• January 10th, 2011quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants

    we will miss you, garden blend!

    this is sad news indeed! after a trial run period that lasted about 8 months, we’ve heard that chipotle has decided to pull the plug on gardein and stop offering the vegan garden blend option at most of its LA locations.

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  • June 9th, 2010quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants

    SAD UPDATE HERE. original post below.

    we raved about chipotle’s brand new garden blend protein (made with gardein) when it first came to los angeles, and now we are happy to report that it’s finally available in several more locations! here’s a list of chipotles where you can enjoy the delicious vegan “chicken”:

    UPDATED 6/30/10 new locations to carry gardein:
    Santa Monica 1218 3rd Street
    Hollywood 1460 Vine Street

    Beverly Hills 244 South Beverly Drive
    Burbank 135 E. Palm Ave Space A2
    Culver City 9512 Culver Blvd
    El Segundo 307 No. Sepulveda Blvd. Suite B
    Encino 16350-A Ventura Blvdage
    Hawthorne 5330 Rosecrans Ave
    Hermosa Beach 1439 Pacific Coast Highway
    Los Angeles 121 N. La Cienega Blvd #114
    Los Angeles 110 S. Fairfax Suite A-12
    Los Angeles 1077 Broxton Ave
    Marina Del Ray 4718 Admiralty Way
    Northridge 9205 Reseda Blvd
    Pasadena 246 South Lake Ave
    Roseville 781 Pleasant Grove Blvd.
    Santa Barbara 723 State Street
    Studio City 12175 Ventura Blvd
    Torrance 24631 Crenshaw Blvd Unit A
    Westlake Village 5754 Lindero Canyon Rd
    Woodland Hills 5430 Topanga Canyon Blvd.

    image from the humane society's facebook page

    look, they even put the word “VEGAN” on the menu! man, i love chipotle! go eat some gardein blend today!

    special thanks to the humane society for sending me this info.

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  • April 27th, 2010quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants

    UPDATE 6/9/10: garden blend is available in even more locations! see the list here.

    it’s here, it’s FINALLY HERE!!!!! chipotle’s vegan garden blend burrito made with gardein is available in 2 los angeles locations as of TODAY.

    we went out and got chipotle’s new vegan chicken burrito the minute we had a chance, and—-holy shit! it MORE THAN LIVES UP TO ALL THE HYPE! this thing is phenomenal!

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  • April 12th, 2010quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants, more restaurants (not LA), NYC

    finally, after much ado, we have our very own report on the vegan garden blend burrito (bowl) at chipotle that’s made with gardein chicken. no, the burrito has not hit los angeles yet…but luckily our field operative is stationed in new york where it’s available and was able to send us a brief rundown, complete with mouthwatering pictures. as usual, words taken from the agent’s report are in quotes…

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  • January 10th, 2010quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants

    hey vegans, i know i have been updating you on the situation with the gardein meat or “garden blend” at chipotle in regards to which grill it’s cooked on, and most of our info has been coming from phone calls and conversations with the nyc staff. well finally, someone who works at chipotle has taken the time to send an official written response that will hopefully clear up any confusion. here ya go:

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  • January 7th, 2010quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants, more restaurants (not LA), NYC

    since we wrote our open letter to chipotle, it appears as if they heard our plea and begun cooking the vegan gardein meat (aka garden blend) separately from all the real meat!

    i was first tipped off by a commenter, and then called the west chelsea location myself…and it appears that it’s true!!!!

    on the phone, chipotle said the garden blend is vegan. when i asked if the gardein is cooked separately than the meat, they replied, “of course it is! otherwise it wouldn’t be vegan!” they also said they made the decision to cook the gardein in a separate pan LAST WEEK after several people complained. ahem.

    so if you are lucky enough to live in NYC (i’m jealous), head on over to the west chelsea chipotle on 8th avenue between 17th and 18th street for a VEGAN GARDEIN BURRITO.

    oh and since we got chipotle’s attention with the last letter, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask for one more thing….

    dear chipotle,
    PLEASE bring vegan garden burrito to ALL YOUR LOCATIONS!!!! and if that’s not possible, and you can only bring it to one more storefront, please bring it to los angeles.
    i love you!
    quarrygirl

    there are a few chipotles in chelsea, and i have read some inaccurate info online about which location has the garden blend. so here is a map just to make sure you go to the right one:

    [googleMap name=”chipotle west chelsea” description=”where you lucky bastards can find vegan burritos” width=”570″]149 8th Ave New York, NY 10011[/googleMap]

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  • December 30th, 2009quarrygirlchipotle, LA restaurants

    UPDATE 1/7/10: THANKS EVERYONE who read this and wrote in to chipotle!!!! they have CHANGED THEIR WAYS and now cook gardein separately! read the update!

    dear chipotle,

    thank you so much for being the only fast food chain where i can get a decent vegan burrito. i really appreciate you not using meat in your black beans, chicken stock in your rice, or lard in your tortillas.

    when i heard that you guys would be testing out gardein (one of the best vegan proteins EVER) re-branded as “garden blend” at some of your locations, i was overwhelmed with excitement.

    so much excitement, in fact, that on my first day of vacation in new york i hustled 3 miles to the chelsea chipotle eatery on 8th avenue (between 17th & 18th street)…the only storefront in the state to offer the coveted garden blend burrito. when i arrived, i was out of breath from hurrying through the manhattan streets and my nose was bright red from the below freezing temperature. no worries though, all would be worth it for a genuine fast food chipotle gardein burrito.

    i pushed my way up to the front of the line and asked for the “vegan garden blend burrito”. the nice chap behind the counter looked at me and smiled apologetically while explaining, “oh yes, that’s our new soy meat. we cook it on the same grill as the real meat though, so technically it’s not even vegetarian.” sure enough, he pointed at a super gnarly looking grill with chicken, beef, and mystery meat clumps piled atop it, with animal fluids oozing all over the place. he saw that i was clearly disappointed and offered, “our vegetarian burrito is completely vegan, without cheese. and it’s very popular!” i told him that i’d come special for the garden blend burrito, and he apologized again. needless to say, i left bummed and hungry.

    why, oh why, oh why, chipotle?!??!?!?!!? you are awesome. you already have the best vegan burrito in town (and that’s with just vegetables in it!), then you join forces with gardein (the best animal-free protein ever!), then you non-veganize the gardein by cooking it on the same grill in meat juice with all the other dead animals….and THEN you educate your dude-bro employees to warn me against ordering your otherwise vegan soy meat because you’ve contaminated it!!! i am epically confused, chipotle! what are you doing?!

    this is me asking you to, begging you to, and insisting that you please carry legitimate vegan gardein protein at all your locations. all it would take is a quick clean or a small separate section of the grill. and we would love you for it, more than we already do!

    gardein plus chipotle could change the world….if done right.

    i love you! xo
    quarrygirl

    PS: oh, and all vegans who read this, please bug chipotle about the same grill issue. if enough of us complain, we may get our way! yay!

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  • June 17th, 2008quarrygirlchipotle, farmers market, LA restaurants

    if you find yourself at the farmers market, or anywhere in los angeles for that matter, you can always count on chipotle to offer you a tasty, filling vegan lunch. here at quarrygirl.com we love vegan chain dining options, and chipotle is probably our favorite vegan-friendly “fast food” joint. plus, safe mexican food can be hard to come by.


    burrito: flour tortilla, cilantro-lime rice, black beans, salsa, romaine lettuce and guacamole.

    one thing i love about chipotle is that i trust their vegan options. so many mexican restaurants sneak chicken stock into the rice, or lard into the beans. with chipotle, i know the cilantro-lime rice (yum) and the black beans are totally vegetarian. i don’t have to deal with the hassle of trying to explain to a disgruntled worker what chicken stock is and then wait while they check with everyone in the kitchen before i find out there’s nothing on the menu i can order. (just be sure not to order chipotle’s pinto beans, they are filled with vile bacon!)

    chipotle is especially convenient at the farmers market, because all the other dining options are phenomenally overpriced. in the midst of all the small vendors, you can count on chipotle to give you ridiculously huge, american-sized portions at considerably low, evil corporation prices.

    and if you are counting calories, get your vegetarian burrito in a bowl instead. it tastes just as good!

    my only complaint about chipotle is that they don’t have a salsa bar. 🙁 instead, they offer just 3 different flavors of crummy tabasco sauce. no cholula even! corporate headquarters: if you are listening, you really need to step it up in the salsa department. other than that, great burritos!

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