Mixed emotions on fall of Chipotle
Itry to lead a positive, goodkarma life. But despite my best efforts, I’m ashamed to admit that I’m enjoying Chipotle Mexican Grill’s fall from grace just a tiny little bit.
I actively work to not rub my hands maniacally, chuckling evilvillain style, when reading about its pending lawsuits and recent 45 percent stock devaluation. And, all levity aside, there’s nothing even remotely funny about the misfortunes of the people who have fallen sick from salmonella, E. coli, and norovirus outbreaks after eating at the chain.
But still I feel a smidgen of guilt-addled glee to see the corporation get its pretentious, “healthy” fast-food brand tarnished.
It’s not as though I can complain about the food — in all honesty, I’ve never eaten it because I’ve never had any real reason to. I live in a place where there is no shortage of authentic Mexican-American small-business owners offering delicious handmade tacos, burritos, guacamole and more, at very affordable prices.
I admit this makes me a sort of reverse food snob.
It’s an ugly admission on my part, but once, years ago, I walked into a downtown Chicago Chipotle and did not like what I saw: mobs of affluent, hipstertype individuals mispronouncing the Nahuatl word for a hot red chile as “Chuh-pole-tay” all excited about ordering their “burrito bowls” (not exactly an authentic Mexican dish) with pricey side orders of “guac.”
“Guac” — which my ears hear as the nausea-inducing “gwock” — is what “guacamole” seems to have become after Chipotle popularized it such that people could no longer be bothered to utter the whole word.
Last July, when The New York Times published an ill-advised recipe for guacamole that included green peas, it infuriated purist foodies, the president of the United States, and Mexicans who don’t wish for any weird add-ins to our delicious family recipes. I secretly blamed Chipotle for making guacamole the kind of ubiquitous food trend that an East Coast newspaper felt entitled to tinker with.
But while I can’t complain about taste or the quality of the food, Chipotle has managed to grind my gears in various ways.
In 2011, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement started cracking down on businesses for violating immigration laws, Chipotle was forced to fire 450 illegal-immigrant employees. Some workers claimed they’d been open with restaurant managers about their immigration status while others complained of poor treatment due to lack of documents. Not cool at all.
In 2014, Chipotle decided to print short stories by noted writers on its cups and bags for their “Cultivating Thought” campaign and couldn’t come up with a single Latino writer to include.
Such was the outrage from Hispanics that Chipotle managed to find three Latino writers when they reprised the campaign in 2015. Lastly, there’s the health halo. Chipotle’s “Food With Integrity” promise, its registered trademark for “Responsibly Raised Meat or Organic Tofu” and its plan for transforming its flour tortillas into a whole-wheat affair (my late grandmother would be appalled) likely make people think Chipotle is “healthy.”
Fresh ingredients notwithstanding, a chicken burrito will set you back at least 1,000 calories before you even get to the chips and “guac.” Two words: obesity epidemic.