Why is qdoba good

Here is an example of a round: Let's say chips. Casey and I gave each person a Chipotle chip, then a Qdoba chip. The first question that I asked was, "Which restaurant do you think the first chip came from? The second question was, "which chip did you like better? In the analysis below, I have translated this according to which restaurant the food item came from.

Only at the end of both questions were they told the correct answer. I was shocked to say that in the first round, we had a clear winner. Not only did every taste-tester answer the first question correctly, but they unanimously felt Chipotle chicken was better.

So, if you love Chipotle more for the chicken, I guess I would have to believe you. Note: Aloh and Katie are vegetarian, so they stepped out for the round. Interestingly, most taste-testers answered the first question incorrectly.

Even more interesting, only Joe and Enji answered the same to both questions. Overall, looks like its pretty even on the chip front. I can tell this is going to be close because they both look delicious. But Qdoba's cheaper price and free add-ons like guacamole and queso are turning out to be huge advantages.

Why can't Chipotle just offer queso — is it that hard? Qdoba's burrito bowl comes with an easily resealable plastic top — much easier than Chipotle's flimsy foil covers. The colorful salsas are fresh, and the fajita peppers are large. Every bite has everything in it with no need to mix. Qdoba's rice is simple with no special flavoring. Chipotle's rice is more satisfying, but plain rice isn't a bad thing. Chipotle's bowl is good, but in the face of Qdoba's there are a few grievances.

Mixing is necessary to combine all the ingredients, with sour cream and tomatoes toward one end, guac toward the other. Green is the dominant color here, and you need to cough up some extra green for that guacamole. As the cheaper, tastier option, the bowl round goes to Qdoba.

Last but not least, the guacamole. The smallest detail, but by far the biggest part of any meal, guacamole can make or break a chain. Chipotle's is a smooth, mellow, buttery dip with an emphasis on cilantro. It's an all-around good guacamole, but Qdoba's is decidedly different. With more onion and lime juice, their iteration of the delicious avocado dip is bolder in flavor, with a slight tangy bite to it that Chipotle's doesn't have.

They're both good guacs, but Qdoba takes the guacamole gauntlet. So who takes the Tex-Mex tournament? It's a close race — both chains are similar in offerings and quality of ingredients — but to me, Qdoba's lower prices, free guacamole and queso add-ons, and the availability of queso in general puts it ahead. I wasn't expecting it, but Qdoba takes it all, with Chipotle not far behind. The "extras" at Qdoba were free at one point in time and they still are at some locations , but that hadn't always been the case.

In , the Mexican Eats chain rolled out a slew of menu changes that primarily involved creating a lot of freebies. From complimentary chile BBQ sauce and fajita vegetables, to gratis queso and guacamole , Qdoba got really generous.

Apparently, Qdoba noticed customers complaining a lot about the surcharges for these extras. Of course, the free extras sometimes meant slight increases in prices elsewhere on the menu.

But hey, that's probably not that noticeable to people when they know they're still getting free stuff at a restaurant, especially when that free stuff includes cheese or avocados. Food snobs who shun Jack in the Box may be dismayed to learn that at one time, the late night fast food hodge podge tacos and burgers on the same menu! Gary Beisler, the president and chief executive at the time, was grateful for the boost brought by Jack in the Box. He commented to the Denver Post that, "They're a great partner because they bring us buying power Smart move, Jack in the Box.

By then, Qdoba had a pretty sizable fan base, even in comparison to Chipotle, but sales at the the chain had started to slump. Jack in the Box got out just in time to take the money and run, presumably back to its bevy of late night munchie outposts. When in doubt, blame the avocado. In , when then owner Jack in the Box sold Qdoba, Qdoba had been experiencing a decline in sales. That year, sales for stores that had been open a minimum of a year saw a 1.

Qdoba's explanation for their downturn? The higher price a 50 percent increase of the avocado fruit used to make their beloved guacamole They must have gotten over their avocado woes by , considering that the chain took the time to basically make fun of Chiopotle's "Free Guac Day" by sending truckloads of avocados to various Colorado Chipotle restaurants.

The joke is sort of on Qdoba now though, because the guacamole is only free at participating locations. Did they not learn from the Great Avocado Price Hike of ?! In addition to avocado price tags, Qdoba also blamed lower sales on increased labor expenses , as well as the stiff competition involved with being a fast-casual chain in these fast-casual-lovin' times. While the two are compared quite a bit, there are some measurable differences between Qdoba and Chipotle.

Some think Qdoba is cheaper , simply because some locations still serve free sides of guacamole or queso. However, in a QSR study, Qdoba did prove to be slightly more expensive on average.