Chipotle Calorie Math Makes Absolutely No Sense
Zach Brooks on the blog Midtown Lunch shows what a farce the calorie counts posted by Chipotle are. The calorie counts are required under a new New York City law that mandates they be revealed to consumers.
A basic burrito is listed as having "420 to 918 calories," but Brooks's basic math skills reveal that a 420-calorie burrito would consist solely of the tortilla wrapper and vegetarian black beans.
If this is what the new law is going to provide consumers, this is indeed a law without teeth (pun intended).
I'm also saddened to find just how caloric most of the food at Chipotle is. I'm going to have to look closely to find out how many calories my half-pork–half-barbacoa salad with two kinds of salsa and black beans (hold the cheese and the sour cream) contains. I do love the little container of salad dressing as well. It may turn out that your favorite item at Chipotle is a calorie bomb as well.
What do serious eaters order at Chipotle anyway?
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32 Comments:
I love beef fajita burritos with black beans - but I also eat them for at least two meals.
lo82070 at 5:49PM on 04/22/08
Mmmm barbacoa fajita burrito with extra hot sauce. I also make two meals of them, but I don't really count calories at restaurants. . .
unarata at 5:58PM on 04/22/08
In the Chipotle Congressional Hearings, these creative nutritional analyses will simply be referred to as "those darn empty calories."
Pork. Black Beans. I eat them for at least two meals as well, but all in the same sitting. Is that wrong?
HappyHoarfrost at 6:03PM on 04/22/08
You could always go to the Chipotle Calorie Calculator to figure out the counts. After measuring my burrito, I freaked out and thought of abandoning Chipotle altogether. Mostly, though, I figure it's good for a once in a while bloating instead of a regular fattening.
tchaike at 6:34PM on 04/22/08
How is that a lot of calories? The burrito is the whole meal, no sides since they're inside the buritto...
seadkdc at 6:45PM on 04/22/08
Carnitas Fajitas Burrito with Corn Salsa and Green Salsa. No cheese, sour cream or lettuce. Occasionally I get guacamole. Honestly, I know that it is bad for me, but it is pretty tasty. I generally try to limit this to a once a month kind of treat for a rough day.
feep at 6:48PM on 04/22/08
Serious eaters don't eat at Chipotle, they drive by it.
Don Luis at 7:01PM on 04/22/08
As a person with a modest appetite, I always end up taking half the burrito home with me and eating it the next day. Even the most calorie-laden burrito isn't so bad when you divide the number by two. I also skip the sour cream, but then again I don't really care for sour cream. I make up for it with cheese and guacamole, though!
roskva at 7:09PM on 04/22/08
chicken fajita burrito, tomatillo-green salsa, cheese and guacamole. sometimes, i'll add in the chips and guacamole. yes, it's a calorie bomb, but once-a-month won't kill me.
thebeses at 7:14PM on 04/22/08
What does the law require, do they have to report the full range of possibilities?
ccbweb at 7:18PM on 04/22/08
carnitas salad, black beans, hot, fresh and corn salsa, cheese, sour cream and guac with a side of chips. Hey...I left off the tortilla, refried beans and dressing. Besides, the salsas count as extra veggies. :)
ChelleyD01 at 7:47PM on 04/22/08
For some serious eats, I get my burrito with rice, black beans, fajita, tomato, green, and corn salsas, guacamole, and lettuce. Basically, everything they offer vegan is going into my burrito. I don't count calories, so I wouldn't care how many calories are in it. As long as it fills me up and I get enough food for my money, I am happy.
Chipotle isn't unhealthy, unless you really need to lose some weight. I eat there about once a week, and it's all good.
faeriedude208 at 8:08PM on 04/22/08
I must say that I completely disapprove of any law that mandates calorie counts on menus. I don't believe in "eating by numbers" and don't think that it is a good way to eat, live, or diet.
Elise Bauer at 8:26PM on 04/22/08
Geez. I like to get fajita veggies, rice, pinto beans, and tomato salsa, and that's already pushing me into more calories than I like to consume in one meal. :(
Christina at 8:35PM on 04/22/08
Burrito bowl with rice, half black and half pinto beans, steak, medium salsa and easy cheese. Chipotle gives the appearance of being healthy, but you have got to know that it really isn't low calorie.
carried at 9:32PM on 04/22/08
Geez - What I usually get (barbacoa, veg, black beans, and corn salsa) is pushing beyond 500 calories, way too many for me to eat in one sitting for lunch.
I'm just glad I eat there maybe only 2 times a year.
Carosone at 9:36PM on 04/22/08
Norovirus if I dine at the Kent State University Chipotle! http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=87794
bobcatsteph3 at 9:48PM on 04/22/08
Ooh Chipotle is always a treat. I get black beans, barbacoa, medium salsa, corn salsa, cheese, and sour cream. I can get two (or if I'm good, 3) meals out of it. But the way it usually ends up is I eat half at lunch then can't stop thinking about how good it was and have the rest for snack a few hours later.
ciaobella345 at 11:45PM on 04/22/08
Chicken burrito with rice, pintos and a 1/2 scoop of green tomatillo salsa. If I got rid of the tortilla, the calorie count would be better, but I like it as hand food!
jmoilanen at 12:04AM on 04/23/08
I have eaten hundreds of burritos from Chipotle over the last 4 years and I have yet to turn into a fat, sweaty, repulsive, panting slob.
My burrito of destiny includes:
Chicken, rice, pinto beans, pico de gallo, corn, hot red salsa, cheese and sour cream. Guacamole if I'm feeling wild and crazy.
As a finishing touch I always politely ask for the burrito guts to be mixed up.
Be ready to take a short siesta afterwards.
bizzle at 4:04AM on 04/23/08
Steak burrito, no beans, corn salsa, cheese, and guacamole.
If you consider how giant Chipotle burritos are, those calorie counts are not surprising. If you get the most caloric burrito and eat half of it (which is about all I can eat), you have a meal that is just under 500 calories. That seems pretty reasonable to me.
buffyholic at 8:34AM on 04/23/08
Chipotle IS for serious eaters. Their fresh ingredients and free-range meats are a welcome taste to the tired ingredients of other fast food places. The Chipotle calculator mentioned above is a really helpful guide to figuring out the calories. Maintain portions, hold cheese & sour cream for me! But keep that "healthy fat" guacamole!
Sarajahii at 8:52AM on 04/23/08
What? No one eats the tacos? Crispy tacos with carnitas, pico, hot, sour cream and extra cheese makes for an excellent lunch.
Also, if you're on a south beachy diet, the riceless burrito bowl is one of the few options you have when eating out.
CVilleBilly at 9:45AM on 04/23/08
I generally have a burrito bol with barbacoa, rice, black beans, fajita veggies, tomato salsa, green salsa & lettuce. It's 600 calories, which is a bit much, but not the end of the world if you're eating healthy the rest of the time. I can always drop the beans or the veggies if I want to come in lower, or switch to chicken. Sometimes I just go vegetarian, which saves me calories as well.
The real calorie saver is dropping that tortilla.
I also support having calorie info available. I don't think the fuzzy math on the Chipotle menu is helpful, but I do believe that restaurants should make their calorie info available online or in a separate sheet that could be reviewed at the restaurant. It really burns me when places refuse to do so... ahem, Quiznos (whose claims to be healthy I find dubious).
beyondblond at 10:08AM on 04/23/08
I'm with you @CVilleBilly! I have an obsession with tacos...especially crunchy corn ones. I get the tacos with barbicoa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and mild chunky salsa on the side! Mmmmm...chipotle!
jcrisco at 10:11AM on 04/23/08
Go to this website www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator to find out just how bad for you it is. Never stops me from going, even though I live in a Tex-Mex capital. I love their guac.
allikazoo at 10:36AM on 04/23/08
I get a salad with chicken, corn salsa, tomato salsa, a bit of sour cream and cheese. And I maybe eat half of it and save the rest for another meal. The salad dressing is DEADLY, calorically-- 200 just for the dressing.
Thanks, aliikazoo, figured out my salad is 880 calories. Good thing I only eat half.
anadequatenovel at 11:52AM on 04/23/08
I think the rice is this biggest sneak when it comes to calories.
My favorite is a barbacoa salad.
cm82 at 12:07PM on 04/23/08
wasn't this news several years ago? i eat: burrito bol, rice, black beans, two salsas, guac and extra lettuce. total: 550 calories. the thing about that bol is i FEEL full. it seems like a lot of food. you could get the same caloric intake for a big Starbucks drink or a milkshake at some drive through - and not feel full.
recommended: this blog, where someone details how he lost 60 pounds on his "chipotle diet" -- link
pookywookyster at 12:42PM on 04/23/08
Try an asada steak, guac, and pico do gallo burrito (holding the rice, beans, peppers, onions, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and anything else I might have missed). Have it with a Negra Modelo. Grab a couple lemon wedges from the fixins bar, and sprinkle some lemon juice as you go.
Sandro at 2:54PM on 04/23/08
mmm chipotle! i get the veggie burrito w/ black beans, tomatoes & roast corn, lettuce, cheese, guac & sour cream. it's probably a lot of calories (who's counting?) but it's not like i eat there all the time, maybe once a month or so for lunch.
j at 3:23PM on 04/23/08
The law just requires that you post calorie information... I think Chipotle decided to do the "Calorie Range" as a way to post mis-leading information. Because items are not pre-made with a specific set of ingredients, and calories will vary based on your personal selections, they are well within their legal right to post a "range"- but clearly the range is total baloney.
As for the law itself, while I agree that eating by numbers is no way to live, there are clearly alot of people who think that fast food is less fattening than it is, and while we are all fairly well informed eaters- you'd be really surprised how many people are shocked to discover how incredibly fattening a Chipotle Burrito is.
As far as Chipotle being for "Serious Eaters", while their use of organic and/or fresh ingredients is commendable, it's still the lesser of two evils- and is clearly fast food made to be mass marketed and mass produced across the country in a cookie cutter way.
Zach Brooks at 10:32AM on 04/26/08