Chipotle - another chain coming to Davis Sq

[ron_newman]

According to Rebekah Gewirtz's latest e-newsletter, a Mexican food chain called Chipotle will move into the Buck-a-Book space. H&R Block will move into the former Mini-Mart.

Chipotle used to be owned by McDonald's, but separated from them last month.

I'll try to post the full newsletter later tonight.

Comments

[karmaportrait.livejournal.com]

let me just stipulate up front that i'm from california and i know my burritos. (=

chipotle isn't anything special. cookie cutter overpriced boringness...

[spatch]

Chipotle is the Olive Garden of Mexican restaurants.

You know it's not authentic, you feel slightly embarrassed eating there (what if my *gasp* foodie friends caught me here?) but you usually end up eating there anyway because you've had a long day at the shopping center and there was a 45 minute wait at Bennigan's anyway.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

What a glut in the area of Mexican cuisine -- El Guapo, Tu y Yo, Rudy's, Anna's, soon Boloco and Chipotle... what Davis is really lacking cuisine-wise is a *nice* Chinese place (no greasy takeout)

Has anyone been to the Italian place behind Rosebud? I think of it because of the other Italian place moving into the former Sauce location at 400 Highland. Anything is better than Antonia's... (like Amelia's ;-))

[ron_newman]

Has La Spina actually opened? Whenver I walk by there the sign says "Coming soon".

[avacon.livejournal.com]

I really like Antonia's...

[postrodent.livejournal.com]

And unless Chipotle is both good and cheap, Anna's will demolish them -- they're what, half a block away?

I won't cry, either. This is not a town that needs chain Mexican restaurants.

[ariwriter.livejournal.com]

The best Mexican restaurant in the area (confirmed by Texan friends of mine) is Jose's, which is in North Cambridge about halfway between Porter Sq and Alewife. Rudy's would be a close second. The sangria and salads are good at El Guapo, but not much else.

As for Chinese, I agree there are too many takeout places around, but of them the two best are Wang's (in Magoun Sq) and Peking Sun (in Davis Sq). I'm curious what you call a nice Chinese restaurant; I'd define that as one that stocks Chinese broccoli.

[fanw.livejournal.com]

If only the Mexican options were good options! (And in this, I don't expect Chipotle to help.) I mean, Tu y Yo is great if you want to drop $15 for gourmet Mexican and Anna's is passable, but Rudy's is simply awful (all cheese and shredded iceberg and no flavor) and El Guapo is more of a Mexican-themed yuppy food place.

I miss California!

[ron_newman]

Besides all of the above, there's also Qdoba in Porter Square, and isn't there another local place near the corner of Elm Street and Somerville Avenue? I don't remember its name. Go to Union Square and you'll find a couple more.

[cook-ting.livejournal.com]

At least something is going in there. Those spaces have been vacant for a very long time and it makes the square look shabby.

Chipotle won't do too well in competition with Anna's, but it will convert the space into a restaurant and after it fails something a little less fast food may well take its place. Regardless, the empty Halloween Store was craptastic and did nothing for any of us.

As for the Mini-Mart/HR Block conversion, how long has that place been out of business? There wasn't a single local business that could have filled the gap?

[ron_newman]

H&R Block doesn't excite me either, but they've been in Davis before -- I think where Diva Lounge is now. It'll probably become vacant again in May.

[skate97.livejournal.com]

boo :( they have them in DC and i hated them. maybe they'll be better now that they're not associated with mcdonalds, but i doubt it somehow...

[dougo.livejournal.com]

How does one subscribe to her e-newsletter?

[ron_newman]

e-mail rebekah@rcn.com

[dylanesque29.livejournal.com]

Whaaaaattt? As if that place going into O'Natural's wasn't enough. And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Chipotle's visibly more expensive than Anna's? I'm all set with that, thanks.

Maybe a Vietnamese or Thai plce in Davis would be nice........

[ron_newman]

Benjapon's is Thai, but I don't know if that counts. Also Thai Kitchen is on Mass. Ave. between Day and Dover.

Chipotle is more expensive than Anna's but I think it also has a larger and more varied menu.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Too much Mexican. I could delete all of them except Rudy's and be happy with that, if we could have other alternatives. A sushi house, or Korean.... even a decent burger place.

[ron_newman]

Spike's has burgers.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Rudy's is strictly northeast Tex-Mex. There's a call for it, to be sure, but I would sorely miss Anna's tacos al pastor and Tu Y Yo's chiles rellenos.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

wow, now that's exciting news... ah, somehow... well, no actually I guess it isn't. Who goes to all these places? I was waiting for the Subway to flounder but they seem to be holding on.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

My roommate eats from the Somerville Ave. Subway (we're down closer to Porter) almost every night. I think he's crazy, but there must be somebody like him keeping the other Subway afloat.

[greenbeats.livejournal.com]

wow, i guess i'm the only one who is excited about chipotle.

[concrete.livejournal.com]

you and me both - but I always made them make a burrito that looked more like a salad than anything else.

[mr-fancy-pants.livejournal.com]

Sweet! I just ate at Chipotle today. It's very very good. I'm glad it'll be there soon after I move back. :)

[four-thorns.livejournal.com]

are there any chipotles in the northeast? i'd never seen one til i moved to arizona. they're ok, i guess, but the menu options are limited and expensive... you either order a ton of food for a lot of money, or nothing at all (which isn't worth it for me, cause i'm full enough eating a regular-size burrito at anna's).

given that the market for mexican food is already way over-saturated in davis, i think the only type of mexican place that could be a welcome addition to the square would be a place that serves fish tacos... they're so good, and i can never find them when i come home to boston. too bad we couldn't get a rubio's instead of a chipotle.

[ron_newman]

Their web site is the worst abuse of Flash that I've seen this year. If you can get through it to their Locator, they don't appear to have any New England locations yet. Lots in New York City, though.

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, another food place? This is really getting out of hand. How about a radioshack or something useful?

[ron_newman]

Radio Shack is 10 minutes walk away in Porter Square.

Medford, near Wellington, not Davis

[ronhaha108.livejournal.com]

According to their website, the new Chipotle is coming to near Wellington Station in Medford, not Davis...

http://www.chipotle.com/mapquest/advantage.asp?transaction=search&country=us&template=map_search&stateProvince=ma&postalCode=02155&width=415&height=350&iconid=500&zoomLevel=6&maxSearchResults=30&radius=150

Anyway, I ate there last year, my wife is from LA and this is one of her favorite fast food places (that and in and out burger, yum, that's what we need here!) Anyway, to make a short story even longer, after eating there, I got sick...

Re: Medford, near Wellington, not Davis

[ron_newman]

Rebekah's newsletter says they're coming to Davis. I don't know why she'd send that out if it isn't true. It doesn't have anything to do with their Medford locaiton.