Chipotle Food With Integrity

Chipotle Tacos and Burrito Bowl

I don’t really know how to pronounce this place.   I do know Barbara and World Traveler, who is now a Golden Gopher, love the food at Chipotle.   Once WT left for college it fell to me to provide the company for Barbara at Chipotle for her weekly “fix”.   I’ll admit I’ve never been a fan of “hot” “spicy” food.   I can break out in a sweat from eating ketchup.   Having my tongue set on fire so I can’t even taste what I’m eating has never been considered a pleasant dining experience.

So finding a creative approach to Chipotle became my quest and goal to enjoy the food and company while limiting the effects of heartburn and numb lips.

I found what I was looking for by not adding any salsa to anything I ordered.   None, Nada, Zip.   Once eliminating the salsa I discovered I not only could eat anything on the menu but quite enjoy eating there.

It wasn’t until doing research for this post I realized the nature of the ingredients being served at Chipotle.   They refer to it on their website as F.W.I. Food With Integrity.   I can’t say it any better than they do:

“Food With Integrity” isn’t a marketing slogan. It’s not a product line of natural and organic foods. And it’s not a corporate initiative that will ever be finished or set aside to make room for other priorities. It’s a philosophy that we can always do better in terms of the food we buy. And when we say better, we mean better in every sense of the word- better tasting, coming from better sources, better for the environment, better for the animals, and better for the farmers who raise the animals and grow the produce.

The hallmarks of Food With Integrity include things like unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal. And, since embracing this philosophy, it’s had tremendous impact on how we run our restaurants and our business. It’s led us to serve more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant in the country, to push for more sustainable practices in produce farming, and to work with dairy suppliers to eliminate the use of added hormones from their operations.”

Mayan High Priest Eating a Burrito at Chipotle

I like the fact they are using natural ingredients without hormones in the meats and romaine lettuce instead of iceberg.   There food is always fresh and you won’t find a microwave in the place.

I also like the artwork on the walls.   There is something appealing about a Mayan High Priest with a Chipotle Burrito in his hand.   I like to think it is the vegetarian burrito myself with guacamole.

There are Chipotle eateries all over Tucson.   I especially like the outdoor dining areas.   Even in our winter it is nice to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

For those that like all the spicy stuff; get plenty of salsa. I think the corn salsa might be the hottest, but if you ask I’m sure they will tell you which ones are really hot.

If you like cheese ask for extra cheese.   It is good.   I also get the fajita mix in my veggie bowl, red onions and green peppers.   The guacamole is free in the veggie bowl.   It costs $1.50 more on all the others.   The burritos are huge, I try and watch my bread and flour intake so it is usually the bowl for me.

Chipotle, even if you can’t pronounce it you will get a healthy meal at a reasonable price and   freshly prepared.