Giant Pork Burrito Chain Challenge: Chipotle Mexican Grill

So a while back, I had the idea of trying roughly the same dish at a bunch of different places to see who's doing them the best.  Unfortunately I had the idea after going through my gyro phase.  I figured burritos the size of small dogs would be a worthy topic though...

Here are the rules: I will only be reviewing pork burritos because, well, it's me.  Also, it saves me from having to take places like Taco Time and Taco Bell into consideration.  I will not be purchasing any premium add-ons; if it isn't available as a standard choice, I ain't getting it.  I'll only be reviewing burritos from fast food chains, because bringing restaurants and taco trucks into it just casts too wide a net.  And because this is a series about a specific food item from fast food chain eateries, I won't be using my standard rating system for the atmosphere, service and so on (though I may mention those things in passing).  Also, keep in mind that I'm rating this stuff for what it is, not measured against authentic Mexican food or restaurants, so an A+ doesn't mean it's the best food ever.  Let's get started, shall we?

Big Jud's

Maybe it's my contrarian nature, but I have a habit of not reviewing places if the Boise Weekly or the Idaho Statesman have done so recently.  This sometimes holds true even if it's a place I desperately want to check out.  It's even worse if the place has gotten national exposure.  I enjoy seeking out the places that nobody knows about, nobody talks about, or that everyone is so used to being around that they never really examine them.

Occasionally, someone contacts me about what they consider to be an egregious oversight on my part.  For example, a few months back I got an e-mail from a guy named Jim who couldn't believe that with all the burger write-ups I've done, Big Jud's wasn't among them.  It's not that I didn't want to try the place, and in fact I'd been curious about them ever since I saw them on Man V. Food, but that same exposure made me less interested in writing about them.   My time and resources are limited enough that when it comes to deciding where to eat, a place that I can get a write-up out of will usually win.  Still, this local burger institution and I were bound to cross paths eventually, and with a little incentive from Groupon I finally made the short trip to Big Jud's.  It's a trip I hope to make again.  And again.  And again...

Is there such a thing as too many options?

For those of you who don't have any plans for the last weekend of summer...yeah, let that sink in a moment...allow me to offer a few suggestions from the wide array of options that are available to you:

Hyde Park Street Fair - 32nd year for this one.  I haven't been able to find a convenient list of food vendors on their site (the shame), but I do know that Romio's/Zorba's will be there, as will the B29 Streatery, Archie's Place, and Brown Shuga Soul Food.  This will be running all weekend, so you have plenty of time to make it out.  Some of the other options are a bit more restrictive...

Eagle Food & Wine Festival - Saturday from 6 PM - 9 PM at BanBury Golf Club.  Tickets are $40, and you'll have access to food from Willowcreek Grill, Wild West Bakery & Espresso, The River Rock, Ono Cafe, Murphy's Seafood & Steakhouse, Bardenay, Cool Hand Luke's Steakhouse/Saloon, Bella Aquila, and Porterhouse Market.  Whew.

Celtic Festival and Highland Games - Saturday from 9 AM - 6 PM at Expo Idaho.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors, but I'm guessing the food won't be as extensive or varied.  And afterward, you can cruise over to...

BSRC Lobsterfest - Also at Expo Idaho, Saturday from 4 PM - 8 PM.  $50 a ticket, but you get an entire Maine lobster, a bunch of sides and live music.

Oktoberfest - Saturday from 1 PM - 11 PM at Qwest Century Link Arena.  $30 gets you a bottomless beer.  I'm not sure if the German fare being served is included in that price, but after a few refills would you really care about forking out a few bucks for a sausage anyway?

MickeyRay's 1 Year Anniversary Celebration - You guessed it, Saturday again.  6 PM, Eagle location only.  All you can eat pig and sides, plus live music.  Tickets are...well, I don't know.  Even though the event has been posted on their website and their Facebook page, the ticket price info wasn't included.

I think that's about it.  As for me, if I end up at any of these it will probably be Hyde Park for the diversity and lack of requirement to purchase a ticket.  Of course, maybe I'll just spend the entire weekend trying to get into Chipotle...

Bob's Texas BBQ

Yes, another barbecue post.  Why?  Because I love barbecue, and it's my website!  Plus, Summer is drawing to a close, so why not?

Bob's Texas BBQ is a respectable-sized shack located on the corner of State Street and Gardener Lane in Boise (or Garden City, depending on who you ask).  I drive by the shack on my way to and from work, to and from the gym, to and from the grocery store...the worst is early in the morning when I'm on the way to work and they've got the smokers going full blast.  It's maddening.  So, you may ask (or may not, doesn't matter), why has it taken me so long to get around to trying them?  Well, I really don't know.  I have excuses, but none of them are that good.  And when I realized that, I finally stopped in...