I grew up on crappy frozen bean burritos. As an adult, I had no desire to ever eat a burrito until I tried Chipotle. Chipotle made me fall in love with the burrito and more importantly … with the burrito bowl.

I tried other burrito places. Moe’s is fine. Thunderbirds is not something I’d ever like to put in my mouth again. Chipotle rocks because the ingredients are clearly top notch. I quickly grew very reluctant, very quickly to try any burrito made by any restaurant other than Chipotle.

So week after week we passed by this Planet Burrito place. It didn’t help that the place never seemed to attract a crowd. We were skeptics.

Tonight we went. Chipotle is further away than we wanted to drive so we gave Planet Burrito a shot, and my goodness, I’m glad we did! A more diverse menu than Chipotle’s isn’t usually a good thing. Chipotle is the Apple of burrito restarants. Chipotle keeps it simple and elegant. Planet Burrito has many, many more options, but they aren’t standard … they’re interesting. If you’re a real carnivore, you have to be drawn to the idea of a Buffalo Chicken Burrito Bowl. As a proud Texan, I hate to admit … I was drawn to the Californian.

The Californian is Grilled Steak marinated in Pineapple and Lime Juice, with Monterey Jack Cheese, Cilantro Lime Rice, Black Beans, Romaine (I had them hold the Romaine), Tomatoes, Fresh Lime Juice, Red Onions, Toasted Garlic, Avocado (I had them hold the Avocado), and Zesty Garlic Lime Sauce. OH MY FREAKING GOODNESS!!! It’s one of the best things I’ve ever had in my life.

Cali Lewis ordered the Buffalo Chicken Burrito Bowl. I tasted hers. She tasted mine. We both were impressed by mine more. They serve breakfast burritos including a megas option. We’re probably going to be eating there frequently and will definatly be eathing at the further away Chipotle less.

Planet Burrito tops Chipotle and that is something I never thought I’d say.

I have to say their Web site sucks, though. It’s old-school and has a bunch of liberal nonsense about saving the planet. Honestly, I’m not looking to a burrito joint to save the planet. The planet isn’t quite so delecate and global warming is a hoax so the whole “save the planet” thing needs to go. It seems like pandering to idiots who wouldn’t be attracted to burritos anyway.

In all honesty the best thing we can do for the planet is to encourage Planet Burrito to open a location in every single place there is a Starbucks.

We’re on a roadtrip, so there are frequent opportunities to try new places. Taco Time is mass-market fast-food chain and we stopped at in Ontario, Oregon. Because of Carnivore.TV, I felt obligated to order a burrito, so I chose the Chicken BLT Burrito with low expectations. I always expect mass-market fast-food burritos to be heavy on re-fried beans and light on non-bean flavor.

The Chicken BLT Burrito from Taco Time was surprisingly good. It blends bacon, fresh lettuce, tomato, guacamole, real cheddar cheese, ranch dressing and all-white meat chicken. The flavor blend was excellent and refreshing. It’s a larger burrito, but it felt light.

The Burrito I had suffered from engineering problems. The bottom burst open about half-way through consumption. Other than that…very nice!

When I hear burrito connoisseurs dismiss Chipotle simply because they know it’s owned by McDonalds, I’m dismayed. The only thing the two restaurants have in common is consistency.

We eat at a Chipotle at least once a week, and often three or four times. Chipotle burritos are the yard stick against which I measure all other burritos, and it’s simply because of the quality of the ingredients. Chipotle uses organic meats and vegetables raised by farmers who never use antibiotics. The animals are free to roam in healthy environments, and the farmers feed the animals vegetarian diets with no animal by-products.

Chipotle burritos have complex flavors created by a wide range of ingredients. My favorite, for example, is Barbacoa. It’s spicy, shreded beef that is seared and slowly braised for hours in a blend of chipotle adobo, cumin, cloves, garlic and oregano. I usually order Barbacoa as a bowl with black beans, rice, hot AND mild salsa, sour cream and cheese. I also like the Barbacoa tacos.

When I first got married, we were on a budget and the Chipotle logo intimidated us. We thought it was an expensive restaurant. It wasn’t until we witnessed Ozzy’s Chipotle obsession on The Osbournes that we gave it a try. We were living in Illinois at the time, and it reminded us so much of our former loft in Texas. Everything from the art to the music to the industrial design. That the food is excellent just cemented our love for the place.

Chipotle provided our first experience with what I call upscale fast food. Noodles and Company has the same kind of feel. I’d like to see more upscale fast food places that offer quality food and a great atmosphere at a great value. If anyone has any recommendations, I’d love for you to share them by leaving a comment.