The Burrito Blog
Mistake At First Bite
This entry is filed in Alberto's.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Mistake At First Bite
Cinco De Mayo, My Birth
- I encourage you to eat some beans and drink some tequila.
- I remind you that I was born on this day.
- I ask you to buy me lunch via paypal or buy an I Heart Burritos t-shirt.
See also: Happy Birthday to Me and Snubbed by MSNBC on My Birthday
This entry is filed in {News}.Sunday, May 04, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Cinco De Mayo, My Birth
Time Running Out On Taco Truck Parking
Junior Burrito Analyst Dave Stuart brought this Los Angeles tragedy to attention:
...taco carts would be required to change location every hour, with violators facing fines, misdemeanor charges and, possibly, jail time.As if Los Angeles traffic weren't bad enough, now you'll have to drive around until you spot a taco truck, then hope it's still there by the time you find a place to park.
Sometimes government interference with business gets a bit ridiculous. This time, they're messing with your lunch.
Sign the Carne Asada is not a Crime petition.
This entry is filed in {News}.Friday, May 02, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Time Running Out On Taco Truck Parking
Taqueria La Mexicana Grand Opening
After witnessing the insane crowds at the unofficial reopening of Taqueria La Mexicana, they're ready for the real deal.
From the Internet:
This Saturday, (5/3/08,) Taqueria La Mexicana is holding their Grand Opening, from 3pm - 8pm, outside, in the parking lot. Be sure to bring your friends for authentic mexican food and a good time in the cantina!
Also, Monday is Cinco de Mayo. For this special day, Taqueria La Mexicana will have a free "chip and salsa bar," with food and drink specials, inside.
Vaya con tacos!
If half as many show up to the official reopening, well, just get there early.
This entry is filed in TaQueria La Mexicana.Thursday, May 01, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Taqueria La Mexicana Grand Opening
Chipotle Ignores Own Nutrition Information
I get furious when people give numbers a bad name. Read on and you'll agree, or skip to the chart.
From the Midtown Lunch post that inspired the analysis:
The law requiring all chain restaurants in New York City to post calorie information goes into effect today. And while it is still being fought by the New York State Restaurant Association, many have already complied, including Chipotle, which has already posted a Calorie Range for all of the items on their menu. There’s only one issue… somebody’s math sucks, because when you compare the ranges posted to the (very difficult to find) nutritional information on the Chipotle website, it doesn’t quite match up.
What's truly offensive is the deliberate misrepresentation of customer ordering habits. They state the caloric range of a burrito as 420-918. A range is low to high. All inclusive. We'll take a closer look in a moment, with the help of my beloved Excel 2007. Download the analysis.
First, let's get familiar with the Chipotle menu as concerns burritos. The Chipotle burrito and fajita-burrito variation have up to seventeen distinct ingredients, which can be broken up into three basic components: tortilla, filling, and topping. All caloric values are taken directly from the official nutrition information provided by Chipotle.
- Tortilla, 290 Calories (Required)
- Fillings (Minimum 1)
- Rice, 160 Calories
- Beans, Choice of
- Black Beans, 130 Calories
- Pinto Beans, 138 Calories
- Meat, Choice of
- Barbacoa, 170 Calories
- Chicken, 200 Calories
- Carnitas, 210 Calories
- Steak, 190 Calories
- Toppings (All Optional)
- Fajita Vegetables, 70 Calories
- Salsa, Choice of
- Tomato, 20 Calories
- Corn, 100 Calories
- Red Tomatillo, 28 Calories
- Green Tomatillo, 15 Calories
- Cheese, 110 Calories
- Sour Cream, 120 Calories
- Guacamole, 140 Calories
- Lettuce, 5 Calories
Of course, you can order a burrito consisting of only beans and a tortilla, so Chipotle indicated that as the low end of their caloric range: 420. Logically, the high end should consist of a burrito with the works. It doesn't. Not even close.
The burrito analysis team developed a list of the 4,640 ways you can order a burrito at Chipotle using the above criteria. Then we solved for calories in each burrito configuration and created a frequency distribution.
There are zero burrito configurations with fewer calories than Chipotle's lower bound value. There are 1,913 configurations with more calories than Chipotle's upper bound value. That's a bad start.
Having ordered and witnessed the orders of thousands of burritos, we created two subsets of burrito types, small and normal. A small burrito has 2 fillings and 1-3 toppings. A normal burrito has 3 fillings and 3 or more toppings. For example:
- Pinto Beans, Rice, Cheese = Small
- Rice, Steak, Fajita Vegetables, Tomato Salsa, Guacamole = Small
- Pinto Beans, Rice, Chicken, Cheese, Tomato Salsa, Sour Cream = Normal
- Black Beans, Rice, Carnitas, Cheese, Green Tomatillo Salsa, Guacamole, Lettuce = Normal
Most customers are likely to order small or normal burritos. The caloric range of these ordering configurations, according to Chipotle's own nutrition information, are way off from what they claim on their new menu.
| Low | High | |
| Chipotle Claims | 420 | 918 |
| Actual Small Burrito | 585 | 1030 |
| Actual Normal Burrito | 840 | 1343 |
What's really infuriating is that Chipotle has additional information with which to conduct this analysis; they can approximate the consumer's likelihood of ordering each option. If you combined the probabilistic order trend information with nutrition information, you'd get an even better estimate of the calories consumed per burrito. But they're not interested in that. They're interested in lying to you.
How many calories are in your Chipotle burrito of preference? Check out the calculator here.
See also: Behold the Possibilities and the original coverage.
This entry is filed in Chipotle.Tuesday, April 22, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Chipotle Ignores Own Nutrition Information
Unheeded Anaheim Warning
Maybe it was the high expectations from email:
You have not tasted a Burrito until you have been to Alberto's in San Diego, CA for a carne asada burrito.
or
Face it pal, your blog site is incomplete, because you have not tasted the standard by which all others are measured.
Whatever the case, we were underwhelmed by Alberto's. The food was greasy in a bad way, and the establishment was empty and pretty filthy. After a trip to the bathroom to wash the manos, I decided they would be cleaner if I didn't touch anything.
Alberto's, I have not given up on you. San Diego or bust!
Friday, April 18, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Unheeded Anaheim Warning
Welcome To Alberto's
Recall San Diegan burrito expert Paco's explanation:
Since you are sort of a burrito historian, you'll appreciate the Roberto's / Alberto's longstanding blood feud and its subsequent cascading effect on 95% of the burrito purveyors of our fair city as witnessed by the fact that most taco shops in town are named with infinite variations of the suffix "berto" no matter how ridiculous.
The Roberto's / Alberto's rivalry started when two brothers by those names inherited the original "Roberto's" chain, the granddaddy of all taco shops, from their old man. The younger brother, Alberto took his share of Roberto's restaurants and renamed them after himself. As the older brother expanded his number of shops, the younger brother followed suit.
Soon, both shops could be seen all over San Diego County. As the expansion grew to the point of diminishing returns somewhere in the mid eighties, they both began to sell off their less popular shops. Not to lose the drawing power of the Roberto/Alberto name the new owners of these shops began renaming them in a similar fashion to the point of lunacy. It started innocently enough with Gilberto's and progressed to such ridiculous and obviously made up names such as Adalberto's, Filiberto's, Hilberto's, Ediberto's, and my personal favorite Ramberto's...etc, etc, you get the picture.
Founded in 1975, Alberto's now has over 50 locations, mostly in California. Check out the official site and menu.
Friday, April 18, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Welcome To Alberto's | Comments (1)
Let's Drive To Brighton For Tamales
I was craving a dose of monster tamale goodness last Sunday and with Cora hustled over to Boca Grande in Kendall Square, Cambridge. I'm supposed to be some sort of burrito expert right? Well I expertly forgot that Boca in Kendall is closed on Sundays.
To Brighton!
That hit the spot. As always, the tomatillo chicken tamale delivers the goods.
Monday, April 14, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Let's Drive To Brighton For Tamales
New Hours, Menu Item At Davis Sq. Anna's
The elusive breakfast burrito, formerly available only at Anna's MIT, is now on the menu at Davis. New hours accompany the change. Doors open at 8am.
Set that alarm clock.
Thanks to John Liu for the tip.
This entry is filed in Anna's Taqueria.Saturday, April 05, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for New Hours, Menu Item At Davis Sq. Anna's
Elasticity Of Demand At Chipotle
Reportedly, the line was moving pretty quickly. Eager freebie recipients said they waited a mere fifteen minutes in line before getting inside.
Friday, March 28, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Elasticity Of Demand At Chipotle
Three Amigos At Felipe's
When these two came north for the weekend, we hit Felipe's after a night of casual drinking. How things have changed since college.
This entry is filed in Felipe's Taqueria.
Friday, March 28, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Three Amigos At Felipe's
Chipotle Giveaway: Harvard Sq. 3/12/08
In case you missed the insanity at Cleveland Circle six weeks ago, consider this a second chance. Chipotle will be giving away free burritos and soda from 11am - 8pm at their new Harvard Square location on Wednesday, March 12th.
Felipe's is about to be surrounded on all sides by Qdoba, Chipotle, and Boloco. Will they remain Harvard darlings?
Thanks to Internet megastars Bianca, Harry, and Melanie for the tip.
This entry is filed in Chipotle.Monday, March 10, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Chipotle Giveaway: Harvard Sq. 3/12/08
Burrito Half Life And Causes Of Error
There's been a whirlwind of hate mail peer review regarding the recent burrito taste test organized by The Boston Globe.
"I am shocked and also offended, perhaps next time you should include a real burrito expert, as in myself."Despite hostile tones, I share a passion with you, fellow burrito analysts. I hear your unrest. And I understand. No taste test is perfect, and we must consider the flaws of the experimental design.
"I am sick and tired of you blasting Boca Grande. You obviously do not have very discerning taste buds."
"No Felipe's? Fail."
#1: Transportation, Preservation, and Heat Loss
#2: Evaporation Catalysts
Moisture is critical to tortilla texture. Some burritos were incised widthwise to prepare for photography, lasting approximately four minutes. Prolonged exposure to air accelerated the rate of evaporation prior to tasting. Tortillas were drier than usual.
#3: Burrito Half Life and Quality Decay
Anecdotal estimates place optimal consumption within seven minutes of construction. To supplement scarce scientific documentation on burrito decay, our analyst team composed the following estimate:
Because of varying purchase times to account for travel, freshness was unequal.
#4: Configuration as an Uncontrolled Variable
Efforts were made to ensure consistent burrito specifications as follows: steak, pinto beans, rice, cheese, and salsa. However, the Boca Grande specimen had no salsa, and varying hot sauce application techniques made controlling for spice difficult. It is impossible to configure burritos identically.
#5: Untested Vendors
The taste test was limited to five burritos; numerous local taquerias were stricken from participation.
#6: Natural Variance and Small Sample Size
Hand made burritos are subject to unavoidable inconsistency. When comparing the means of two samples with high variance, large sample sizes are required to warrant conclusions. Each tester sampled only one burrito from each establishment.
#7: Absent Rating Criteria
Burrito Blog's rating system incorporates cleanliness, presentation, service, and how I feel four hours later. The nature of the blind taste test at a neutral location invalidated the first three of these measurements. Mixed consumption and immediate judging eliminated the most important rating criteria: the aftermath.
Despite extensive causes of error, we applaud The Boston Globe in their scientific quest. Detracting elements were entirely beyond their control.
As with all experiments, repetition is required. So, dear readers, go out and eat for yourself.
Sunday, March 09, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Burrito Half Life And Causes Of Error
The Globe's Blind Burrito Taste Test
The kind folks at The Boston Globe were nice enough to buy ten burritos for the tasting pleasure of John, Mike, Anthony, and myself. Anthony couldn't make it by serving time. He hasn't been the same since.
Fanueil Hall's Quincy Market was chosen by The Globe as a neutral testing location. The nearly identically configured, unidentified burritos were sampled in the following order:
- Anna's Taqueria from Beacon Street in Brookline
- Qdoba from Coolidge Corner in Brookline
- Boloco from Water Street Downtown
- Boca Grande from Kenmore Square
- Chipotle from Cleveland Circle
Identifying the burrito vendors was more difficult than expected. It's been a long time since I've been to Boloco, and even longer since Chipotle and Qdoba. I was unprepared.
I swapped Chipotle for Qdoba - unforgivable to devotees of either. John identified all five correctly.
Mike and John both gave the favorite nod to Boloco's effort. I stuck with Anna's. Causes of error were extensive and will be explored in an upcoming post. Stay tuned for analysis.
Until then, check out seven pages of minute by minute coverage from The Boston Globe and a post from Mike's blog, The Food Monkey.
This entry is filed in {Press}.Thursday, February 21, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for The Globe's Blind Burrito Taste Test
El Pelon Reopens: Comeback Complete
See also: Insurance Money Well Spent.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for El Pelon Reopens: Comeback Complete
Free Burrito At Cleveland Circle Chipotle
Ohio readers, the free burrito is at the Boston Cleveland Circle Chipotle location only (Map).
Massachusetts readers, the free burrito is available January 30th from 11am to 8pm only.
Chipotle will officially open Jan. 31 at 1924 Beacon St. However, Jan. 30 is the restaurant’s free burrito day: People who come to the store between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. will get a 20-ounce burrito and a soft drink - completely free of charge.
Full story. Thanks to Courtney for the tip!
This entry is filed in Chipotle.Tuesday, January 29, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for Free Burrito At Cleveland Circle Chipotle
El Pelon Plans Comeback
In the meantime, Fenway / Kenmore burrito hunters have La Verdad Taqueria (Map) and Boca Grande.
Early 2008 is vague. Get well soon, El Pelon.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008 by Jonah. Permalink for El Pelon Plans Comeback
Still hungry? Dig into the archives.
