Chipotle has 3 things going for them: 1. Their guac. 2. The sauces (tomatillo-based red/green). 3. The chicken 🐔. I can confidently say the chain is overrated (however, tasty if you stick with the plan I lay out). Buy the guac, use their unique sauces (superbly spiced), and get their go-to protein (the chicken thighs). Everything else at the “fast casual” (I hate that term) chain is overpriced just like their stock (“inflation bro”). Their grilled chicken is impressive, savory, salty, spicy (not heat), and juicy. They use thighs unlike the lameness of “healthy” white chicken breast. This fat is crucial from the thighs for a satiating flavor. It blends into each chomp you take out of their monstrous burrito wraps. Your incisors will bite that soft tortilla and immediately cut through the heaping portions of guacamole and be greeted with textures of that animal protein. You get the taste of grill char with chipotle pepper infused salty zings. It is overwhelmingly sensational and I recommend getting a double serving of the chicken→ “protein bro”.
The plan is: keep it simple. Don’t order with the filler rice. Get double chicken. Guac and cheese. Choice of green or red sauce and DONE. You can sour cream but it is not necessary. Disregard the beans (filler/weak protein), rice (filler/takes up space of the double chicken), and lettuce (what veggies? 🥱). The carbs are in the tortilla itself. The remainder is a monstrous portion of moist chicken flavored to off-the-charts levels of protein. The green sauce is so yummy with its not-so-secret blend of cumin and other wonderful herbs but sometimes I like to do the red for more frisk (another robust concoction of select ingredients). Chipotle is good at spicing (cumin is underrated) It’s in their guacamole.. 🥑 (edit: it’s NOT 😱 in their guac but it is in MINE — aptly called “better than chipotle”)
You can eat with chips on the side if you’re really going indulgent, but again your digression. At home I marry this meal with a warm bowl of Mexican rice; a harmonious marriage of carbs and protein. Or you can consume it straight off the chopping block while you’re NOT letting the meat rest 😆. This chicken will have one prestigious advantage versus dining at location. You will not get the massive sodium dosage (search: “reddit chipotle sodium” ⚠️); it is an unfortunate dilemma at Chipotle and you will be chugging liters of water hours later as if you ran a marathon and are quenched.. This copycat chicken?.. not so much if at all. Before I forget, this chicken is grilled in a very healthy oil; avocado. How they claim sunflower oil to be a good thing is wild to me, but that is a discussion for another time. 😏
Skip the chain; grill at home; save bucks/dine healthier. 🔨
