Chipotle comes to Moorestown/Mt. Laurel/Maple Shade

This is a day I have been waiting for. Chipotle, a great concept restaurant, has come to the area. Today I took my wife and son for their first taste.

I know this has very little, OK nothing to do with the main concept of the blog but some of the ways Chipotle delivers Mexican food are ways that I strive to serve my clients, through my church and in my community.

• The place was clean - the decor was basic but clean. Inside was a warm Red colored paint on the walls, hardwood and corrogated metal. Some restaurants I go into feel more like a purse store than a restaurant so anything with exposed hardwoods and metal I love.
• There was a line but at several points in the line they had a little holder and menus available. My wife and I talked about what we would try and it made things easier when we got to the front.
• They make the meal right in front of you - think Subway meets backyard BBQ. Meats grilling, flatbread warming and the whole thing assembled right there. Again the work area and the people working looked clean.
• They had a little card by the beginning of the assembly line to tell me they did not have a kids menu. Instead they said I could look at what they had - it was all right there in plain view - and they would put whatever my one year old would eat into a bowl or a small tortilla for him. Then they did not charge me anything. Very cool.
• The food is fresh and the portions are great for the price compared with other eateries in the area. Chipotle at Moorestown Mall is within a half mile of a Taco Bell and a Don Pablos. It is certainly upscale from a Taco Bell and has less of a night out feel than a Don Pablo's. Well placed right in the middle.
• I am a hard core carnivor. We ordered a vegitarian burrito and a chicken burrito. The chicken burrito was good but we both preferred the veggie - this is the first time I have ever written "preferred the veggie" and this afternoon was the first time the thought had ever entered my mind.
  
• There were many unexpected little things I enjoyed but one more was that on my cup was a little blurb about a radio show out in Colorado called eTown. Reading about it made me want to come home and check out the website. Tonight I have been enjoying the podcasts of the Barenaked Ladies and the Bo Deans live on this unique and well done show.

I love when someone gives me a good tip about some place that they really like and delivers great service. I guess that is why I wrote this tonight.

I am always open to hear what places you like to frequent in and around New Jersey, often I have found the magazines miss the best places with the best stories. I would love to hear yours.