By: Ben Rosenzweig

In the world of Mexican fast food, two chains compete for the ultimate crown. Chipotle and Qdoba are arguably the two biggest Mexican fast food chains, and both have passionate fans behind it. If anyone wants a good argument to start, just ask: what is better, Chipotle or Qdoba? The only way to find out for sure was to try both.

The way that this little experiment worked was I ordered the exact same order from both Chipotle and QDOBA. I got a bowl with white rice, chicken, steak, black beans, and guac. When they arrived, I placed the bowls in plastic bowls, and blindfolded myself. I then had family members place each bowl in front of me, one at a time, without me knowing which one was which to ensure an unbiased review.

Affordability

The QDOBA bowl was about 3 dollars cheaper than the Chipotle alternative, which put it in the lead. Many times, the more affordable option is the better choice, however is this $3 going to make a difference in my decision?

Flavor Profile

I first tried bowl #1, which was the QDOBA bowl. I found it to be good, with the guac helping bring together the bowl. The proteins were well cooked as well. The main critique I had for it was that the rice felt a little bit strange. It was very hard, and felt almost like it had no flavor, and was bringing down the overall bowl. The rice is a very important part of the bowl, because it is the base layer.  This is what brings the entire bowl together. I gave the bowl a 7.9 out of 10.  

I then tried the second bowl, which was Chipotle. This one felt overall much fresher. The rice tasted much better than the first bowl, and the proteins (chicken and steak) had much more flavor than bowl one. They had more spice, and the bowl felt like it had more character. The only critique I had was that I didn’t get much guac in my bites, however this was more of an issue that I was blindfolded, because when I took off my blindfold, I found that I had simply missed the guac. I gave the bowl an 8.5 out of 10.

Winner

Although the QDOBA bowl was $3 cheaper, I enjoyed the Chipotle meal much more. I think that if you are looking for a slightly cheaper alternative, the quality is similar between Chipotle and QDOBA, however my personal experience will lead me to say that Chipotle is the superior option. While both are great options, Chipotle takes the crown of the ultimate Mexican fast food chain.