For Chipotle's birthday, Westword built a two-pound burrito

Chipotle has been a part of my life since I moved to Denver with my burrito-loving parents, when I was just six months old and the chain was still just a toddler. I started eating Chipotle not long after that. Sometimes a lot of Chipotle. Here's my standard order when...

By Noah Reynolds

July 11, 2013

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Chipotle has been a part of my life since I moved to Denver with my burrito-loving parents, when I was just six months old and the chain was still just a toddler. I started eating Chipotle not long after that. Sometimes a lot of Chipotle.

Here's my standard order when I'm hungry: chicken burrito with white rice and pinto beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, corn salsa and fresh tomato salsa. I got one to go last week and weighed it on the Westword postal scale: It clocked in at 1 pound, 11.3 ounces.

Using the calculator on Chipotle's own website (chipotle.com), I determined that my burrito contained a total of 1,135 calories. It had 41.5 grams of fat, 3,170 milligrams of sodium, 190 milligrams of cholesterol, 18 grams of saturated fat — and not a single gram of trans fat.

I ate the whole thing. For someone my size and age, most doctors recommend a 2,000-calorie daily diet, with no more than 20 grams of saturated fat and 2,300 milligrams of sodium. So after my Chipotle meal, I still had room for a modest snack — but I was already over my recommended sodium intake by 1,100 milligrams.

I didn't care. I love Chipotle.

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Westword has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.