Often imitated . . .

. . . but never duplicated.

That's right. I'm talking about the Chipotle burrito.


I have blogged about my love for all that is Chipotle on several occasions. Like the story of my elation over FINALLY getting a Chipotle in Iowa. (which was convenient when we lived in Iowa. Now that we live in Germany, not so much!) When we were giving thanks alphabetically, Chipotle made my "C" list. It even made the list of my top 5 loves!

So, there is no doubt that I love Chipotle; however, the last couple of times that we have been in the States, friends and family alike have been trying to convince me that there are other burrito joints that are just as good - if not better than the original - the burrito that has had my heart since I was just a teenager!

At this point I'm pretty sure we've tried them all, and I've got to say that a lot of them were pretty good.

Qdoba makes a mean queso sauce and in the summer time their mango salsa is to die for. They also have a loyalty card program which is a bit of a perk. And they're my parents' favorite of the many burrito options in their area.


Bullritos are the fan favorite in the Houston area. They have a fun ordering system where you check what you want on their printed bags (a lot like Which-Wich) and turn it in at the beginning of the line. They assemble it and at the end of the line the cashier calls your name, or whatever name you wrote on the bag during the ordering process - the boys have a lot of fun with this ;). One of their distinctions is a delicious Cilantro Ranch sauce. Yummmm!

Most recently, we were introduced to Moe's in Charleston, SC. Moe's has a pretty wide selection with funny names like "The Homewrecker" and the "Joey Junior." They also do free chips and salsa with every order, and the location we went to had a soda machine that looked like it was straight out of an episode of Star Trek - complete with a touch screen and several different flavor variations for each soda option.


But I've got to say, while I'd never be one to turn down a burrito - any burrito (especially living in Germany where good Mexican food is VERY hard to come by), Chipotle is still my favorite. By a landslide! I don't know if it's just that it was my first burrito love, or the delicious combination of their steak and rice and salsa and sour cream and guacamole that no one else will every be able to fully duplicate!

Not that I haven't tried. I mean the closest Chipotle to us is in London, which is an eight hour drive, so it may as well be in the States with as often as we get there, so I've tried my hand at recreating Carnitas and Cilantro-Lime Rice, but it just isn't the same. There were rumors at one point that Chipotle may be opening a new location in Munich, which is much closer, but alas we have not seen any movement on that for awhile, so . . . We will have to make due with our homemade version and our memories of the real thing!

Do you have a food item or a restaurant that you have to struggle to do without? Or someplace you can't imagine moving away from?

Hope you're having a great week!

Completing Him Summer Challenge - Week #7

July 19 - Make him a priority. Ask him what his favorite dinner, dessert and drink are. Be sure to serve him all three one night this week. Bonus: cook his favorite dishes all week long!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Friday - Adventurous

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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One of the things I love the most about Austin is how adventurous he is, and how willing he is to try new things! In our new life, that's something that has, and will continue to, serve him very well!


Here's a couple of examples from the past couple of weeks. Last weekend, on our way between Pisa and Aviano, we stopped overnight in the Cinque Terre (which is absolutely incredible, btw). We got dinner at this adorable little restaurant, and Austin ordered the pesto lasagna, because we had been told that we had to try the pesto in Vernazza, and he had been dying to have lasagna in Italy. He thought that what he ordered was a piece of meaty, red-sauced lasagna with a side of pasta au pesto. Much to his surprise, the waiter brought him green lasagna.


He kind of laughed at the situation, then dug right in. As we were leaving the restaurant, I asked him if he enjoyed his Italian eating experience and he said, "It was pretty good, but I think I prefer the penne with the pesto." We both looked at each other and then burst out laughing because that was a sentence I never thought I'd hear my husband say, lol!

The other instance occurred earlier this week. Working with military contractors on bases definitely has its perks. One of which is the use of the on base gym and fitness center. Monday after work we joined one of the MCYM staff members at the gym for a "Turn & Burn" class. Forty five minutes of spinning followed by 45 minutes of power yoga. It's quite the workout, and the trainer was really fun, but I was most impressed with my adorable hubby who participated in both spinning and yoga and gave every position a try! He even did his breathing right!!! :) There was another spinning class on Wednesday evening, so we took our gym clothes with us to work that day. As we were leaving the house, Austin said, "I'm glad it's just spinning tonight, not spinning followed by yoga." Another one of those sentences I never expected to come out of his mouth!

He would tell you that he's not a very adventurous eater and that he's pretty picky, but as you can tell, he'll try just about anything once! I LOVE that about him! My husband so totally rocks! :)

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I am the only person who has the ability to add blogs to the MHR blogroll. If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me at katylinvw{at}yahoo{dot}com and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!

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If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays Union 28 will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you Union 28!

Hope you have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful week!