Chipotle, chip, chipotelle, chipolee or whatever your boomer parents want to call it, is not as great as you think it is. Don’t take this the wrong way, the food is usually decent. Basic ingredients, with a lot of salt, can go a long way. However Chipotle’s food and business model really isn’t meant to WOW their customers, it’s simply a convenient place to stop to satisfy hunger and to leave you deathly full (and on the toilet for several hours) afterwards.

I acknowledge and commend Chipotle’s use of organic ingredients and sustainably grown food. I think it’s great that such a huge company is able to source those kinds of ingredients and not charge their customers an insanely high price. I don’t hate Chipotle, but I do think it’s time for us to stop going so frequently as there are countless other Mexican food options in about every U.S city.

Let’s be honest about Chipotle, it is the same exact thing every time. I highly doubt you ever switch up your bowl or burrito. Maybe, occasionally, you treat yourself to some carnitas instead of chicken but you always revert back to chicken the next time because it just wasn’t the same. This kind of food repetitiveness is so common among all of us but Chipotle makes it ever more dangerous. You might be saying to yourself, “Well that’s the point of Chipotle, that’s why I go all the time!” I understand, you want a good meal that will always taste exactly the same so you know your money was well spent. Why waste your time finding a different place to eat when Chipotle’s are always conveniently located and it does not take long to make your order.

Well this is why: we live in the 21st century and we are not bound to the same ten food items our ancestors lived off when they grew up in their small agricultural towns. Food is a necessary joy in our lives and we shouldn’t waste our hunger on eating literally the same exact meal once or twice a week.Next time you crave Chipotle, look on your phone for other Mexican places nearby. I can guarantee you that they have more options, more interesting flavors and will be around the same price. You don’t have to completely abandon Chipotle, but our time on Earth is limited so don’t complain on your death bed that you didn’t try enough new foods in life because you were too lazy to walk an extra block past Chipotle.