Pittsburgh, and Oakland in particular, has been a battleground in the burrito wars, with Baja Fresh, Qdoba, and Veracruz occupying the same two blocks, and Mad Mex just down the road. But burrito juggernaut Chipotle hadn't entered the market…

… until now.

Now, some of you might say that opening a restaurant out in Robinson Town Centre doesn't quite count as "competing in the Oakland burrito market." Some of you might be right. Robinson is about 15 miles away, and it's a pretty miserable 15 miles on the highway, especially if you go during rush hour (it took us at least 45 minutes last Thursday).

However, Chipotle's Godzilla-esque footprint will soon land right next door: on Forbes Avenue in Oakland, in Baja Fresh's previous location. So those of you with vested interests in the burrito wars should keep your eyes open and check out the new kid on the block, even if "the block" is a megamall dominated by the likes of Costco and Wal-Mart.

Enough talk of the location; what's Chipotle like? Well, those of you familiar with any of the other three fast food burrito restaurants in Oakland would feel right at home. The restaurant serves three main items: burritos, burritos in smaller tortillas (tacos), and burritos without tortillas ("burrito bols" or salads). Once you've chosen your food item, you continue by choosing your meat: chicken, steak, barbacoa (marinated shredded beef), carnitas (marinated shredded pork), or vegetarian (guacamole and black beans). The rest of the choices are up to you, in a manner similar to Subway.

How does it compare to the aforementioned worthy competitors? In short, it's the best.

Chipotle serves larger portions than Baja Fresh. If your appetite is less than that of a grizzly bear, then you may prefer Baja Fresh. But hey, we're all college students, and if you don't want to eat quite so gluttonously, you can always take half of it home. Chipotle's ingredients tend to be fresher than those from Veracruz's, although their prices are a little higher. Qdoba is probably the closest competitor, but I'd still give Chipotle the edge. Chipotle's slightly less chewy burrito, slightly better seasoned meats, and neat Aztec-inspired atmosphere give it a slight advantage over its unpronounceable rival.

What about the McDonald's thing? You know, how McDonald's owns a huge percent of Chipotle, so Chipotle's food must be awful by association? According to MSN, McDonald's is supposedly selling off its investment in Chipotle by the end of the year. Even if McDonald's were still 70 percent owners, Qdoba is owned by Jack in the Box, so I don't see how they get any advantage there. Face it: wherever you buy fast food, you're playing right into the hands of evil corporate giants… But at least in Chipotle's case, it does taste good.

You could do a lot worse than any of these burrito choices (see: Taco Bell). However, if you're looking for the best fast-food burrito around, watch out for the opening of the Chipotle in Oakland. Hopefully, they'll repeat the same deal that the Robinson Chipotle offered: free burritos the day before the restaurant opens. Even if they don't, give Chipotle a try.

Restaurant type: national fast food chain
Website: http://www.chipotle.com
How to get there: you need a car (or a 28X to Robinson Town Centre and a lot of time) for now. Soon to be walking distance on Forbes.
Price for an entrée: $5-6
Rating: 6.5 (that means it's better than average!)

Author's Note: This is the first of a weekly restaurant review column. In these columns, I will try to give an informative and yet somewhat witty review of new or unusual restaurants. I'll finish up with a few short facts: the type of restaurant that's being reviewed, how to get there, the average price for an entrée, and a rating from 0 to 10, where 5 really means average. It's not like grades, where anything below a 6.0 would be failing, and it's not like movie reviews, where everything gets between 3 and 4.5 stars. For serious, it'll be from 0 to 10.

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