Mucho Burrito Vs Chipotle

lllllleeeeetttttt's get ready to rumble!

In the Green corner we have Canadian owned and operated, 80+ locations underdog, and personal favourite, MUCHO BURRITO.

In the Red corner we have America powerhouse, with over 17 000 locations world wide, this burrito packs a punch, it's CHIPOTLE.

Yeah pretty cheesy, I know. But after dining at a chipotle for the first time in Toronto last weekend, I thought a little compare and contrast would be interesting.

The concept.

Both Chipotle and Mucho Burrito are examples of what's being called "fast casual" dining. Think of it as a step above fast food, but not quite a full service restaurant. Both however, to the casual diner, are what I would think of as the Subway of Mexican food. Pick your syle, choose all over your toppings as you move down the counter and enjoy your 'made fresh' meal. With the added bonus that the meats served here are cooked/grilled in house rather than microwaved sad frozen chicken.

Both chains focus on real food, freshly prepared and preservative free. Chipotle does put a bigger emphasis on organic and GMO free, however, as a scientist, I would encourage anyone who thinks that just because something is labeled as 'organic' or 'GMO-free' it's better, or healthier to think twice. Do a little reading on those topics and make good choices about food independent of media driven hype.

In short, both Chipotle and Mucho are serving you fresher and healthier foods than the standard fast food chains you might otherwise choose for a quick meal. And I really don't feel there is a winner between the two in this category.

The Menu.

Here now is where Chipotle and Mucho diverge, and in my opinion, Mucho Burrito comes out on top.

At first glance the menu's appear the same. if you're going in for a burrito, you have basically the options for filling it. Both chains also give you the option of having that burrito as a bowl, salad or tacos. But major difference the first is price and size options.

Here's the Chipotle Menu, taken from the Zomato page for their Young St location in Toronto, where we ate. Notice you have only one choice in size for the burrito, and there is no difference in price between the taccos/salad/bowl or veggie option. The whole menu comes in at a $8.95 flat rate. How do they justify the veggie option as the same cost as the meats option? well I guess they throw in the guac, and I'm assuming the grilled veg as well (the green peppers and onions) since they weren't offered as a choice on my carnitas burrito (they of course are included at mucho).

Now before we go further into the Chipotle menu, lets take a look at mucho's.

So apart from having a bigger menu in general, they also have size options on their burritos. Because come on. If Kevin and I are both going for burritos, we are not ordering the same size, and why pay more money just to throw away half a burrito?

Plus let's think about kid's for a second. My cousin Caitlin, who's 10, came with us to Chipotle in Toronto, and she's the perfect example of being two grown up to want to order off the kids menu, she's sure as heck not going to eat the giant "one size fits all, 10$ burrito mucho offers". In fact, even if their kid's menu had been visible, which it wasn't, they don't even have the choice of kid sizing their signature item, the burrito.

Over all, on base menu, Mucho Burrito is the clear leader here.

The Extra's.

Really this debate can be won over one word.

Guacamole.

To add Guac to your meal at Chipotle, you will pay a whopping $2.21. Mucho give's it to you for a dollar. Plus it's free on the salads, and the mucho sized burrito. Enough said.

One last thing.

 If you haven't had the Mexican Chocolate Brownie at Mucho Burrito, I swear to you, you're life is missing out.

So maybe I have a bit of a personal bias towards Mucho, and I know some people swear by Chipotle. Maybe if one opens here in Calgary then I could do something like a blind taste test, but in the mean time, I'm sticking with my Mucho Burrito, and my go to order, the tacco salad.

So that's all for today... let me know where you prefer to get your burrito on in the poll below!

Sushi..... someone should totally deliver me some for lunch please

Ah sushi, Kevin and I probably grab some once every other week. And like an old lame couple, we typically frequent only two establishments.

Kinjo Sushi in the Northwest, for when we want to eat in. And Nami Sushi on 14th St. SW (formerly Sushi Motto) when we want take out.

So why Kinjo? I know, it's got some mediocre reviews, but we keep coming back.

Cons:
-Too many small children in restaurant
-Can be a little pricey
-Nothing super special about the very northamericanized sushi
-Deep fried California roll is outrageously over priced
-Can be very busy at dinner time, be sure to come early or you'll be waiting

But for Kevin and I, the pros outweigh the cons

Pros:
-Free taster of 4 peices of sushi when you sit down
-Free Pocky when you leave
-The beer is cheep!
-standard maki rolls comes in 4 pieces, so when it's just the two of us, we can order a wider variety
-We almost always get seated in the same table (not sure if this is a pro)
-Everything tastes good, and service is quick and friendly
-The Philadephia Roll meets our high standards (not actually that high, but we had a terrible one somewhere once and now this is a must for our sushi place)
-Can order online for pickup
-Located near a Chapters for after dinner book buying

Now onto Nami Sushi, which to be honest I still think of as Sushi Motto, only better now.

Why do I love Nami sushi? because you can get a crazy amount of food for like $10. And it's all so good.

I won't do a pros and cons here (as far as I can see the only con is the lack of a Philadelphia roll on the menu). But what I will tell you is, I used to get Sushi Motto all the time for takeout, it's within walking distance from my apartment, the prices weren't bad and the sushi was good. Sometimes we'd eat in, but mostly I'd call an order in, and walk over to pick it up.

Then suddenly this December, with little fanfare, Sushi Motto became Nami Sushi. Same location, same decor, I suspect the same staff, same pile of magazines in the waiting area. But a new, much less expensive menu.

For instance: look at their lunch specials!?!

And then you get another 10% off for picking it up yourself, how can you compete with that?

And why am I even telling you about sushi right now in the first place? Because I'd really love some for lunch today... So I'm off to see what I can find on skip the dishes or something.

Seriously Good Soup - Oak Tree Tavern

This past week, Kevin and I met friends for dinner at the Oak Tree Tavern in Kensington. I had been to the small, second story, pub before, for drinks during Salsa Fest, but never eaten there before.

Seriously, I cannot recommend the Oak Tree enough, everyone's food looked amazing. Big portions at reasonable prices. And my meal....Well lets just say, I've been thinking about it all week since.

I know, I know... the picture makes the soup look like a bowl of slop.

But let me wax poetic about it.

First of all the name of that soup,

Dill Pickle Soup.

And I love dill pickles. I can tuck into a jar of pickles the way most girls do into ben and jerry's.

But dill pickle soup, I'll admit, I was apprehensive, and asked our server about it. At her recommendation I gave it a try.

I guess I would describe it as being essentially a potato chowder with a fatty and pickle-y taste, complete with whole pieces of pickle. And over all delicious.

Maybe I'm not selling this soup as best as I can. Maybe you just need to be there to try it for yourself. Either way, you can bet I'm going to be trying to get my hands on the recipe, or at least I'll be dragging Kevin back to the Oak Tree ASAP.

Now onto the sandwich, it was the Oak Tree BLTC, a perfect combo of pesto marinated bocconcini cheese, smoked bacon, kale and tomato. Top it off with a reduced balsamic vinegar aioli and throw the whole thing on a fresh ciabatta bun and you've got one hell of a good sandwich.

And that whole meal (which I devoured without taking time to breath) was only 13 dollars.

Have you eaten anything that good lately?

Dinner at La Viena Calgary

A couple weeks ago the boyfriend took me out for birthday dinner. I wanted Italian, specifically, home style Italian. Usually we go to this little place in the North East called Rea's Italian Cucina. The food is amazing, and you know it's authentic when you can occasionally hear people arguing in Italian in the kitchen. When I got back from Italy last summer, we went to Rea's and the food was just as good as it had been while I was away.

Unfortunately they aren't open on Sunday's. So Kev searched the internet for somewhere just as good, and came across La Viena on Kensington. Let me tell you this, with the one small exception that I couldn't find any prosciutto on the menu, the food was just as good.

Don't let the exterior fool you, I've driven past La Viena more times than I can count, and have either never noticed it, thought it was a restaurant or that it could possibly be worth eating at. It was amazing.

Deep fried gnochi ap. The poor cell phone photo does it very little justice.

We  started with one of their specials for an appetizer, deep fried gnochi with shrimp and Italian sausage. First of all it was a huge portion (really a meal in of itself) and second, it was heavenly. I would come back just for this plate, if only it were on the regular menu!

Look at all that cheese glorious cheese on this salad!

Next up was a tomato and fresh mozzarella salad, once again giant, once again delicious! Could have maybe done with a bit less onion (but I'm just not a fan of raw onion really).

And for my main course, well I just couldn't pick on thing, so I went with a combo plate, featuring pesto ravioli, chicken Parmesan and some sort of phenomenal cannelloni. And while I certainly didn't finish it all, it was because I was stuffed full of great food, good red wine, and fresh baked bread!

Just as good as my Nana serves it up at home!

If you're in the mood for authentic home style  Italian eating, then I can't recommend La Viena enough. Maybe a bit on the pricey side, but more than worth every penny.

Where's you favourite place for Italian food? 

Great Customer Service

Last night turned in to a random date night with the bf and I. We left school/the lab around 6 and headed out to get our skates sharpened (for a super romantic Friday evening we have planned) and then wander the mall while we waited and potentially grab some food (I was thinking food court).

While wandering the mall, he thought about buying boots, and didn't....thought about buying a sweater....and didn't and thought about buying another sweater....and didn't. I on the other hand visited the boots I've decided I want for Christmas.... they live at Town Shoes and are on sale for $199 right now!!! In case you're interested, they're tan mid length Manitobah MukLuks.

Annnnnd they would keep my Christmas boots from last year excellent company! My Minnetonka boots!

What else did we do at the mall?! We held puppies at the pet store...and I made pet eyes at Kevin because he hasn't bought me a present yet, and wouldn't a puppy be cute.... cute but not practical (you can't have one yet Sara, you know this).

And so why is this post titles Great Customer Service, well as we were wandering we decided why not sit down and have real dinner at Milestones!

I got a bellini... image from their menu clearly... as it took the menu along with it. Mine had a tiny bull cow on top of it. Lisa I thought of you.

Anyways, the seasonal mushroom soup we ordered to share came out right away (super tasty, doesn't need added pepper). Then then we sat a while... now Kev and I don't usually notice long waits because we entertain each other very well and never are at a loss for things to talk about. But lets say it was a bit slow.

Suddenly a manager is at are table, to say sorry our mains have been 20min, and probably another 5ish, and did we want anything while we were waiting. And I thought that was nice of her to come buy and update us.

Then our mains came out, he had steak and I had the Californian style burger with added Mozzarella cheese (cause I like cheese). And they were awesome, I almost managed to eat the whole thing. And we were full...but then our waiter comes and says, would you like a dessert menu, it would be on us because you had to wait for your meals.

What, free desert, and we didn't even have to wine or say anything to get it. Heck yes I can make room for that. So we split a giant chocolate cookie with vanilla ice cream, and it was like heaven in our mouths (only that's not the word that was used).

Aaaaand not only was the desert free, but they gave us the soup free too!

People that was the single best customer service I have ever had in my life! I told Kev, man I better blog about this! They deserve a good review.

Allllsooo they have just solved the debate, permanently, that comes to mind when I'm at market mall and think, where do I want to go for dinner. Milestones or Moxies. Well people, Milestones it is!

Dinner last night at District Tavern

Last night I met up with some other McMaster Alumni round Calgary for dinner and drinks at District Tavern. While I had fun, I'm afraid I have to give this place mixed reviews.

Pro: great cozy atmosphere

Pro: produce from local farms

Pro: reasonable prices

Con: they don't give you menu's....instead you have to get out of your seat and walk around/physically move a bunch of chalkboards that have the menu on them

Pro: the long island ice teas were super tastey, and their happy hour meant I paid like 11 bucks for 2!

Con: the waitress dropped a fork on me when clearing the table, leaving a stain on my sweater

Pro: The linguine carbonara I got was tasty... but

Con: I swear the chalk board said it was supposed to have bacon and instead it had sausage and...

Con: I asked the waitress if it came with like a garlic toast, and she said yes on foccacia bread... what in fact came with it was a bottom bun of a hamburger that had been toasted (no garlic no nothing)

Con: they charged an automatic 18% tip... which I probably would have tipped 15 max all things considered

Anyways, would I go back, for drinks definitely... for dinner, I don't know.

Spartan Race Calgary 2012

Yesterday I woke up bright and early, thru on some pink spandex and black paint, and got ready to sweat in the sun.

The spartan race had come to Calgary, and I, the boy, and countless foolish others, signed ourselves up for 5km of hot misery under a cloudless sky. The course featured flames to leap, walls to climb, bricks to drag, more hills and mud than a person ever needs. Oh and burpees....every time you failed a task you did 25 burpees...I did 50.

Nothing will make you feel prouder tho than being able to carry a sand bag up and down a near vertical hill, low crawling under like 50m of barbed wire (getting your pony tail tangled in barbed wire is less than fun) and high stepping through waist deep mud. So even tho I didn't have the fastest time (the boy was a true gentleman and stuck with my dragging ass the whole race to make sure I didn't keel over and die) and even tho I was woefully under prepared.....and even tho I got a mean case of sun stroke and spent the evening in a shivering huddle....

I still feel incredibly proud to have came, and ran, and overcome everything they threw at me. I can call myself a spartan!

Now to spend the rest of today getting mud off my things and prepping for a committee meeting tomorrow.

What did you overcome this weekend?

Calgary Food Trucks : Taste the Trucks II

Yesterday I flocked, along with hundreds of other hungry Calgarians, to the Riverwalk in the East Village to experience the goodness that was YYC Taste the Trucks II.

 Oh, and I wore my pinkest pants (H&M, the top too!).

The event ran from 1-6pm...and since I couldn't get out of the lab till 4, some things were sold out, but there was still plenty of good eating to go around.

First on my list was The Perogy Bozy, 'A gourmet mobile food truck, serving Eastern-European-inspired street food."

I got the Sauerkraut perogies, Sarah rocked the mexican ones. And they were both phenomenally good!

Of course we went and sat right on the edge of the Bow River, beautiful place to sit in the sun and eat, and the recent work on the Riverwalk, means it's better than ever to enjoy it!

But it was too hot to just eat hot food, so we also checked out Fiasco Gelato, a small batch artisan gelatiere, operating in Calgary since 2003. And let me tell you, these guys give Amato Gelato a run for their money.

I got the regular size, featuring a scoop of Watermelon Mint and a scoop of Zesty Lemon, and I had to eat fast to keep up with the melting in the sun, but no complaints from me about that!

 That's all the space my stomach had for food, even tho my eyes and nose were screaming for more. So I have to give a shout out to the Fries and Dolls truck, that easily had the biggest line, and some of the best food smells.

Interested in tracking down any member of Calgary's fleet of food trucks, head over to YYC food truck locator where they google map track them at all times for you.

Now if anyone with a food truck is reading this....Please come to Foothills.....Please...please?

Hospital cafeteria food can only keep you alive.... it can't give you happiness.

Please bring us happiness.

Please.

~~~~

linked up at The Happy Home

Uptown 17th - Galaxie Diner on 11th

Recently some friends and I finally went to check out this little diner....literally around the corner from my apartment.

Galaxie Diner -  all day Calgary Breakfast.

And although we ate it at a normal breakfast time, I'd likely have to agree.

With it's 1950's retro aesthetic, and true diner set up you have to expect great things right? It is a bit tight inside, so expect a bit of a wait for a table during peak breakfast hours.

But once the food comes....soooo good, I had the french toast with bottomless hash browns. And don't forget to add grilled banana to it, and use lots of real maple syrup.

When I packed up the second slice, I got another huge scoop of hash browns to go as well, free!

Other menu highlights include:

• Calgary's only omelette of choice - get as many  things in your omelette as you want
• Montreal Smoked Meat Hash - done up the way any good hash should be
• The breakfast burritos - two huge burritos for only $14 again with bottomless hash browns

Anyways if you're in the neighbourhood, this place is for sure worth trying! They also have an all day lunch menu..... only down side is they're only open until mid-afternoon...at which point I'm pretty sure they just move next door to Myhre's Deli... the Montreal Smoked Meat shop next door (still have to try this one).

Dinner for One

Ever just need an entire day to yourself to just do nothing? Today was mostly that (minus a 4km run with the boy this morning during which my legs nearly gave up on life, but at least the sun was shining).

This afternoon was spent cozy in my bed with a book (Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan....I'm rereading the Wheel of Time). Then as dinner time rolled around I took a wander around Uptown 17th... picked up some Starbucks (the new Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher super tasty) and grabbed a dinner for 1 from King's.

Made with something they're calling 'green coffee extract' I thought it was one: pretty tasty and two: unfortunately mostly ice in the cup. I saw an ad in a magazine that they should be selling canned versions and 'VIA' just add to water packets but saw neither in the store...are these in Canada? I would like them for work probably.

What I ate for dinner in front of my TV.... King's Chinese Food, dinner for one with chicken chop suey and sweet and sour chicken balls...enough food for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow, all for 10.45 after tax. King's is right around the corner, and ready in 10min, free delivery if you're feeling lazy or spend $25, and huuuge portion sizes, fresh food. Only down side is the spring rolls taste a tiny bit like curry...it's a bit odd.

But that's just another thing I love about living in Uptown 17th....chinese food for dinner when ever I want it....even if my waist line won't be pleased with me. While I waited I walked down the street to Daily Globe News on 17th and picked up a copy of OM Yoga...and was shocked at seriously how many amazing magazines this little hole in the wall shop has.

Tonight I am changing up the look of my blog slightly.... chilling in my bra since it is hot as funk in my apartment and catching up on blogs (since I've missed out on that while traveling for the last month).

And oh yes, that is a Palm Bay with my dinner.... and I won't be judged, it was delicious!

Calgary Eating: Tilted Grill

Last night the boy took me out on a hot date to the Tilted Grill, on 4thSW. He owed me since I managed to pick 1 winner out of 4 UFC matches a couple weeks ago (trailer park guy FTW!). And it was a hot date despite April showers continuing into May now.

But anyways, what did I think of Tilted Grill?

1. I had a peach bellini, very tasty.

2. We got the Gogi Sliders for the appetizer...sooo good, would even consider getting these as a meal in of itself. The meat was just perfect and the sauce on it (while borderline spicy for me...I toughed it out) was delicious.... if the Gogi Burrito tastes anything like these, than it would probably be a great entree choice.

3. For my entree I got the Carne Asada Tacos, with the loaded baked potato on the side.... as far as the tacos, I wasn't crazy about them... they were too full of meat to eat manageably... and could have used some sauce...I would recommend whatever was on the Sliders. I inhaled the potato tho...very lady like of me!

4.The boy go the 12ounce  New York, the seasonal veggies (which I shamelessly stole from his plate) we super tasty (thank god for butter!) and he enjoyed the steak...with a side of sweat potato fries that were what you would expect from sweat potato fries.

5.The atmosphere was pretty cool, fusion-y like the menu, they boy happily remarked twice "and they're playing the hockey game at the bar" and they have a huge patio outside that would likely be a lot of fun in the summer.

Overall, would we go back, yes, we have to....we were both too full for desert (I spent all day drooling about the Glazed Donut Satay after reading this blog post) so we made a promise we'd come back one night this summer just for drinks and the donuts!

If you're interested in checking out the Tilted Grill.... Living Social has $60 for 2 appetizers, 2 steak entrees, 2 desserts and 2 glasses of wine....which is an awesome deal if you can eat that much!

Next time I promise to do better to try and take some pictures!

Calgary Eating: UNA

Yeesh Bad Blogger

Hah! if I had a penny for every one of these posts, well lets just say I'd have a lot of pennies.

All settled in in Calgary by now, my place is mostly furnished (only took about a month and a half and a looming visit from family) pictures may eventually come.

What have I been doing in the mean time? Tis the season of grant applications, so busily working away on those. Having classes now, and therefor more reading to do than normal, plus got some new equipment set up at work. Mostly productive.

Here's what I wanna tell you about today tho, a Great place to eat in Calgary, Una (Pizza +Wine), it's on 17th SW and everybody should eat there.....lots.....and probably take me with you.

Cozy (read a smallish) restaurant with very fun staff, great food (freshly made (in front of you if you're seated at the bar)), reasonably priced, amazing wine (even tho we just had the house, still it was an Italian Import so can't be bad), there's a mural of the ninja turtles on the walls (it's all the turtle's weapons in Raphael's colours). Only con is no reservations, but they'll take down your cell and call you when your table's ready so gives you time to wander 17th ave (or go next door to RA clothing and buy things.... what we did).

What we ate: Grok, the broccolini, some sort of tasty potatoes that don't appear to be on the online menu, the pesto pizza, and the caramely dessert, and two bottles of the house red.