New Ingredients for Chipotle?

So the wife and I were out and about in Manhattan the other day and it was feeding time. We found a Chipotle we'd never been to before on 8^th Avenue and figured we'd just grab a couple of burritos.

We had never been to this Chipotle before but we had been to Chipotle's in a number of states for several years. We'd been to Chipotle in Los Angeles, we'd been to Chipotle in Seattle, we'd been to Chipotle in Colorado, we'd been to Chipotle in Washington D.C. and we'd been to several Chipotle's in New York City. So we figured not really a big deal that we'd never been to this one before. We thought even that this could be something fun for us as it's a location nearby where we used to live and nearby where we hang out a lot in the city.

Well this Chipotle actually has something different going on from any other Chipotle we'd ever been to before. The tortillas are different, the corn was different, the meats were different, the salsa were different, the rice was different; everything in this Chipotle was -- different!

We both usually get the burritos; sometimes we get the salads or the tacos but today we both got the veggie burritos. When I bit into my burrito I tasted the difference; even though the ingredients I put on were the same as I always do, the taste was a lot more organic.

This different ingredient thing sat with me for some time and the next day I got on the phone and called the 8^th Avenue location to see what the difference was. Did this Chipotle stand out as something different from others across the brand? Or was this Chipotle just the first of the brand I'd been to since the whole menu had changed?

The woman I spoke to at their location was very friendly. She told me that this Chipotle was a "test kitchen" and that they used different ingredients and quality products. The ingredients they used, she said, were far better for you. (Just on the surface, the tortilla appeared whole wheat and the rice was brown rice as opposed to white rice.)

I couldn't help but be a little suspicious after hearing the news this week out of China that there was a fake Apple store in the city of Kunming. Even in a city as big as New York City there could be the same thing going on with Chipotle. Though, for now, it appears as though Chipotle the company knows about the Chipotle test kitchen location on 8^th Avenue in New York City.

The Chipotle Test Kitchen location is located at 149 8^th Avenue New York City 10011. 212-620-4015.

Sources:

www.chipotle.com

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2388955,00.asp