I'm on the road, in search of food — food for my body, food for my mind, food for my soul. I dedicate this blog to peanut butter, my best friend. Food is what we're all about. Cheers!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Chipotle Mexican Grill Serves Brown Rice

During our summer travels this year, we got the chance to try out a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Sacramento. Previously, the restaurant chain had come up in my online search for brown rice in Santa Cruz restaurants, but "brown rice" wasn't showing up in their online menus, and so I was delighted to finally see for myself that yes, indeed, they do serve it!

And their food is good! It's served up cafeteria style, where they ask you for your choices of ingredients and then you watch as they make up the burrito or tacos on the spot. (You can also get the food served on a bowl of lettuce instead of on tortillas or taco shells.) This particular restaurant started to get very crowded just after we sat down with our food, and the line went clear outside the building. Obviously it's a popular place for lunch. 

I ordered soft corn tacos with brown rice and black beans. I ate it all and enjoyed everything with pleasure!

When we got back home, I looked them up again online and this time I found where they actually do mention brown rice — but not in their menus like I expected to see it, instead it's listed in the "Nutrition Calculator." Select one of four choices—Burrito, Burrito Bowl, Tacos, or Salads, and they'll give you a nutritional breakdown of the ingredients. 

I found that for tacos, they offer soft or crispy corn tortillas along with the usual soft flour tortilla, my choice of white rice or brown rice, and black or pinto beans. (At the restaurant, the person serving me confirmed that the black beans are vegetarian, and the pinto beans have bacon in them.)

They also mention brown rice on their "Special Diet Information" page — there in the chart, it says "cilantro-lime rice (white & brown)."

The Santa Cruz Sentinel has an interesting story about Chipotle that explains more about the restaurant(s):  "Chipotle Mexican Grill, Restaurant Review: Fast Food With Santa Cruz Consciousness."

Finally, a fast-food restaurant chain that serves brown rice! And the good news is that it's growing and becoming more available in more new places. Yay!

Related Blog Articles:
Searching For Brown Rice In Restaurants
Lunch At P.F. Chang's
Lunch At Little Shanghai's
Linda's Seabreeze Cafe 
My Dream Diner
The Benefits Of Whole Foods