I had the opportunity to sample Chipotle’s Sofritas yesterday. The first bite was my last. I was, in a word, underwhelmed. The texture threw me off. Tiny pebble sized bits of tofu squeaking between my teeth. Perhaps, it’s better inside a burrito. I would make the pieces larger and add a rougher texture infused with more flavor.
It could be my bias against Chipotle. Their food, in general, is just ok. Why would Sofritas be any different? It’s a shame because I love tofu, especially hodo tofu. I do applaud their efforts for using sustainable foods (in whatever percentage that may actually be) and for creating a vegan dish which is very much appreciated. Sadly, Sofritas just don’t live up to their potential.
A quick update
I went back into Chipotle to give their burrito a chance. It was lunchtime, on a weekday, and very busy. When I finally made it to the counter I asked which items were vegan. The lady looked at me as if I were speaking another language. Truth be told, English didn’t appear to be her first. She beckoned for another coworker to answer my question whom had the same confused look. She called over yet another person whom pointed to the pinto beans. I politely nodded and walked out.
Later, I searched the inter-webs for the information. It turns out the pinto beans were the only item that wasn’t vegan. I’m not sure if it’s funny or just sad. Even if their employees are woefully ignorant about the food their serving, at least Chipotle has a great website. They even have the gonads to list which foods are genetically modified.
http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/menu/special_diet_information/special_diet_information.aspx
Turns out a lot of their ingredients are vegan which means assembling a decent meal is fairly simple.
All right. We went to Chipotle the other night to give Sofritas one more chance.
The weekend, evening crew was a lot more adept at their jobs. I ordered a burrito with blacks beans, white rice, sofritas, corn salsa, guacamole and lettuce. It was great. Everything was fresh and tasty. The tofu had a good texture this time. My only complaint is the Sofritas themselves were super salty. Dial that down a little and you’ve got a fine meal.
We’ll be going back.