Qdoba Mexican Grill

A little expensive for Mexican fast food, but I prefer the Fajita Ranchera Chicken Qdoba Burrito with pico & sour cream over any of the Chipotle ones hands down.

Chipotle is better in every respect. Portion sizes are extremely small. Too expensive for what you get. Chips are awful. Not impressed. Will not be back.

Qdoba always seems to be playing 3rd string to Moe's and Chipotle, but even the benchwarmer needs some love too.

Pros:
+ Qdoba has this odd spin on it's food.  Where Moe's and Chipotle are locked in an arms race to see who can prove they're the most environmentally friendly, Qdoba seems to be trying to figure out how it can make the most bizarre mexican queso and barbeque burritos.  This leads to some unique flavor combos.
+  There's a lot of choice associated with that.  At least 5 different salsas, meats, plenty of sauces, and a bunch of layouts to the meal.
+ The pick two choice is interesting, and a good way to sample different things.
+ They usually offer a yelp or foursquare special.
+ This store is clean, and around lunch the staff is attentive and check up on you.

Cons:
- Sometimes doing too many things is worse than doing not enough.  Almost all the things that make Qdoba unique, also make it feel cheap.  Like the cheese sauce.
- The guac is extra.  This trend sucks.
-  I somehow just never feel like I get what I pay for.  Maybe it's the cheap quality of the ingredients, maybe it's the portion, but inevitably, I almost instantly wish I had gone to Chipotle after the first bite.
- This last point is especially true for the proteins, it's just not nearly as good as the competition on this point.

Nothing here is par say 'bad', but everything is a far cry from good. That being said, this can be a nice change, but it's hard to enjoy as much as it's competitors.  Try Qdoba if you haven't had it, but don't expect it to be a life changer.