A good burrito bowl is a quintessential meal for every college student. Customizable, quick and flavor-packed, there’s truly a bowl out there for everyone. As Evanston residents, we are lucky enough to have two places to order that perfect fast casual pick-me-up. First, the classic Chipotle. Well known and well loved by the masses, Chipotle is a staple for Northwestern students. In the other corner, we have the up-and-coming challenger: DosBros. A lesser known, but still popular stop in the Midwest and South. We decided to put these bowls to the test and find out what each has to offer.
For a fair comparison, we ordered identical bowls from each restaurant with white rice, black beans, chicken, pico/mild salsa, cheese, lettuce, corn and guacamole.
Cost Breakdown
For Chipotle, the total was $13.90 including an extra $3.20 for guacamole. The DosBros bowl was $14.75 including $1.90 for guacamole. DosBros offered two portions of guacamole and we opted for the smaller one. The big portion of guacamole was $3.49.
At first glance, the bowls looked very similar. The one noticeable difference between the two was the guacamole distribution. The Chipotle bowl had a bigger scoop of guac that was spread evenly across the top of the bowl. The DosBros bowl had a smaller scoop on the side of the bowl. The Chipotle bowl was heavier with slightly bigger portions on each ingredient. To get the full overview of each bowl’s flavors in every bite, we gave each bowl a thorough mix.
Right off the bat, we noticed that Chipotle’s bowl featured more lettuce with better crunch, whiter corn salsa, and more guacamole. DosBros’ chicken came in smaller, well-seasoned pieces with a delicious smoky taste, while Chipotle’s had a more charred flavor with some slightly burned pieces. DosBros’ corn salsa was simpler, mostly just corn, compared to Chipotle’s version which included jalapeños for extra kick. Overall, Chipotle’s bowl was saucier and denser, with more tang in each bite, while DosBros offered a simpler yet flavorful experience.
After inspecting and savoring each component of both burrito bowls, we have come to an indeterminate conclusion. We believe that the difference in quality of the bowls is so negligible that we would recommend keeping both in your regular rotation. What could be better than one delectable burrito bowl? Two!