Chipotle, a haven of delicious buffet-style Mexican food, often caters to Poly students’ hunger, especially during Block Weeks. The restaurant has consistently provided delicious meals for many years, never failing to create colorful bowls or burritos full of various flavors. Recently, though, the #cancelchipotle trend has flooded TikTok For You Pages across the country. Customers have claimed to see bugs in their food and aloof line cooks serving smaller portions than they did in the past. After seeing these heartbreaking reports, I decided to fulfill my responsibility as a stringent restaurant critic by venturing to Chipotle and testing my luck with their current service. My experience? Normal. I believe these rumors are false. 

Before driving to the restaurant, I scrolled through Tik Tok as normal. As I flipped through random videos on my For You Page, I came across a video displaying what looked like a normal Chipotle bowl, until the camera panned down to the infestation of ladybugs living in the lettuce. I was completely grossed out, my standards on the floor for my upcoming lunch. 

My Chipotle order consisted of a bowl with white rice, black beans, roasted chicken, corn salsa, pico and shredded cheese. My bowl captured Chipotle’s essence, making it the perfect order to test the restaurant’s supposed stinginess. As I watched my server make my bowl in front of me, she served me with a smile and crafted a full bowl. The rice emulated the perfect stickiness and taste. The beans were not watery at all, and they maintained a consistently vibrant flavor. Finally, the toppings were fresh, tying together the bowl as usual, and I spotted no bugs in the produce. Altogether, my bowl satiated me as it always does. My beloved Chipotle restaurant had not fallen down.

I recommend continuing to frequent the (not so) fast food restaurant despite what social media might claim. However, if you personally have experienced a slip in Chipotle’s standards, then  I propose an alternative: CAVA, which sits across the street on Lake Ave. This Mediterranean restaurant serves its meals in the same buffett form as Chipotle but offers a larger variety of toppings, proteins, and greens. Although I think Chipotle is just as good as it’s always been, I would still promote CAVA in its stead.