Chipolte Grill

Today was my first trip to Chipolte Grill. I was accompanied by two veterans, who highly recommended it and helped steer me through the ordering process. The food offerings are very basic: they have burritos, tacos and salads with your choice of beef, chicken or pork. They started out in Austin, Texas and now have restaurants all over the country. Their theme is "Food With Integrity" which they describe as unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal. They have a strong commitment to sustainability and giving back, but as the hippies taught us, if the food is not good, all that doesn't matter. The good news is that the food is really tasty. I had the marinated pork burrito bowl, which comes with rice, beans, salsa, cheese and if you like (I don't) sour cream. You can also get the tortilla on the side if you wish.

They are not only forward thinking on their food policies, they are also pretty high tech on their ordering. You can order on-line or you can download the iPhone app and order before you get to the shop. This is a great tool if the place is really busy as you can place your order as you are walking over, cut the line and pay as soon as you get there.

One word of warning, like everything that tastes good, the burritos are pretty high in calories, especially if you load them up with guac. You can check out the Chipolte web site for more info on that and to find a location close to you.