Order the chicken tacos but leave the chips out of Chipotle

Our excitement upon learning that our first assignment was the newly opened Chipotle on Kirkwood Avenue was hard to contain. Neither of us had eaten at the Mexican restaurant before, but the buzz surrounding it was difficult to ignore. On a peaceful Friday night, we decided to venture down Kirkwood to try it for ourselves.\nWe were surprised to see that we were not the only ones who had this bright idea. The line was literally out the door. \nThe restaurant had an assembly-line styled service bar, where the customers select and watch their food being made to order. The 20-minute wait to the service counter gave us time to look over the simplistic menu, easily displayed above the counter. The menu, unlike the line, was shockingly short -- only four main dishes. Each main dish, however, can be specialized to your own liking, with an array of meats, salsas and toppings. \nThe main dishes include burritos, burrito "bols," tacos and salads. Each main dish has a choice of meat: chicken, steak, carnitas (spicy pulled pork) or barbacoa (spicy shredded beef). A vegetarian selection is also offered. Rice, beans, four different salsas and other typical Southwestern toppings are then mixed in to finalize the custom order.\nThe employees made the selection process feel rushed but did so more out of the need to be efficient than to be rude. They did their best to deal with the crowd. No table service was provided, so do not expect a high level of customer service throughout your meal. Remember, despite its higher quality food and setting, Chipotle is still a fast-food style restaurant. \nWe decided upon the crunchy tacos, sampling both the chicken and the barbacoa with the roasted chili-corn salsa ($5.50). We also tried the steak burrito bol with fresh tomato salsa ($5.60). Both items were noticeably fresh in appearance and taste.\nThe chicken tacos were the best part of the meal. They had just the right amount of seasoning without being overbearing. The corn salsa complimented the flavor of the chicken with a sweet, crunchy taste. The barbacoa was good but different than we expected. It is spicier than one might think and did not mix as well with the corn salsa.\nThe steak burrito bol, a somewhat unique concept to Chipotle, was an interesting mix of rice, beans, steak, and other typical burrito toppings -- without the tortilla shell. The ingredients were delicious, but at times the burrito bol was inconsistent -- one bite would be good while another would have too much spice. The burrito bowl was more than enough food to fill us up. Again, the value was very good for the meal. Overall, the different spin on the burrito was satisfying.\nThe chips and salsa ($1.25), however, were not. The chips were disappointing because they were cold and lacked that important crunch we expected. The salsa, while fresh, is not what you would normally anticipate to dip your chips into. It is nothing more than a diced tomato. \nThe atmosphere inside Chipotle is about as Mexican as Taco Bell. Large metal ductwork hung from the ceilings, industrial-style chairs and tables scattered the main dining floor and booths wrapped around the outer edge. The restaurant is a good size and has adequate seating for the large amount of clientele. An advantage of the size is that large groups of friends can easily eat together. A disadvantage to this, however, is that the restaurant can be very loud, especially when there is a large line waiting to order.\nA huge plus during the summer months is the large patio in the front of the restaurant. It was nice to sit outside on Kirkwood and enjoy the late summer weather. \nChipotle offers a clean, relaxed seating area that can accommodate any easy-going outing, from the everyday meal with your best friend to the weekly gathering of 10 of your closest friends. Chipotle is not the place to go on a first date -- spicy food, no table service and the messy nature of burritos and tacos does not make for the most romantic setting. \nWhen broken down, the price for the entire meal was not bad, but it would have been nice to have some type of side dish (besides chips) with the tacos to break up the strong flavor. The burrito bol was a large amount of food and more than enough by itself. For roughly $15, the meal was a good value for the quality and amount of food we received. If you are looking for a moderately priced meal but do not want to eat typical fast food, Chipotle is a great choice.\nAlthough next time, we would leave out the chips.