In light of recent posts, controversy, and direct questioning, I will attempt to articulate my preferences in a comparison between Chipotle and Freebirds. For the sake of brevity, I will only compare burritos, since that is all I've had at either location. In fact, I will keep the whole comparison within the scope of my personal experience. I will also not link to their respective websites every time I mention them. Feel free to correct or refute anything I say.
What I usually get at both establishments is a chicken burrito. In the case of Freebirds, I get a large cayenne tortilla. I get rice, cheese, lettuce, and some kind of spicy salsa/sauce. To most people, this is pretty plain.
On to the comparison, which I will categorize in whatever way comes out as I write it:
- Tortillas (+3 Freebirds)
- Chipotle has only 1 size, 1 “flavor“ of tortilla.
- Freebirds has (I believe) 4 sizes and 4 different “flavors“ of tortillas
- This is a big deal since I've been on a diet for a while. You can get a smaller serving at Freebirds, which is nice since Becky doesn't usually finish Chipotle.
- Rice (even)
- The rice is hard to compare because it's completely different
- Chipotle has white rice with some green herb stuff in it, and is delicious.
- Freebirds has more Spanish-style rice, and is equally delicious, although completely different. I have no preference here.
- Meats (even)
- This is another toss-up in my book. I usually get chicken, but have had the beef as well in their different varieties. Not alot of difference here.
- Vegetables (even)
- I ranked these even since I don't get much of them, although from what I can tell, Freebirds seems to have a larger selection.
- Salsas/Sauces (+1 Freebirds)
- I get the hottest stuff at Chipotle, and a generous helping of the second-hottest at Freebirds.
- I gave +1 to Freebirds because I feel like I have more control over content. They always let me tell them “when“ to stop. They also do a better job of even distribution.
- I will mention that Chipotle makes Chipotle Tabasco available as well.
- Cheese (even)
- Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Freebirds has more variety of cheese.
- I will score them even, unless I can remember getting different cheeses.
- Service (+2 Freebirds)
- At Freebirds, you get a person assigned to you that takes you through the whole process.
- At Chipotle, the service is not as good (in my experience).
- Atmosphere (+1 Freebirds)
- In my experience, all Chipotle's are the same. They've got some interesting art, but it's mostly stainless steel and wood everywhere.
- Every Freebirds is different, and they make an effort to make the experience unique.
- Location (with respect to me and my promiment locations. +4 Chipotle)
- There is 2 Chipotle locations less than a 5-minute drive from my house, and one well within “lunch radius“ from work.
- The I-35 Freebirds is over 10 minutes away with good traffic, but it's I-35 we're talking about. There is a new one off of Mopac that is at the fringe of “lunch radius“ from work.
- Packaging (+1 Freebirds)
- I don't think there can be any argument that Freebirds packages their burritos better. They are much easier to eat, even if you get a monster.
- Non-Evilness (-1 Chipotle)
- Chipotle is at least partly owned by McDonalds. I've heard everything from completely owned to mostly owned.
- Freebirds is it's own deal, as far as I know.
So let's tally it up. Seems Freebirds is up 3 on Chipotle. The primary reasons I've visited Chipotle more is the convenient location, and Dave really likes it.
Chipotle seems to be one of those marketing genius companies who have some really good advertising and slick packaging, like Apple I guess. Just check out their website! I can't remember EVER seeing a Freebirds advertisement. Most of my friends at work don't even know what Freebirds is.
So, Webdell, I guess the answer is I like Freebirds more.