The Fork

Why You, The Fork's Loyal Readers, Do or Don't Care That Santa Fe is Getting a Chipotle

So much correspondence!

Wow, loyal Fork readers—you've got us in tears! We asked you to (calmly) send us your thoughts on Chipotle Mexican Grill opening up in Santa Fe, and you delivered. Let's take a look at some of the highlights from your emails (which we've had to cut here and there for space or clarity but not to change the essence of what was being said. We might even respond to one or two, and printed a couple on our Letters page this week):

I say that instead of the food police telling people where they SHOULD eat, just let them vote with their pocketbooks.

-Robert W.

We don't think we told anyone unequivocally where to eat, we just said we thought it would be silly.

All I can say here is that I will never eat there … but with its pending location, it should just about cull all the Texans driving into and out of town leaving more seats for us locals at the all the good restaurants in town!

-Susan M.

Chipotle, for those of us with allergies (dairy/wheat/egg, etc.) or food preferences (vegan/veg/responsibly raised meats)—yes the food might be bland (or not) but the menu is VERY CLEAR.

-M

That's totally fair, M.

You are a little too judgmental w/o first hand experience/knowledge.

-Susan S.

Well, we did work in restaurants of all styles from fast food to fine dining for 15 years, but you're definitely correct that we didn't work for Chipotle specifically. We would, however, encourage you to Google how their workers are treated, Susan.

I want to point out that there are many people who are not foodies like we are. Think of them as … needing our understanding

-Michael

May I gently suggest that the editorial "we" is overused at the Reporter, and even moreso when using "the Fork" as the editorial "we"? One reader's opinion.

-Jim T.

We disagree. We disagree big time. We all do.

As a consumer I am extremely disappointed that you chose to write this article blasting them like this.

-MaryAnn S.

If we'd "blasted" them, MaryAnn, you'd know … you'd have felt it from wherever you were when we did the blasting.

I think we all need to give some huge love to El Chile Toreado. The recent move from truck to brick and mortar has got to have been stressful, and they don't have great visibility where they're at. The food is still absolutely the tops.

-Avery P.

We don't love Chipotle because they are cheap, we love them because they source ethically raised meats.

-Lydia M.

Word. Also fair.

We do NOT need Chipotle. We have to stop eating industrial chicken and realize what we are eating. Chipotle is just another chain that tortures animals in the name of … consumption.

-Judy W.

You just did a hack job on this new business which Santa Fe really needs.

-Christine M.

The market will render its verdict and I suspect this will be a short-term situation.

-Sigmund S.

Indeed, indeed. Hey, ummm … would it be weird for us to say we assume you're super-smart because your name is Sigmund? Can we call you Siggy? No? Alright, fair enough.

Can't you find another word to express your distaste for Chipotle than using "shit" and "shitty" in your rage?

-Lance B.

The Fork can't word good all the word times, Lance!

I have never eaten there. I don't understand how anyone that has had actual Mexican (or New Mexican) food could. No one could be thinking "maybe it'll be better."

-Brian R.

When I lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming (terrible place, don't go there), we would eat at Chipotle because the Mexican restaurants were truly dreadful. I agree with you, wise Fork. There are much better places here to get a burrito.

-Tess H.

Well, there goes our non-refundable deposit for our summertime culinary tour of rodeo country!

Regarding Chipotle. Putting one here at all is absurd, but putting it across the street from La Choza is as stupid as putting a Taco Bell practically next to the Pantry.

-Dana W.

We think they did do that, or pretty close, anyway. We catch your drift, though.

I agree with you that we do NOT need another chain, especially one that is so blatantly unhealthy! Let's educate the general public about where the food actually comes from and why they should absolutely avoid eating fast food.

-Kimberly D.

We mostly agree, but we also ate, like, two ice cream bars and a cannoli last night, so … yeah. Hey, is a single cannoli a "cannolo?" [The copy editor suggests "cannolum" or "cannolus."]

Hey…The Fork!!! Thank you!!!! for that blast on Chipotle!!!! Totally spot on!!! Sending you all the cool blessings I can think of.

-Jade E.

Hashtag blessed. But furreal, not a blast, merely an observation. Still, thanks, Jade! We can feel the blessings radiating through the cosmos!

We need Chipotle like we need another Starbucks—not.

-Henry J.

Hahaha! Bringin' it back to the '90s, Henry! We dig it.

Santa Fe needs a Chipolte like a moose needs a hat rack.

-Stuart S.

Hey Stuart S., have you met Henry J.? We think you might have some stuff in common…

REALLY? I'd much prefer more, and better, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. There's plenty of local Mexican/ New Mexican restaurants to choose from, and I support local [rather] than corporate fast food.

-Brooke R.

Thanks for letting me know Chipotle is coming to SF! I won't go there instead of other great local places, I'll go there when I normally would have stopped at a chain somewhere… because they are fast food! And cheaper than the Whole Foods salad bar offerings…

-Harbhajan K.

Well, they're definitely cheaper than that—as is, and we mean this literally, our car insurance. Trust us, you don't wanna get hit by The Fork.

I completely agree with you. Why would a Santa Fean, or even a New Mexican, even consider eating at Chipotle when we are the home of the best New Mexican restaurants in the country?

-Bill S.

Won't be eating at Chipotle. Chipotle is not development or decent jobs. Chipotle is a feeding system that failed by poisoning people and had a long difficult time finding the systemic problem.

-Deborah T.

So there you have it—a net gain for the concept of public forum and zero mind changes accomplished from any side! Look, Fork Fans, we want you to eat what you want and understand it's a complicated issue. We're just psyched everyone reached out and partied with words with us! Let's do more of this in the future? Maybe without us having to point out how wack Chipotle is first?

Let's all cool off with an ode to the brekkie b.

Also

-Speaking of new locations of restaurants, The Pantry (where they have awesome curly fries) announced it'll open another location down toward the Santa Fe Community College. The Fork's buddy Todd works over there, and is ridiculously excited.

-Zumper.com recently conducted a study about the best cities for foodies, and li'l ol' Santa Fe wound up 36th on the list. That was out of 37 cities, but still. Jay kay, it's more than 37. And anyway, maybe the new Chipotle can help bump us up? Haha! ICE COLD!

-You may recall that we reported on Duel Brewing not paying former employees following its surprise closure earlier this year. We now also know that the company will publicly auction off its crewing equipment and various other restaurant accoutrements at an event later this month.

-If you're inclined to travel south to Albuquerque this weekend, the city is ringing in its birthday with Fiestas de Albuquerque 2019. There's dancing and music and, since this is a food newsletter, there's food, too.

-Mark your calendars for April 25, for it is the night of the year that local org Kitchen Angels (they're the people who make and deliver meals to the housebound and otherwise needy) hosts Angels Dine Out, a citywide dining event wherein over 30 participating restaurants donate a percentage of their lunch and/or dinner proceeds to the cause. We'll remind you again, but now you have it someplace in your mind. Anyway, here's the list:

All Meals

Breakfast

Breakfast & Lunch

Lunch Only

Lunch and also Dinner

Dinner Only

More Tidbits

-We heard it from delish.com, but just so you know, there's an Etsy store that makes blankets that look like tortillas, the implications of which are mind-boggling. Well, actually, there's just the one implication: You can be a burrito now.

-This could be considered local, but we think its existence has international ramifications—the folks at Caveman Coffee have created something called Coffee Water.

-Zing! Sorry, we had to include one-such thing even though the day has come and gone, and we salute Caveman for us literally saying, "Oh, c'mon! Coffee water?!?!"

-Anyway, if you're looking for other April Fool's jokes, delish.com, in addition to the burrito blanket thing, counted down their faves of the year with the criteria that they actually seemed like pretty good ideas. As for the rest of you, you couldn't fool your mothers on the fooling-est day of your lives with an electrified fooling machine.

-Burger King, which you may know as the king of burgers, announced a new joint product with Impossible Foods—the vegetarian burger! We understand your first thoughts about this may be inadvertently snarky (ours were), but once we cooled off, we actually thought it sounds pretty cool. Trust us, when you're vegetarian and just want to grab something quick, you're pretty much doomed to Taco Bell or, gulp, Chipotle. Just kidding—we don't know if we mentioned it, but we don't care that Santa Fe is getting a Chipotle.

-Take this next bit of information in stride, OK? OK. So, first of all, craft beer sales overall around the country seem to be doing great and represent something like 24 percent of all beer sales across the board. But don't shoot your pistols into the air just yet, beer quaffers, because the craft beer market is only growing more competitive and intense as time goes by. In other words, when a whole mess of one thing suddenly becomes available, what tends to happen? A bubble. And bubbles are known to pop. Wow, we just totally explained everything you'd ever need to know about economics in a paragraph. You're welcome, America.

-That Instagram-famous meat jockey from Turkey who salts things like a goddamned maniac (and whom some, but not The Fork, refer to as "Salt Bae") is apparently opening a Turkish steakhouse in Dallas, Texas, at some point soon. No word on whether you can watch him eye-fuck your strip steak with a fistful of salty granules in person. We'll keep you posted.

-Good news, people who like disgusting things—Lucky Charms cereal is doing a special giveaway of a marshmallow-only box o' Lucky Charms. They'll be limited to 15,000 boxes. We're scared, and not just because those marshmallows have a texture similar to what we imagine Sea Monkeys might have before they're placed in water. Learn more here. About Lucky Charms, we mean.

Here's this, anyway.

Finally

In the print edition of SFR, food tsar Zibby Wilder breaks down some local places for Santa Feans to take cooking classes. A good way to up your game? Probably!

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A Totally Scientific Breakdown of The Fork’s Correspondence Number of Letters Received

67

*And many with Chipotle thoughts.Most Helpful Tip of the Week

“All that was very 19th century, and is really no longer necessary.”

*We think it IS necessary. Actually Helpful Tip

“The problem with Heinz Ketchup is that it has high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. Check out this interesting article about Heinz ketchup, what it used to be and what it has become.”

*Good to know, Lisa. We usually get the organic stuff, but we hope this helps some readers.

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Chipot-later,

The Fork