It really seems like the management at this store has turned over - perhaps completely - in the last 2 years. I know they like to promote from within, but this seems a bit beyond that.

This was for my birthday. Yay.

Melissa over at Hunt Gather Love wrote a post titled Memo to Locavores: Animal Rights groups are NOT alllies.

Melissa is a “paleo” eater meaning she follows a diet that matches what folks did a few hundred/thousand years ago. She has both dietary, ethical, and environmental motivations all mixed together which are hard to distill but fun to discuss.

So, what about Chipotle? Well, Melissa had this tidbit in her recent article:

As everyone knows, I am a passionate advocate for small farms, but I think allying with organizations like HSUS to punish factory farms is NOT the way. I improving the infrastructure for local meat farmers and educating people about the health benefits of grassfed meat is the way to go. I’m pretty disappointed with Chipotle for supporting HSUS’s efforts in Ohio for more food fascism. I sometimes used to eat there, as it’s a pretty decent and consistent paleo option, but I think I will boycott.

“Food fascism” is a bit of inflammatory language, but I certainly appreciate the vigor!

The article about Chipotle she links to seems to show that the goals of Food With Integrity, especially when paired with a somewhat controversial animal rights organization, can lead to some negative feedback in social media outlets.

I hope Chipotle will take a cue from Melissa and focus their efforts on changing the world via competition and education rather than legislation. It’s easy to support Chipotle for providing better food at reasonable prices - it’s harder to support them in pushing legislation that will push people out of work and favor “a race to the bottom”.

We got this burrito a few days after having our little daughter Lucy.

There’s a new competitor for Chipotl: Tocabe. They serve up “Indian Fry Bread” (sometimes called Bannock). This is a popular meal introduce to many outsiders at pow-wows or state fair type events, but is essentially dough that’s deep fried with the typical burrito ingredients either laid on top (taco style) or stuffed inside (sopapilla style).

The style of their location at 44th and Lowell near Denver’s Highlands neighborhood is very well finished. The beautiful stone wall and nice tables and hanging art create an atmosphere that feels almost too professional. It feels a lot like a chain even though it’s the only location. We left guessing that they plan for expansion and wanted to solidly set the corporate style from the very first location.

Tocabe’s take on frybread

The Tocabe take on frybread is to serve it up with the customers choice of delicious fresh ingredients. One particular bonus is buffalo - either ground or braised and shredded like the Chipotle barbacoa meat - which is both delicious and a lot healthier with lower fat and cholesterol.

Westword did an article about Tocabe a while ago including this video:

Indian frybread health information

There is not nutrition information on the Tacobe website, but it doesn’t take a nutritionist to figure out that deep fried white-flour isn’t healthy. The wikipedia entry on Bannock claims that they can be 700 calories, though that’s not always the most reliable source. I expect that Tacobe’s meals are on par with the relatively calorie intense Chipotle meals. Given that the typical total at Tocabe is a little higher than a typical “fast food” restaurant that might be ok: buy one meal and split it for a solution that is better for both diet and pocket book.