Serious Eats
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?