Amid reports that corporate parent McDonald's may soon spin-off and sell it's recently purchased "upmarket" and "fast-casual" Mexican food chain Chipotle, devoted fans of the popular burrito assembly line are left with many questions, such as, "you mean to tell me my favoirte burrito joint was owned by McDonald's?"
One question you don't hear too many patrons ask is the nutritional information of the hefty meal. I had been a regular Chipotle patron, going with co-workers approximately one day a week - we even went so far as to declare a day that we partook of the giant burritos a "Chiopot-Day."
In a New Year's zeal to re-examine my consumption habits, I took into consideration the nutritional and dietary effect of my weekly Chipotle intake. Unfortunately, the Chipotle website, while in keeping with the painstakingly-crafted hip brand image of the chain, did not offer clear nutritional information. I was therefore left to search for an alternative site with nutritional information. I found it in Chipotle Fan, which provides a very handy interactive nutritional guide to the famed burrito chain.
Simply enter in how you order your burrito, and they calculate the nutritional information for you. Be warned: if you are health conscious and a Chipotle fan, you may not want to know this information. The thing is, the food is seemingly nutritious: it's made from simple, wholesome, fresh ingredients, prepared right in front of you. But the end result can be scary. The way I ordered mine (fajita burrito, with rice, mild salsa, cheese, and lettuce) was seemingly harmless. But after I put it through the nutritional calculater, I realized that my weekly treat was packed with 44g of fat, 107g of carbs, and over 1,000 calories, (over half the recommended daily amount). By comparison, a McDonald's Big Mac has 30g of fat, 46g of carbs, and "only" 560 calories. Go ahead and try the calculator yourself - if you dare. I myself have not been back to the chain since I found out just how much I was consuming.
The other surprise on this Chipotle Fan website (besides its own existence), is their generous public service - which they provide free of charge - to help consumers of this multi-national-owned food chain find their "burrito soulmate." I kid you not: you can enter online how you like your burrito, and search for that special person out there that likes their burrito the same way. What's sad isn't the fact that some guy from George Washington University named Matt decided to create this fan site in the first place. It's also not sad that he offered people the opportunity to cheapen the very concept of a soulmate (if that weren't already cheapened enough by our pop culture). No, what I find sad is that over 4300 people have used the site to find their burrito soulmate, and over 2600 of them have been successful.
[image via Chipotlelovers, another sad fan site. why do these huge corporations need fan sites? you don't see anybody clamoring to be a GElover or Citigroupfan, but I may be speaking too soon...]
There's got to be some healthier ways to cope with the W2. (Image via from the front cover of 
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