The idea that people can be so passionate about a certain American restaurant opposed to a different, very similar, American restaurant has perplexed me for the past few years, so I decided to put the Qdoba and Chipotle to the test. To get a good comparison, I got the exact same burrito fillings at both places. This review will not be reliable for my meat eaters out there, and I apologize for that. My parents came along, because I am broke, and also got similar meals.

Atmosphere
The locations I went to had very different feels to them. We went to the Qdoba in the Valley, which is somewhat new and was quiet with few people. It gave off more of a restaurant vibe instead of fast food. The workers were so nice and very accommodating while letting me write down notes while ordering.
We went to the Chipotle off of Clarkson, which I didn’t love. The place was very crowded and took about 10 minutes to finally take our order. We went in at around 7:30, so by then I was hangry. The people at Chipotle were also very nice except the chef in the back looked like he wanted to kill one of the women making my burrito.
For atmosphere I am going to have to go with Qdoba. Their lines were shorter and seemed less like fast food.

Size
When people say size doesn’t matter, they are lying. I want my burritos to be as big as possible, and both restaurants delivered on that. Qdoba had a larger burrito, but not by much, even though it was in our carry out bag for longer. I’d say these were about the size of baby heads — or a small puppy. I could’ve wrapped either burrito up with a blanket and taken it to a park and would not have gotten any weird looks.
Qdoba wins again but only by a little bit.

Flavor
Qdoba’s ingredients just didn’t taste fresh. The brown rice tasted overcooked, or undercooked, or something because it didn’t taste too nice. The only difference in ingredients was the addition of the queso at Qdoba, which I think actually hurt the overall flavor of the burrito. It was like taking a fine burrito and putting the school’s plastic-tasting nacho cheese all over it and expecting everyone to be fine with it. I might be just a cheese snob, but I can’t be the only one mad about this.
Chipotle had some bomb lettuce. That seems like a weird first impression, but they were having a good lettuce day. It tasted fresh and crunchy and dang… that was some good lettuce. They also gave me so much guacamole. I love guac with all my heart, so even though I had to pay extra (which I will address later), it was worth it.
Chipotle’s ingredients tasted fresher overall, winning this category.

Price
My burritos ended having a $1.30 difference for the exact same burrito. Again, I don’t eat meat, so I don’t know what the difference is for you carnivores out there, but my beany-burrito’s didn’t cost the same, and I think that says more than anything about these restaurants. Qdoba ended costing more at $7.80, and Chipotle cost $6.30 with guac. I am pretty mad about the fact that Chipotle’s guac cost extra, so this brought the whole establishment down a few notches in my mental calculations, but because they gave me so much more than Qdoba, I have forgiven them. Chipotle seriously gave me twice the amount that Qdoba gave me, which is pretty important for a guac lover like myself.
Chipotle wins for their cheaper burrito even though they charge for guac.

Overall
The dry rice and plasticy flavored cheese at Qdoba really took a toll on the full eating experience. Qdoba’s little amount of guac left the rice dry, which made by leftovers really gross. When I spend $7.80 on something, I want it to also taste nice the next day when I bring it to school. Qdoba overall tasted like a normal burrito that I could make at home.
Chipotle didn’t just taste great when I ate the first half, it tasted even better cold the next day. I could taste every ingredient.
Chipotle wins for me overall. If I were to ever spend $6.30 on a burrito again, which I doubt will happen, I will choose Chipotle.