You step past the red, overhanging Chipotle sign and walk into the restaurant. You order the most popular item on the menu: a carb-packed Mission-style burrito stuffed with extra rice and mushy beans, followed by a scoop of charred chicken, a heavy dollop of salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and a sprinkle of lettuce and cheese. And why not a side of chips and a cold drink while you’re at it? Before you know it, in front of you is a $15 behemoth burrito that can barely close and a meal with enough grams of fat to rival a stick of butter.

But Chipotle’s problem isn’t just its sky-scraping calorie count. For far too long, people have overhyped the burrito chain, salivating over the restaurant’s unique flavor and how the ingredients are all fresh and “locally sourced.”

In reality, Chipotle defines locally sourced as ingredients within 350 miles of the restaurant, and the ingredients for the salsa bases and dishes like carnitas and barbacoa, even when grown or raised less than a few miles away from the restaurants serving them, travel thousands of extra miles so they can be processed in Chicago.

Fresh cooking has long been part of Chipotle’s mantra, and its website even claims to use only “classic cooking techniques.” However, as it turns out, Chipotle doesn’t do all of its cooking. Instead, they use OSI — the same outside company that makes McDonald’s Big Macs and McNuggets — to braise their meat and bake the beans.

To feed the fire, Chipotle’s seemingly palatable prices are actually a myth. A single lunch visit and a burrito bowl order will take around $15 out of your wallet, especially if you’re ordering a drink or getting any extras. Additional charges for guacamole, cheese, and double protein only drive up the price further. With the average cost at fast-casual restaurants being $11, despite the hype, Chipotle is rather pricey for what it is: a mediocre Mexican grill.

While Chipotle takes pride in its fresh, high-quality ingredients, you could easily make your own burrito, bowl, or whatever you please at home — for less than half the price. The ingredients are as simple as it gets: 10 cents for rice, 24 cents for beans and cheese, and around $1 for meat. Including ready-made fajita veggies, salsa, and a tortilla, it brings the total to $3.46. Even if you were to use fresh ingredients made from scratch, you would still save money. 

Recently revitalized, Chipotle has swept the nation.

Chipotle has undeniably built a strong brand over the years by offering both customizable and relatively inexpensive meal choices. Despite criticism, the chain really does put an emphasis on using additive-free ingredients and responsibly raised meat. However, even then, Chipotle’s animal welfare standards are still unclear, and its food doesn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. 

From its tacos and bowls to its Mission-style burritos, Chipotle falls short of meeting any expectations of a Mexican-inspired grill. While the burrito chain has captivated many with its branding and promise of a fresh, savory meal, it’s time to realize that all Chipotle adds up to is a bland, underwhelming burrito built more on social appeal than quality. Beyond the overhyped Mission-style burrito chock full of beans and rice lies more authentic and mouth watering restaurants like Portales Taqueria, ready to serve up some real Mexican food. 

A burrito bowl with white rice, black beans, either steak or chicken (depends on the day), mixed fajita veggies, mild salsa, corn, lettuce, cheese, and a side of queso and chips (if I have the funds) with a water cup (usually a drink other than water to be honest). This is my go-to chipotle order, and dare I say it is beautiful.

So why would anybody ever say that Chipotle is overrated?

Let’s take a second to think about fast-food restaurants in modern day. To get a healthy, quick and actually tasty meal is much harder than one thinks. First of all, it is important to recognize the overall health issues of fast-food chains in general. When someone brings up the topic of fast food, our minds immediately jump to the greasy, mediocre and artificially flavored food. However, this is not the case with Chipotle. 

Chipotle’s reputation is known for being fresh, ethnic, and tasty. The brand’s emphasis on fresh ingredients that you can identify and pronounce is a vital part of their image as well.  

When Chipotle opened up, it completely changed the fast-food industry. Compared to other places like McDonalds, Chipotle did not fit under the norm of a regular fast-food restaurant as it was viewed as more expensive and a boujee take on fast food.

As an example, imagine someone is choosing between purchasing a Chipotle Bowl or a Mcdonald’s Big Mac burger. A Chipotle Bowl averages around $12-$13 and has a median of 21 ounces of food. The average cost of a Big Mac is around $5-$6 and 7 ounces. Proportionally speaking, the amount of food per dollar is almost identical between the two. Sure, at the moment the Big Mac sounds like a better low-cost choice, but holistically,it is not saving any money with the amount of food you are getting. 

With the prices being proportional, Chipotle is arguably the healthier choice. Fast food is what you may get if you are just feeling lazy to cook or crave the taste of junk food (we have all been there before), but for some people fast food becomes the only affordable and convenient option for a meal. Long term, this reliability on fast food can lead to the growing obesity rates within the U.S. as well as other health risks. A simple choice of a healthier option can help in combating such issues, and Chipotle is a perfect choice in that regard. 

Not only is Chipotle the better case for your health, but it also directly benefits the community. In 2011, Chipotle started The Cultivate Foundation in order to promote sustainable agriculture and organic food. Over the past 13 years, Chipotle’s foundation has donated millions of dollars to organizations who promote the use of ethical and sustainable farming. In addition, the Chipotle Rewards program directly provides options to customers to donate money to these charitable causes. 

At the end of the day, Chipotle does not have to be your favorite fast food choice. However, it would be ignorant to argue that the widely-renowned chain is overrated. Chipotle provides quick services, arguably extremely tasty ethnic food, as well as healthy choices that many fast food chains will never be able to replicate.