacoa. (Moe's has chicken, steak, ground beef and pulled pork.)
- Chipotle is very vocal about its "Food with Integrity" mission, serving naturally-raised meats, hormone-free dairy and organically-grown beans.
- Chipotle arrived in Connecticut with a cult following already in place. The chain has more than 1,000 restaurants in the United States, Canada and now London.
Pros for Moe's:
- Chips and salsa come free with every meal. (Chipotle charges for this.) Like Chipotle, Moe's offers four varieties of salsa.
- Moe's has more menu options than Chipotle, including quesadillas, nachos and fajitas. For a limited time, the restaurant is also offering burrito bowls with rice. Chipotle doesn't list quesadillas as a regular menu item, but will make them upon request.
- Moe's offers a melty, spicy queso dip that's wildly popular among its customers.
- At this point, Moe's is the only one of the two serving beer and margaritas. But Chipotle has plans to add alcoholic drinks to their West Hartford location in the near future.
- Moe's has five Connecticut locations: Hartford, West Hartford, South Windsor, New Haven and Fairfield. The West Hartford Chipotle is the first in the state.
Here's your turn to weigh in: which spot serves your favorite Mexican food? Do you bypass the chains in favor of a local eatery?
Vegetarian burritos at both restaurants included rice, cheese, black beans, tomato salsa and guacamole. Moe's version included lettuce. (Chipotle's order system allows for much more customization.)
Tasters were given portions of each burrito, labeled A.) and (B). They were not aware which was which.
What people said about Moe's:
"Flavors were a little bland."
"If you prefer a milder meat, this one is for you."
"...meat was very moist."
"...even distribution of ingredients."
"Flavorful steak/bean flavor marriage."
"Tomatoes a little overpowering."
What people said about Chipotle:
"Can't detect any cheese [in the burrito.]" This was a complaint echoed throughout the testers' notes. A leftover portion of a Chipotle burrito had a large amount of cheese concentrated in one corner.
"The veggie burrito is mostly guacamole." While the guac overpowered the burrito, this wasn't necessarily unwelcome to our vegetarian taste testers. They liked its flavor, but wished the ingredients were better distributed. "There's about $20 worth of guacamole in here," exclaimed one tester.
"The meat is very spicy...with a kick" (This was both a plus and minus among our testers. Some loved the adobo-spiced chicken and steak; others hated it.)
"Ingredients taste more 'fresh'"
"...A lot of rice in my burrito, slightly overpowering."
"Rice is a little dry, but has a better flavor." (Chipotle's rice is cilantro-lime flavored.)
Everyone voted, and Chipotle won by a slim margin, 5-4.
Among the testers, certain burrito characteristics prompted strong reactions - the flavors of rice, the juiciness and seasoning of the meats, the distribution of ingredients. Only one person admitted to being torn between the two. All other testers displayed clear-cut favorites.
Pros for Chipotle:
- Online ordering, with lots of customization options. Plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. (Moe's offers tofu, but no clear-cut veggie burrito. Seems this could be easily done with fajita peppers and onions, beans, guac, pico de gallo and rice.)
- More upscale meat options - chicken, steak, carnitas and barbacoa. (Moe's has chicken, steak, ground beef and pulled pork.)
- Chipotle is very vocal about its "Food with Integrity" mission, serving naturally-raised meats, hormone-free dairy and organically-grown beans.
- Chipotle arrived in Connecticut with a cult following already in place. The chain has more than 1,000 restaurants in the United States, Canada and now London.
Pros for Moe's:
- Chips and salsa come free with every meal. (Chipotle charges for this.) Like Chipotle, Moe's offers four varieties of salsa.
- Moe's has more menu options than Chipotle, including quesadillas, nachos and fajitas. For a limited time, the restaurant is also offering burrito bowls with rice. Chipotle doesn't list quesadillas as a regular menu item, but will make them upon request.
- Moe's offers a melty, spicy queso dip that's wildly popular among its customers.
- At this point, Moe's is the only one of the two serving beer and margaritas. But Chipotle has plans to add alcoholic drinks to their West Hartford location in the near future.
- Moe's has five Connecticut locations: Hartford, West Hartford, South Windsor, New Haven and Fairfield. The West Hartford Chipotle is the first in the state.
Here's your turn to weigh in: which spot serves your favorite Mexican food? Do you bypass the chains in favor of a local eatery?
I wish that I could merge my favorite parts of each burrito to form one super burrito. Each have their ups and downs. Moe's has better hot sauce! Chipolte would be way better if it had basically any other hot sauce other then TOBASCO! Who even uses tobasco?
support your local store keepers!!!!!!!!!!!!go elseswhere chopilte your food is way to spicy anyways my tongues been burning for the last three days and really wonder about al that organic nonsensE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AND YOUR SERVICE IS SO SLOW THATS WHY THAT LINE IS OUT THE DOOR SPPED UP TH PACE CHIPOLTE EMPLOYEES
No veggie burrito at Moe's? You blind? There are only 4 standard Burritos on the menu, one of which is the all veggie Art Vandalay. The Moe's veggie burrito rules over Chipotle.
Plus, Moe's service is so much better than Chipotle.
Moe's is the clear winner. Moe's is locally owned by people who care about our community. They have held countless fundraisers for our schools and causes. Chipotle is owned by a large corporation. And Moe's food and atmosphere is far better. To me, it isn't even a contest.
Chipotle is much better tasting and has way more quality. But if you like MSG in your food then Moe's is the clear winner!
Chipotle is garbage. Moe's is the only quick Mexican joint worth considering. Keep up the good work Matt and team!
Current local favorite versus a leader in ethical food production, it is a tough call. But, just ask Moe's where their meat comes from. If they can't give you an answer you believe in, why give them your money? Also, you simply cannot find better guac in CT. Go 'Potles! Welcome to town.
PS More info about Chiptole's food sources at: http://www.chipotle.com/#/flash/fwi_story
Chipotle is flavorless and terrible, plain and simple.
The Moe's in Manchester is nasty and dirty, and the employees are high school students who don't give a damn about cleanliness or quality. And have you seen that wierd machine they cook the "meat" on. no thanks... i am driving 30 minutes to west hartford to get chipolte. If you like moe's you are definately white and from CT. to spicy my ***