Qdoba Mexican Grill

Why Qdoba is going out of business:
Me: «what goes on your vegetarian burrito?»
Qudoba: «Beans, rice, cheese and sour cream»
Me: «so… no vegetables?»
Qdoba: «that’s extra»
Me: «but it’s a vegetarian burrito…»
Qdoba: «well guacamole too»
Me: «that’s a fruit»
*blank stares all around

Blah, the one at the Pru is so much better. They charge me 3 bux for what I call a ‘vegan burrito’ (just taters and salsa!)
I am a vegan and don’t eat meat or cheese or eggs, so if I want a breakfast burrito, I want it just with the potatoes and salsa in it. So, without meat, sour cream, cheese and eggs, just potatoes my buritto cost me 50 cents more than a burrito with ALL THE MEAT, EGGS, CHEESE and SOUR CREAM.
I even asked the cashier guy was I was charged more than the regular burrito, he said it was because he get me more potatoes than usual. THAT’S BECAUSE I DIDN’T GET ANY MEAT OR CHEESE OR EGGS you idiot!
And the worst part: the potatoes weren’t even done in the middle, still raw. Sigh.
FAIL

Check. The. Calorie Counts. I am a HUGE fan of the nachos here but honestly, with that many calories I am going to have to pass. A half order is better, coming in around 600 calories, but that’s still crazy. The quality of meat isn’t quite on Chipotle’s level, either. Service is always quick, but it’s not really appetizing to watch them slop/​slap/​plop everything you want into a container or onto a burrito. I’m conflicted because I genuinely enjoy the taste of their food, but can’t justify the cost to my waistline.

I went in around 3pm, and that is not a time I would recommend eating at Qdoba. The ground beef in my taco was dried out and cold — definitely left over from a much earlier lunch rush, I’m sure. It was my first experience with this chain, and I wasn’t really impressed. But the price was ok, and the flavor on the ground beef that wasn’t entirely dried out was good. I would probably try this place again, but only during a normal lunch or dinner time.

I love Qdoba’s food and have had good experiences at other locations (both customer service and food-​wise) but the Summer Street spot fails to impress. Whether I’ve been squeezed into the manic lunchtime crowd, or been the only person in the place, I’ve felt very rushed placing my order. All Qdoba’s advertising implies that like most burrito places, you have the option of ‘building your own’ meal by walking through the ingredients with the person behind the counter. More than once I’ve been denied this opportunity — I say «quesadilla» and a chicken quesadilla is slapped together and pressed before I can say «just cheese». Or I’ll say «salad» and the bored, unfriendly employee will *slop slop slop* spoon and dollop a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, whether I wanted them or not. It seems substitutions and personal preference are discouraged here.
Most of the employees I’ve ordered from also don’t seem to care very much, which turns out a sloppy and wasteful end product. I had a woman with a bad attitude discourage me from the ‘craft 2′ taco salad. She held up a teeny bowl with an incredulous look and said «it’s this small!» Fine, a small salad, that’s what I want, I told her it was fine. She glopped some lettuce and salsa in the bowl and then DROWNED the ¹⁄₃ cup of salad with «sour cream» (it was the runny consistency of ranch dressing) until it was essentially sour cream soup with lettuce mixed in. Then the cashier who was packaging everything accidentally dropped the bowl lid in the sour cream soup so that it went everywhere and was dripping down the sides. She shoved it in a bag with the rest of my food, coating everything in the drippy mess. When she noticed me watching her, she made a show of taking everything out of the bag and cleaning it up and repacking all of it (incorrectly in the largest takeout containers that had — awkward and wasteful). I’m glad she did that, but I could see it was an afterthought.
Not a great place. Go to Herrera’s on Temple Pl instead.

I want to start off with: I love Qdoba. The queso sauce (creamy, sharp, spicy, and all things wonderful) is to die for, and therefore the Queso Burrito is to kill for.
This location hasn’t blown my mind though. The several times that I have been the staff isn’t necessarily friendly, and they can be pretty sloppy in execution. Being the only qdoba in the area though– I will be back. I can’t pass up that queso.

I come in regularly for a taco salad. The shells are pre-​made, but other than that, the ingredients are fresh and flavorful. There is typically a short to moderate line that moves quickly. The staff are friendly and pleasant. One of my regular go-​to places for a decent meal in the Crossing.

Went there for the first time last week for quick lunch. I tried chicken burrito which I customized with veggies. They pack the burrito with rice so I felt satisfied as it was a warm meal with wholesome additions. I will be back for more!

It was edible here. The place was clean and the wait was next to none. However, prices seem higher than in the past now and makes Chipotle the best deal for quick burrito bowls in the financial district. Not enough spice and the quality of the meat is lacking.

Who likes chode burritos? Not I said the burrito afficionado.

This place is a medium size restaurant with good mexican food. The service is pretty efficient and the location is convenient. They give you a lot of food and they really pack those burritos and fajitas. I usually can’t finish my food. I have never left that place hungry. They also have a good assortment of drinks. You can get a variety of Snapples from the cooler or you can get fountain drinks and soda right next to it. They have pretty good raspberry nestea from the fountain there. I like this place much better than Chipotle. It is not the best mexican I have ever had, but this place is close to it.

Pretty good food for a pretty good price. just the seating area set up is weird. you have the waiting line circling the eating area. so if you dont want someone standing over you while you eat, then i advise you to get your food to go.

Meh. Just like Chipotle but a little more mediocre (can you say that, ‘more mediocre’?).
I’m convinced I have a curse on interview days: cold showers and mediocre Mexican food. I’m going to miss California.

Meh. I used to really enjoy their quesadillas, but now that I am more conscious of calories, Qdoba is not worth it to me.
I got the Naked Taco Salad today and it was good. But not amazing and not necessarily worth the whole lot of calories it has. It’s reasonably priced (although we ended up paying $ 16 for 2 sodas, 1 meal (we got 1 free) and chips & salsa) but other places are the same.
It all moves too fast for me — you have to know what you want and not really want anything different (or on the side), as it’s go go go!

NOT IMPRESSED. Very chain like feel to it. Bland food. Small portions of tortilla chips. They do have a decent amount of seating. Burrito was bland.
They do have a card they give you to rack up points, though. I also heard they open for breakfast.

It was 2 p.m. and I was hungry enough to eat at a Qdoba. The results were as expected, unfortunately.
The difference between Qdoba and Taco Bell is the quality of ingredients. Whereas Taco Bell gives you hastily assembled filth, Qdoba gives you hastily assembled food. But both places share that «fast and loose» burrito strategy, where the burrista (that’s my new word) assumes that if you pile all the ingredients together, it counts as making a meal.
I’ve had hundreds of burritos from a dozen different taquerias, and Qdoba ranks at the bottom in terms of burrito assembly. During this particular occassion, the slight was that all of the salsa was in a blob to one side of the burrito, and the pork and rice was in a blob on the other side. The first bite was entirely salsa, which proceeded to pour out. The remainder of the burrito was pork and rice.
I think some of this has to do with how the «by the book» burrito is made there. It is far more boxy and wide than an Anna’s, Boca Grande, Olecita, Tacos Lupita or La Verdad burrito. As such, it comes apart as you eat it. Those other burritos are about two bites wide. Qdoba’s are three bites wide. The difference is substantial.
So, the negatives are as follows:
–Poor burrito assembly, leading to messy collapse
–Limited and uninspired menu selection
–Too expensive for what it is
The positives, at least at this location:
–Fair salsa verde
–Clean
Take my burrito philosophy for what it’s worth, folks. But I do have plenty of experience.

*SWF/​30 Seeks Her Flatulence King (Downtown Crossing)*
Reply-​to:
Date: 2008 August 26 3:44PM EST
Me: a short, single brunette who had a hankering for a greasy, gazillion-​calorie taco «salad» prepared quickly and unassumingly and couldn’t pass up the Other Big F*in «Q» today (the first, of course belonging to the nighttime so-​you-​can-​rest medicine) …
You: the tall, lanky, sandy blond employee whom I spied snacking on some chips, black beans, and shredded cheese off to the side while you were supposed to be working. Anticipating your impending day’s end, you wolfed down chip after chip, and your satisfied smile each time you snuck another glorious bite more than made up for the cheese-​infused pockets which glistened on your lips… The napkin dispensers had just been refilled by a co-​worker of yours who hadn’t taken to snacking the way you did, but your obliviousness to the befuddled looks he directed your way made me even weaker at my knees. I can’t resist a man with no work ethic and even less regard for those around him!
But, my King, it is at the moment the clock struck three today, during the coldest afternoon we’ve had in months, when the planets certainly aligned in our favor, that I knew you were meant for me. When your Casio DataBank watch gave the oh-​so-​familiar beep indicating that it was 3:00 p.m., you jumped from your hiding place and happily took off your apron. Oh, my heavens! Your work day was over and my fantasy had just begun! And at the same moment, my taco «salad» was ready.
I reached to retrieve it at the very moment you whisked past me in quite a hurry, perhaps to catch a train home, or maybe to go to Lids and get another cool hat like the loud Yankees one you had on today. As you sprinted past me, your arm grazed my shoulder. And before I could take a mental picture of this unbelievable moment so I could never forget it, your afternoon of snacking presented itself in one large, smelly, glorious sound.
And you, my King, you did not lose your stride as you only stopped for a split second to take a satisfied sniff and continue towards your final destination. That determination stayed with me, but not as long as your flatulence stayed with me and my taco «salad».
I hope that one day I can tell you these things in person. I am shy, and I am sure somebody like you has many women just waiting for you to finish your snacks every day and are already wiping off those pieces of congealed cheese from your luscious lips. But if you have room in your heart for me, I’ll return to Qdoba at the same time next Tuesday and I’ll fart on *you* this time. Wouldn’t that be so much fun, my King? Even more fun than eating those ‘burritos’ your store makes!

How to piss away your entire lunch hour:
1. Head to Qdoba
2. Stand in ridonkulous line
3. Be lucky enough to stand behind woman ordering 15 burritos.
In the end it was fascinating to watch the employees completely finish the orders of everyone in line while we were still waiting for the woman to pay for said burritos. Separately. I hate her.
Qdoba began in Colorado and spread like wildfire. Once they were bought out the quality took a bit of a hit but in general they’ve maintained the same «Mex-​esque» options. The thing that gets me back here is the cilantro rice (I’m a sucker for cilantro) and the lime wedges. Yes, lime wedges. Yum.
Still, you can’t eat here too often. Though the ingredients are fresh it’s still as big as your head which is good for no one. (Edit: it’s about 1,200 calories for them, eep)
Bonus star for the kick-​ass staffs ability to clear a queue of 10 while waiting on one person.

My number one burrito place in Boston. One of the first places I tried when I moved to the area 5 years ago and it has still held up.
The chicken burrito is great. I always get it and could eat one everyday. I have actually a burrito from qdoba for a 5 straight days and never got sick of it.
As I’m writing this review I’m thinking of biking over to the Harvard Sq location and grabbing one.
What isn’t to like. You get all your food groups rolled into one source. You can’t beat that.
The only little negative is sometimes the employees don’t roll them right and they fall apart… but they still taste great!

This was one of the more frenetic experiences I’ve had with a food place. Of course, it being downtown in the middle of the day, I would expect nothing less.
All things considered, they make a big burrito. And it’s not too shabby on top of that. Is it the best burrito I have had in Boston? No (I still like Picante more). But it’s a good burrito. You get all of the standards of a burrito, and the added fact that it’s both big, and an actual burrito (that can be tough sometimes)