Fast food for hard times

Even in this slumping economy, particular people shouldn’t have to worry about eating crow at a power lunch: There’s an inexpensive gourmet burrito at the new Chipotle Mexican Grill in La Cañada that the fussiest of us can eat without swallowing any pride.

Until I tasted Chipotle’s version, a burrito was something eatable at best; something that was not very appetizing, but not harmful, and could be ingested quickly after being grabbed from a window.

But at Chipotle, with tortillas loaded with naturally raised, high-quality meats like Niman Ranch pork and locally sourced produce, I could be holding a burrito with white gloves and not feel out of place.

 “We are changing the way the world thinks about and eats fast food,” said Steve Ellis, Chipotle founder and chairman. “For too long, great food has really only been available in high-end restaurants and specialty food markets, but we are making the same gourmet quality food available and affordable so everyone can eat better. And more, we serve food that is raised with care, not chemicals — food with integrity.”

It’s hard to believe that anything quick-served can be touted as healthy gourmet, but judging from remarks I picked up from a few of the 2,500 people who got free burritos on opening day, that’s the buzz: “Never had a burrito that tastes this fresh,” and “Big enough for a one-dish meal,” and “The beef tastes like real good steak.”

Discouraged by the long line, I didn’t stay for a freebie. I should have waited. It would have been good practice for future soup kitchens.

I was able to return with money four days later and observed that many of the original freeloaders were back in line, but now anxious to pay some $5.95 to $6.35 per burrito. At 12:45 p.m., there were at least 30 people ahead of me and many more behind. Amazingly, by 12:53 p.m., I was taking my first bite. (After developing preferences, you can place and pay for an order online — order.chipotle.com — and go directly to the front of any line at the restaurant to pick it up.)

I was impressed by the speed and skill of nimble-fingered workers in handling crowds at the assembly-line buffet. Busy, but disciplined, the scene reminded of me of a giant Army mess hall. It started with the order-taker snapping out a giant flour tortilla from a heating iron. Passed on hand-to-hand through a succession of ladlers, filled with everything from black beans, cilantro/lime rice, various meats, greens, cheeses, herbs and spices, the tortilla ended up as a round, firm and fully-packed huge cylinder.

Huge? I thought mastodons had disappeared with the Ice Age. The burrito weighed more than a pound. Unable to get it into my mouth, unfamiliar with burrito reshaping techniques, I had to crack the cylinder open with a fork. Tasting the beef separate from the other ingredients, I could tell it was of “dinner-house” quality. It could have come from Taylor’s Steak House next door.

I should have ordered my burrito in a bowl. All the goodies in the chow line are available in bowls, tacos and salads for the same price as the burrito.

Designed with highlights of bleached wood and stainless steel, seating 75, including patio spaces, Chipotle is among the first tenants in the new La Cañada Town Center complex at the intersection of Foothill Boulevard and Angeles Crest Highway. In Pasadena, Chipotle branches are at 246 S. Lake Ave. and 3409 Foothill Blvd.

At any Chipotle outlet — there are more    than 800 nationwide — the chicken burrito,    long-marinated in a chipotle pepper adobo paste, is prepared from naturally raised, vegetarian-fed, free-ranging chickens. And the pork comes from Niman Ranch, a collection of family farms where pigs can roam and root high on the hog with grasses and natural feeds.

Does “free-range” really do anything for taste? Wine Spectator magazine thinks so. In comparing it with pork from other leagues: “It looks better, it cooks better, and it tastes far better,” the magazine declared.

Remembering that I once ate Niman pork chops at West LA’s Lucques — a dinner house famous for innovative California cuisine — also said something. After taking a bite out of my friend’s carnitas burrito, I understood what. Unlike much restaurant pork, which can leave you yawning over its dry blandness, there was rich flavor here to wake up every taste bud. Their formula requires the pork to be seared, then braised for five hours in a mixture of juniper berries, bay leaves, freshly cracked black pepper, a nick of thyme and a small amount of liquid.

Before leaving the restaurant, with a pleasant aftertaste of fine meat and spanking-fresh produce lingering in my mouth, I stood in the patio for a moment and took a long look at the neighboring Taylor’s Steak House. Does Chipotle’s $6.35 burrito mean that I will say goodbye to the $27.50 power lunch — the Taylor-made, baseball-cut “culotte top sirloin,” basting in its own savory juices? Not until the day comes   when I’m standing in a line that receives    the indigent.