Well, I see that we’re getting a Chipolte. From the exterior drive by it looks like a sterile chrome outfit. Dare I visit?
We have one, but I can get Mexican food on practically any street corner here in Southern Oregon.
Why go for the imitation when the real deal beckons?
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I was so put off by Chipotle’s past salmonella issues that I haven’t gone to one since and never will.
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I’ve never been a fan of Chipotle, and was also put off by the salmonella issues. That said, H picked up two lunch orders from there recently and brought them home. They were both burrito bowls, his being steak, and mine shredded pork. They were truly just about awful - the steak was so tough it was almost inedible (I tried a couple bites), and my pork, what little there was of it was just passable. Cheese and crackers alone would have been more satisfying, even the lowest common denominator of those in fact. Never again as far as Chipotle is concerned.
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There’s room for Taco Bell in my heart, as well as Cancun, Gabriela’s, Taco Temple, even the now-defunct Chi Chi’s (no salmonella or E. coli problem in Cdn Chi Chi’s- they haven’t been in business here for over 35 years).
I don’t dig Chipotle, but not because it’s fast food or a chain.
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Taco Bell and Del Taco 
we have around here.
is what we had in the middle of the country.
I wish we had one here!
Edit: looks like closest is in Reno, with a couple in Washington 
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My favourite is A&W.
The beef is grass fed without use of hormones or steroids.
Chickens have room to roam, fed a vegetarian diet and are antibiotic free.
Vegetables are sourced from farms and green houses.
Use real cheddar cheese not processed.
Who doesn’t love A&W rootbeer?
Also like the idea that I can have a rootbeer float in a chilled mug.
Their beyond meat burger got 2 thumbs up from my boys.
They make the best onion rings and French fries.
This is my favourite spot to pick up Breakfast on the go.
I know it sounds like an advertisement yet I assure you that I’m just a happy customer.
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I’ve always liked Taco Bell-- it was my first experience with “Mexican” food-- a beef & bean burrito & it was damn good…and it was cough cough 46 years ago in Kansas. I’ll say again a positive first impression can cement itself in one’s mind.
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We have a lot of taquerias and other Mexican mom and pops nearby as well, and that’s what we usually get, but Chipotle is different. Maybe "Mexican Inspired ". Mexican flavors, but you choose what you want in it, see them assembling it, and you can have it lighter, if that’s your thing.
I like the barbacoa bowl with fajita vegetables instead of rice. I think I’ve been once since Covid-19, and I was able to get in and out with my order pretty quickly.
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I went to my favorite Banh Mi place at 7 corners in Falls Church (Banh Mi So 1) a while back and I was SHOCKED to see that the sandwich price had gone up to $4.50! LOL!
It is incredible how good a deal banh mi is.
This is what fast food should be. Great food prepared fast right in front of you.
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I pay around $9 Cdn ($7.50 USD) for a good banh mi, in Toronto.
I have a soft spot for McDonald’s caramel sundaes and vanilla shakes.
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When I read the by–line I wondered if they were going to mention Oui Banh Mi in Houston, which took over a former root beer stand, barrel on top and all. But the article starts with Hughie’s, which morphed from a Dairy Queen to Queen Burger, then Hughie’s. I’ve been there - crazy-packed at lunch - but didn’t know they’d added a drive thru. Saigon Hustle - I’ve heard of it. A mention of Oui Banh Mi but no comments or pictures? Turns out they dismantled the barrel on top.
I think Lee’s, the chain out of CA, was the first Vietnamese food place to have a drive-thru window here, right in China Town.
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At least in Southern CA, I always feel like there’ an inverse relationship between how good a Banh Mi and its price.
The cheaper it is (within reason of course), the better the sandwich.
The more expensive, the less authentic the sandwich.
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In Toronto, I’ve been getting my banh mi at a slightly upscale indie Vietnamese coffee shop. I like theirs better than the cheaper places in Chinatown. Better bread, better cold cuts and pâté, made while I wait. It is a bigger sandwich than the $3 versions sold in Chinatown.
We have a couple banh mi chains that I haven’t tried yet.
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In sacramento the distribution is bimodal. There are cheap and expensive Banh Mi.
Cheap Banh Mi are made by and for Vietnamese people. Whether they’re just ok like the ones made in most Vietnamese grocery stores, or outstanding like those at a handful of restaurants that are known for their sandwiches, what cheap Banh Mi have in common is not their deliciousness, but their simplicity and also t he people by whom and for whom they’re made. I do love the restaurants that make excellent and affordable Banh Mi, that’s for sure.
Expensive Banh Mi are made by American restaurants and lunch cafes where the Banh Mi is the only Viet item on the menu. They might use fancy bread, fancy aioli and charred pork belly, etc and charge $13. These also range from just ok to excellent, and are usually not the same style as the inexpensive made-by-and-for Vietnamese version. They’re more like an upscale Banh Mi fusion. I’ve had them on sour dough and ciabatta, and with all sorts of interesting twists on ingredients. And at least one I can think of is outstanding, though others might not call it authentic.
A word on authenticity; I prefer the term traditional or even the word common. Like language, culinary arts are alive and constantly changing. I might argue all food is authentic, but not all recipes are traditional or the common way to make the item in question. But I do admit there are boundaries. You can’t put corned beef and Swiss cheese on rye with sauer kraut and Russian dressing and call it a Banh Mi.
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My indie Vietnamese banh mi shop has 4 standard banh mis. Ham and pâté, lemongrass pork, lemongrass chicken and a tofu banh mi. They’ve added a couple modern banh mis, most recently , the pork adobo banh mi sandwich
I haven’t tried the pork adobo yet.
I don’t know if I will because I like the ham & pâté, lemongrass chicken and tofu versions so much. They had a lemongrass shrimp version at one point.
The owners are Vietnamese Canadian, they have things like pandan latte and coconut croissants, so this is a step outside the box.
I think you could have a Reuben banh mi, if you added some more banh mi elements to the corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss. Maybe swap out the Russian dressing for a Vietnamese dressing, or swap out the sauerkraut for the carrots. In a way, the Reuben and Banh Mi have a quite a bit in common. They both have a tangy vegetable element, a rich element (pâté or cheese , and a meat element.
Stopped by the website- seems my favourite Vietnamese coffee shop has 10 banh mis now.
The 4 original banh mis now cost $9.80 Cdn ( food costs have been going up every couple months), and the new innovative banh mis cost $10.50 or $11 Cdn. To put this in perspective, a cappuccino or Vietnamese coffee costs $5.50 Cdn at the same place, and a Coconut Croissant costs around $4 Cdn.
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Most recently back to El Pollo Loco–watching and listening to them using their cleavers to subdivide chicken halves. Chicken still delicious.
Ray
My most recent fast food chain meal was this rice dog, from ChungChun Rice Dog, which has locations in Ontario. Delicious. Kind of slow for fast food. This is the original rice dog (beef) with sweet mayo, spicy mayo and honey butter.
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