I ordered the same meal from Chipotle and Qdoba, and the winner had a far superior burrito but underwhelming chips (2024)

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I started at Chipotle and ordered a burrito with a side of chips and guacamole.

Ordering at Chipotle is a breeze, I imagine even if you've never been to one before. It was right around 1 p.m. on a weekday when I visited, and it was bustling. But I had my food within minutes of walking in.

All the different available ingredients are visible from the jump. After choosing between a burrito, bowl, salad, tacos, or quesadilla, you can pick out what you want (and only what you want) for your meal.

I chose a burrito ($10.80) with chicken, white rice, black beans, corn salsa, green salsa, spicy red salsa, shredded cheese, sour cream, and lettuce. I also got a side of chips and guacamole ($5.10).

The total order came to about $16 before tax.

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Chipotle's guacamole tasted fresh but mild.

Chipotle's guacamole is probably best known for costing extra ($3). As a side, it's decent.

It's thick and creamy, and I thought the avocado tasted very fresh. But it mostly just tasted like avocado and the salt from the tortilla chips — I would've liked a little more flavor or spice.

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The chips, on the other hand, weren't my favorite.

I've had better chips from Chipotle in the past, but these tasted like they'd spent a little too much time in their bag. I wouldn't say they were stale, they just weren't especially crunchy.

The chips were certainly the weakest link in my Chipotle meal.

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The chicken burrito was enormous, delicious, and familiar.

In my experience, Chipotle is one of the most consistent fast-food chains, and this burrito was no exception — I found it delicious. It's very large, more than enough for a meal, possibly enough for two meals.

Peeling off the foil for a photo caused orange-brown juices to drip onto my notebook, which now smells incredible.

From the first bite, the black beans stood out, bursting with smoky chipotle flavor. They were spicier than I usually find at chain restaurants.

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The burrito wasn't perfect, but I was more than happy with the individual components.

It's difficult to evenly distribute so many ingredients inside a burrito, and I didn't get to enjoy the corn as a sweet counter to all the spiciness until about halfway through. This problem, of course, could be rectified in the future by ordering a burrito bowl.

But with only a little searching, it was easy to pick out the tangy flavor of the sour cream and bits of crunch from the lettuce.

The chicken got a bit lost among all the other ingredients. When isolated with a fork, though, it was tender, with a hint of chargrilled flavor. The tortilla itself was hearty and chewy. It tasted fresh.

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Qdoba had more ingredient options, which made ordering a little overwhelming.

There was no one ahead of me in line when I got to the Brooklyn location of Qdoba, but many of the tables were full. The staff was notably friendly, and the restaurant seemed impeccably clean.

I came into this assignment with less experience ordering at Qdoba, and I think its process is a bit less streamlined than Chipotle's. Signs steered my attention to a tempting Cholula-flavored chicken, but for the sake of comparison, I ordered the regular grilled-chicken burrito ($10).

Unlike at Chipotle, burritos at Qdoba come in your choice of wrap — regular or whole wheat. I chose regular and stuffed it with white rice, black beans, corn salsa, green salsa, spicy red salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

Qdoba doesn't charge extra for premium toppings, like queso and guacamole. But that seemed like an unfair advantage, so I decided against adding them. Instead, I just added some tortilla strips.

I again ordered a side of chips and guacamole ($5), and the full meal came to about $15 before tax.

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Qdoba's guac wasn't better than Chipotle's.

I didn't love the texture of the guacamole at Qdoba. It was thinner and less creamy than its Chipotle counterpoint.

The flavors of onion and cilantro were more distinct, but they weren't enough to make it a superior guacamole.

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But its chips were better.

The side orders of guacamole at both chains were similar in size, but it felt like I got a few more chips at Qdoba. Plus, they were decidedly better.

The chips were warm and seemed fresh. Each was glistening with oil.

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My Qdoba burrito didn't even come close to the competitor.

My burrito split open before it was even wrapped and served. If it split because I went overboard with toppings, I would be forgiving, but I could tell as soon as the rice was scooped that there was going to be too much.

I could've had room for even more flavorful ingredients, like pickled jalapeños or cilantro, if there was about half as much rice. The excess rice might've just been a one-off mistake, but it still made it hard to enjoy the burrito.

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Huge sections seemed to contain only rice, with no other flavor elements to help it.

In addition to there being too much rice, the black beans tasted a little bland to me, and the chicken had a slightly disappointing texture.

The lone advantage of the Qdoba burrito was the presence of the tortilla strips, which added a nice crunchy texture. They reminded me of the beloved red strips at Taco Bell.

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There's no doubt in my mind: In my opinion, Chipotle was the better lunch.

Chipotle has elevated my expectations for Mexican-inspired fast food. Even after decades of eating it, I'm still a fan.

Qdoba may offer a wider variety of toppings, but the superior flavors of Chipotle's ingredients really stood out to me.