Fast-food rant du jour

[blowero]

First of all, I think great strides have been made in fast-food in recent years. It’s no longer all greasy crap. One place I like is Rubio’s Baja Grill, which is one of those “Fresh-Mex” type places, if you aren’t familiar with it. Excellent food.

I got a burrito there today, and their burritos come with what they call “Chipotle Sauce”, which is really just watered-down mayonnaise. It tastes good, but I figure it’s just added fat that I don’t really need, so I always say “No Chipotle sauce”. Now, there’s a sort of mental checklist I have to go through when I order fast-food to-go, based on previous experiences of having been ripped-off:

1. When paying, I have to mention that I am giving them a 20-DOLLAR BILL, so that they won’t give me change for a 5, and then claim that’s what I gave them. (Has happened at least twice to me).

2. Count the change to make sure it is in fact correct.

3. Examine the receipt to make sure that the order was entered correctly. If they did it right, it will list the items I ordered and indicate that I requested no Chipotle sauce.

4. When I get the food, open the bag and examine the contents to make sure nothing has been excluded.

So after going through my rigorous checks, I took the burrito back to the office to eat. I unroll the burrito to put salsa on it, and I notice that not only is there no Chipotle sauce, but there are no rice or beans either (which it’s supposed to have). What I don’t get is, how is it SO FUCKING HARD to just make my order the way I asked for it, and the way it was entered into the computer? If I want the sauce left off, you leave ONLY the sauce off, not anything else. I guess I’m lucky I got anything inside at all. They may just as well have thought, “Gee, he doesn’t want Chipotle sauce; I guess he doesn’t want the chicken on there either.” So, thanks to you nitwits, I now get to add a 5th item to my checklist:

5. Unwrap burrito. Unroll burrito and examine to be sure all necessary ingredients are present.

If this keeps up, I’m gonna have to learn to cook.

[Sauron]

Could someone please channel Joe Pesci from “Lethal Weapon II”?

[Padeye]

Penny Arcade

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

But, Blowero, it’s rocket science, didn’t you know that? I don’t think it’s fair to blame some minimum wage fast food flunky for the fact that he can’t keep up with what everyone agrees is a demanding, fast-track, high-tech job. Blame the manager, for being too cheap to hire competent help, even if it means he has to outbid NASA. Hey, some things are more important than space shuttles, ya know?

[blowero]

*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose *
Hey, some things are more important than space shuttles, ya know?

Yeah, it’s one thing trying to engineer heat resistant tiles that will withstand the extreme temperatures of re-entry, but it’s nothing compared to the extreme education and training needed to remember to spoon some rice & beans on a burrito.

And the thing is, at over 5 bucks for a burrito, they ought to be able to hire freakin’ Emiril.

[blowero]

Padeye, as soon as I finish up my next roll of paper towels, they’re gonna be hearing from me.

[moe.ron]

*Originally posted by blowero *
**I unroll the burrito to put salsa on it, and I notice that not only is there no Chipotle sauce, but there are no rice or beans either (which it’s supposed to have). What I don’t get is, how is it SO FUCKING HARD to just make my order the way I asked for it, and the way it was entered into the computer? **

First of all, it’s Chipolte. After working in a South Western restaurant (fairly fancy), this is a cornerstone. It’s basically dried jalepeno seeds (sans the fancy latin accent thingy), typically mixed with a cream sauce.

So you don’t want chipolte, which is most likely in a cream sauce, which may already be mixed in with the rice and beans normally used in Blowero’s favorite ptttthhhh-inducing dish. Jon Edwards #1 (aka burger-flipper) doesn’t have any non-chipolte rice-mix, so he infers that it is okay to make your dish without chipolte-blowout-rice-mix.

The food service industry is quirky. and in a fast food joint, your food is made as quickly as possible. In a place like that, it is your responsibility to question what is going into your food. Should you pay $15.00 as opposed to $5.00, the person taking your order should definately make sure you know what you’re getting. Neither McDonald’s or Versace’s Fine Italian dining want to get sued because you had an allergic reaction. McDonald’s will take extra precaution in their menu to make sure that they won’t receive punative action, while a finer restaurant will place the responsibility on the server, and probably separate the ingredients more to insure that you get exactly what you want.

I’m not demeaning your rant, but after a working my way from fast food into fine dining, you do realize a company’s affinity to satisfy the masses as opposed to a more experienced palette. Your qualm may actually be with the company, not the poor kid making $6 an hour, who is just told that chipolte comes in the bean and rice mix.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

“Chipotle” is in the dictionary. “Chipolte” isn’t.

Main Entry: chi·pot·le
Pronunciation: ch&-'pOt-lA, chE-, -'pot-, -lE
Function: noun
Etymology: Mexican Spanish chipotle, chilpotle
Date: 1988
: a smoked and usually dried jalapeño

Taco Bell says it’s “chipotle”.
http://www.tacobell.com/ourcompany/press/gorditas.htm

Gorditas combine two of the hottest food trends sweeping the country today: the increased craving for bolder, more flavorful products and the desire for hardy-textured breads. Gorditas are America’s newest grilled Mexican flatbread taco packed with unique, bold flavorful ingredients like smoked chipotle (pronounced “chee-POTE-lay”) peppers and cilantro.

Are we talking about two different food substances? I don’t eat Tex-Mex…

[Soul_Brother_Number_Two]

Moe.ron, you really looked like a moron with that ill-advised hijack.

Dried jalapeno seeds, indeed.

[mhendo]

*Originally posted by Duck Duck Goose *
**“Chipotle” is in the dictionary. “Chipolte” isn’t.
Taco Bell says it’s “chipotle”.
http://www.tacobell.com/ourcompany/press/gorditas.htm
Are we talking about two different food substances? I don’t eat Tex-Mex… **

No, you’re right DDG. Chipotle is the correct term.

A google search of the two spellings together shows that almost every website where an example of “chipolte” is found, it is a typo and most of the examples on the same site say “chipotle.”

I even found a debate on the topic on another message board (yes, they really do exist!!!). The OP in in this debate asked if there was a difference between chipotle and chipolte, and one succinct answer was:

The difference is that ‘chipolte’ is wrong.

I’ve always assumed that the incorrect spelling and pronunciation gained currency because people couldn’t be bothered learning how to say it the right way: chi-POT-lay.

[mhendo]

*Originally posted by moe.ron *
**First of all, it’s Chipolte. After working in a South Western restaurant (fairly fancy), this is a cornerstone. It’s basically dried jalepeno seeds (sans the fancy latin accent thingy), typically mixed with a cream sauce.

So you don’t want chipolte, which is most likely in a cream sauce, which may already be mixed in with the rice and beans normally used in Blowero’s favorite ptttthhhh-inducing dish. Jon Edwards #1 (aka burger-flipper) doesn’t have any non-chipolte rice-mix, so he infers that it is okay to make your dish without chipolte-blowout-rice-mix. **

and

Originally posted by essvee
**Moe.ron, you really looked like a moron with that ill-advised hijack.

Dried jalapeno seeds, indeed.**

Yea, what essvee said.

Dude, just because your Taco Bell was located in Texas or something doesn’t make it “South Western” in anything but location.

If they told you that CHIPOTLE was “basically dried jalapeño seeds” then they were talking out their ass.

While jalapeño chilis seem to be the chili of choice, with up to one-fifth of Mexico’s annual production being processed into chipotle, it appears that other types of chili are often used also. The process for making chipotle is one of smoking, not drying. In fact, the difficulty of drying chilis was apparently one of the reasons for making chipotle, according to this site:

Chipotles date back to region that is now northern Mexico City, prior to the Aztec civilization. It is conjectured that the Aztecs smoked the chilies because the thick, fleshy, jalapeño was difficult to dry and prone to rot. The Aztecs used the same “smoke drying” process for the chilies as they used for drying meats. This smoking allowed the chilies to be stored for a substantial period of time.

And with respect to spelling, this site gives some background:

Generally speaking, chipotle in English refers to any smoked chile pepper. The Spanish word chipotle is a contraction of chilpotle in the Náhuatl language of the Aztecs, where chil referred to the hot pepper and potle was derived from poctli, meaning smoked. The word was apparently reversed from Náhuatl, where it originally was spelled pochilli. Other early spellings in Mexico are tzilpoctil, tzonchilli, and texochilli.

The most commonly smoked chiles are jalapeños, named for the city of Jalapa in the state of Veracruz. They are also known in Mexico as cuaresmeños, or Lenten chiles. In Puebla, Central Mexico, and Oaxaca, jalapeños are known as huachinangos, while in coastal Mexico and Veracruz they are called chiles gordos.

Nowdays, the chipotles are often dried AFTER the smoking process and sold in that form. The same website says that chipotles are generally used in “soups, salsas, stews, sauces, and even an occasional dessert.” Nowhere is “cream sauce” listed as a necessary accompaniment.

[DarrenS]

Anyone else now have that “Jack in the Box” commercial in their head, where he tries to pronounce “Chipotle” various ways, before the girl at the market tells him to “Just go.” ?

[blowero]

*Originally posted by moe.ron *
First of all, it’s Chipolte. After working in a South Western restaurant (fairly fancy), this is a cornerstone. It’s basically dried jalepeno seeds (sans the fancy latin accent thingy), typically mixed with a cream sauce.

Before you come into this thread trying to be a wiseass and tear someone down, it would be good to know what the fuck you’re talking about. Hopefully you realize by this point that you’re dead wrong. If you had bothered to do a simple web search or look in a dictionary instead of spouting off about how you think you’re an expert because you worked in a restaurant (big fucking deal), you wouldn’t have made a fool of yourself.

By the way, Rubio’s may put chilis in the sauce, but it’s certainly not a lot. It basically just tastes like mayonnaise. There’s nothing wrong with it; I just prefer to leave off the added fat.

So you don’t want chipolte, which is most likely in a cream sauce, which may already be mixed in with the rice and beans normally used in Blowero’s favorite ptttthhhh-inducing dish. Jon Edwards #1 (aka burger-flipper) doesn’t have any non-chipolte rice-mix, so he infers that it is okay to make your dish without chipolte-blowout-rice-mix.

Again, you’re dead wrong. OF COURSE Rubio’s has rice that is not mixed with cream sauce. I’ve ordered burritos from them dozens of times, and successfully gotten them with rice and without cream sauce.

Here’s Rubio’s menu:

http://www.rubios.com/menu/RubiosMenu.pdf

And here’s the burrito in question:

Baja Especial $4.99
Chargrilled chicken or carne asada, cheese, guacamole,
your choice of our signature pinto beans or black beans,
rice, sour cream, salsa fresca and chipotle sauce

Please note the spelling of chipotle. Please also note that the burrito is supposed to have rice and beans on it. Maybe you enjoy having the cook decide FOR YOU what you want on your burrito. I do not.

The food service industry is quirky. and in a fast food joint, your food is made as quickly as possible. In a place like that, it is your responsibility to question what is going into your food.

First of all, I think it’s the employee’s responsibility to put the proper ingredients in the burrito, not mine. Second, I don’t know if you noticed my little 4 point checklist, but I DO question what they are doing. My point was that it’s irritating that I now have to add a FIFTH thing that needs to be questioned about my order. It shouldn’t be MY responsibility to make sure they do their job.

I’m not demeaning your rant, but after a working my way from fast food into fine dining, you do realize a company’s affinity to satisfy the masses as opposed to a more experienced palette.

I have no idea what your point is, or how it relates to someone forgetting to put rice and beans on my burrito. It just sounds like you want everyone to think you’re some kind of gourmet because you work in a restaurant. Well whoop-de-fucking-doo for you. We’re talking about fast food here; was that unclear?

Your qualm may actually be with the company, not the poor kid making $6 an hour, who is just told that chipolte comes in the bean and rice mix.

So you’re saying that this one guy was correct to leave off the rice and beans, and all the other times I’ve gotten a burrito WITH rice and beans, it was wrong? No, if you look at the menu item I posted above, you can see that the company is very clear about what goes on a burrito. It’s not always the corporation’s fault.

Originally posted by DarrenS
Anyone else now have that “Jack in the Box” commercial in their head, where he tries to pronounce “Chipotle” various ways, before the girl at the market tells him to “Just go.” ?

Yeah - I like how the smile painted on Jack’s face changes into a tangled line as he tries to pronounce it. Moe.ron obviously hasn’t seen the ad. What’s funny is that the very first time I ordered a Rubio’s burrito without the sauce, I had the same problem as Jack, and the Latina girl who took my order gave me a lesson on how to pronounce it.

[I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter]

If they told you that CHIPOTLE was “basically dried jalapeño seeds” then they were talking out their ass.

Reminds me of the time when I asked the kid running the counter at this Chinese restaurant what “Moo Goo Gai Pan” was. He replied, “It’s like chicken and vegetables.” :rolleyes:

[CanvasShoes]

LOL!! Well, I feel your pain. I canNOT get a bean burrito with extra cheese at a taco bell.

Every blasted time the little qualuude drones behind the counter somehow translate “extra cheese” to equal “no cheese”.

Grrrrrrr.

[pepperlandgirl]

Jesus, this thread has given me a wicked fierce craving for Rubios. They probably aren’t open this late though…

[Intaglio]

I’m waiting for the day when some fast food joint to start serving Melamona on a Stick or Bun, what is it made out of?, does it really matter? That is taking the gamble when eating your food.

[Intaglio]

I’m waiting for the day when some fast food joint to start serving Melamona on a Stick or Bun, what is it made out of?, does it really matter? That is taking the gamble when eating your food.

[Daikona]

*Originally posted by CanvasShoes *
**LOL!! Well, I feel your pain. I canNOT get a bean burrito with extra cheese at a taco bell.

Every blasted time the little qualuude drones behind the counter somehow translate “extra cheese” to equal “no cheese”.

Grrrrrrr. **

I must be getting all your cheese then. I always order things without cheese, and half the time it comes out with about a pound of the stuff.

[erislover]

I swear I must be the luckiest person alive ever. I have never, in seven states and 11 years, had a bad experience at a fast food place. What world do I live in?