Yummy squee.

Chipotle
M & 19th Streets, Washington D.C.
Circa 2004


Me: I don't get it.
Tim: You just walk up there and order a burrito.
Me: All they sell is burritos...and tacos?
Tim: Yup. Oh, margaritas.
Me: What kind of place is this?!

My life was never the same after that moment, for I had discovered the burrito experience.

I say "experience" because the instructions on the back of their napkins actually include holding up your Mexican food goodness to the sky to be worshipped a la Simba in the Lion King. (Or that Step 2 was to lift it off the table in order to eat it. I like my version better.)

Founded in 1993 by yet another guy named Steve (See: Jobs, Case), Chipotle Mexican Grill was actually owned in part by McDonald's, yet its food was anything but.

Seriously amusing advertising, massive burritos (20 ounces!), cool metal-meets-wood decor, and a liquor license makes this one of my favorite food places in the city.

Slowly migrating to a local suburb near you, I've made it a point to attend the opening (By sheer luck, I swear...) of New York locations just so I can say, "Why, yes. I know that the guac is extra," and impress the new Chipotle staff.

Downside is I actually calculated the calories in the brick-sized burrito, and they oddly enough total the number of the year I graduated elementary school. (And, no. I'm not the oldest person alive.) It's up there. You don't want me to tell you.

I'm not the only one who thinks that Chipotle is squeeworthy. Sites like chipotlefan.com painstakingly catalogue every ingredient and house fan message boards to celebrate their awesomeness.

While I haven't gone that far, I have wrapped myself up in an obscene amount of tinfoil to secure a free burrito on Halloween.

Free Burrito Days:

• Tax Day: April 15. Fill out your "tax form" and save your receipt.
  
• Leap Day: February 29. (Leap years only. Duh.)
• Prom Day: Spend all your money on a dumb dress to only get dumped by your cheating boyfriend at the punchbowl? Forget him and get a free burrito. You gotta rock the dress in the store, though.
  

Visit Chipotle online and get your burrito on at http://www.chipotle.com