Chipotle Vs. Qdoba: Who's the Better Mexican Food Cafe?

Chipotle and Qdoba have both sprung up in a seemingly short amount of time to fill a niche between fast food and restaurants while providing a much better quality product than the former.

The question of which is the better Mexican food cafe has spurred intense debates, even fistfights (kidding) from New York to California over which is best.

A lot depends on the region because both restaurant chains are popular but not quite omnipresent and still have a long way to go to expand their respective footprints. But many people have tried both of them during their travels and everyone's got an opinion.Hey, it's the Internet age.

So, which one is better? Chipotle is loved for its high-quality ingredients and straightforward menu. It doesn't hurt that many locations have beer also which is a big selling point and adds to the authenticity or feeling of the food as many places in Mexico double as cantinas and burritos go well with beer.

The burritos at Chipotle can be made with a good selection of toppings and the ingredients seem a bit fresher than Qdoba. Chipotle also strives to use organic ingredients whenever possible which is an important point to make. One thing that stands out to those who think Qdoba is better than Chipotle is that queso sauce is not offered at the latter restaurant, at least not in the times I've been there or according to its website.

Qdoba's queso sauce is thick, ridiculously tasty and the perfect topping for any burrito for those who are looking for a gluttonous Mexican meal that you can grab and go. Qdoba offers some interesting items like Mexican gumbo and recently street-vendor style tacos. Qdoba's burritos are the star of the show though much like Chipotle.

In the end, this is a tough choice, but Chipotle wins out as the better Mexican restaurant/cafe over Qdoba by a hair. The organic ingredients (although they need to continue to add more), beer, and general quality of Chipotle gives it the edge over Qdoba and its wonderful queso sauce.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments section. Thanks to Darren Rovell of ESPN for the idea via his Twitter page as well.