Spicy But Not Flavorful

I’m not going to deny that I like eating at Chipotle and the various other places like it. Yes, it’s not really Mexican food. I dunno if you’d ever really qualify what Chipotle, Qdoba, and their ilk serve is even Tex-Mex. It can be tasty, though, and when you’re out and about and don’t want something deep fat fried or totally just meat and potatoes, these quick serve, fast casual places provide something vaguely healthier that’s still convenient to grab. It’s not the best meal, but it’s still a better meal than some.

The trick, of course, is to rely on the things these places do well. For Chipotle that tends to boil down to burritos and brisket. I do love the flavor of their brisket, a good bit of tender, fall apart meat with a smokey, sweet taste. I tend to get that paired with brown rice, both beans, veggies, three salsa (pico and corn to add more veggies, and then the hot for spice and flavor), guacamole, and lettuce. That’s my go-to as it hits that “vaguely healthy mark” (no cheese, no sour cream, no queso) while still having some good flavor to it.

Right now, though, Chipotle doesn’t have their brisket. It’s a limited time item (as much as I think it should be on their menu all the time) and they’ll regularly sub it out for other stuff. Currently in the place of brisket is Chipotle’s Chipotle Honey Chicken (which I want to write as Chipotle Chipotle Honey Chicken, but my word processor really hates that). It’s billed as "grilled chicken marinated with chipotle peppers and a touch of honey, offering a balance of heat and sweetness". Considering I was out, and I needed a meal, and there was a Chipotle nearby, it seemed like the right time to see how this sweet heat chicken stacked up. So I ordered my usual, just with chicken instead of brisket, and dug in.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t super impressed. Chipotle's chicken is generally fine. I wouldn't call it abundantly flavorful (I think Qdoba does a better job grilling their chicken with a thick marinade, creating something smoky and flavorful) but it’s at least tender and not gross. It, put into a burrito or bowl, with a bunch of toppings is fine, and that was about the vibe I got from this honey spiced version. It’s pretty fine, but I absolutely wouldn’t call it memorable at all. It’s Chipotle, and memorable isn’t their thing.

The chicken is sweet and spicy, although by degrees. The honey glaze on it gives it a light flavor, akin to barbecue sauce, although it’s a thin glaze. It can add sweetness to a bite, if you get only a little over everything else and a lot of chicken. Of course, it’s Chiptole so you’re encouraged to load whatever you’re eating with toppings, which then covers up the chicken flavor and makes it harder to notice. Certainly it, put into my usual, meant I hardly ever noticed the chicken and had to go searching for it. I could have ordered less of everything else so I just got, I guess, chicken and rice, but not only does that sound drab, that’s not how most people going to Chipotle will order it.

There was noticeable spice, when I tasted a bit on its own. I didn’t think it was hot, I just noticed a bit of tingling on my tongue. Of course, I like spicy food so what’s “maybe noticeable” to me will likely be “very spicy” to someone else. I’d have to see if there’s a second opinion I could get, I only had my own for this experiment and, yeah, it’s there, I guess. Not overtly super hot, but enough that someone that doesn’t like spice probably wouldn’t like it. It’s an “order at your peril” kind of deal (so long as the peril in question is light peril, like going down a steep kids’ slide).

Not being able to stand up against the toppings, though, is a real issue. When I get the brisket it has enough body and flavor to stand up to everything else I get. The meat compliments the toppings, and they come together to make a flavor that feels like something more. The Chipotle Honey Chicken doesn’t have that body. I didn’t notice its flavor. I didn’t notice its texture. I could tell, every once in a while, when I got a bite that was mostly just chicken, that the meat was there and it was vaguely sweet, but those instances were few and far between as I ate my way through the burrito. It just didn’t sing.

Is it fair to expect Chipotle’s food to “sing”, though? I’d say yes. While I’m not expecting a five-star, gourmet experience when I go here, when a restaurant makes big claims about the flavor of something they have on offer, I expect them to at least get somewhere in the ballpark for those claims. If a burger joint says, “you can taste smoky, cheesy goodness on this sandwich,” I expect there to be smoke and cheese in every bite. Chipotle has a meat that can’t stand up to all the usual fixings at the restaurant, and if that’s the case they either need to have a special way of building something for it, or they need to make their protein tastier.

While I’m not automatically disposed to hate on Chipotle (I do really like their brisket), this chicken item clearly fails to live up to the hype. Sure, I could just get it as the only thing on a dish, but then I’m overpaying for really crappy food. It’s Chipotle, so I’m already overpaying and the food isn’t the best. Don’t make the experience even worse by requiring me to avoid all the stuff that actually tastes good just so I can taste the protein. Make it taste better on its own. Chipotle didn’t, and this chicken is a big let down.

Now I just need them to bring the brisket back. Seriously, I just want to feel something…