Now, thanks to its meaty test results, Chipotle will have a nationwide launch for chorizo.
The new protein is made with a blend of pork and white-meat chicken. Chorizo aficionados will find a blend of paprika, toasted cumin, and chipotle peppers seasoned into the meat and seared on a grill.
Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle and co-CEO said:
The reaction to chorizo in the cities that have had it has been overwhelmingly positive, so we’re making it available in all of our restaurants across the country.
While introducing new meats is a painfully slow process to the brand, we’d love to see the company evolve into serving other meats like buche (stomach), cabeza (head), and even lengua (tongue) on their menu. Though, seeing how long it took to get chorizo on the menu, that might be wishful thinking.
Chorizo officially launches on October 4, also known as National Taco Day. You can order it with burritos, tacos, salads, and burrito bowls.
Chipotle is adding chorizo to select restaurants, the chain’s first new menu item since 2014.
The meat, a blend of pork and white-meat chicken, will be seasoned with paprika, toasted cumin and chipotle peppers. It was first unveiled in Kansas City, Mo. last year and was popular according to executives, but with the chains E. coli scare, the widespread menu expansion was delayed.
Burrito lovers can find the protein in Columbus, Ohio; Sacramento, California; San Diego, some New York units in Manhattan, one Denver restaurant and the Chipotle in Washington, D.C’s Dulles International Airport.
It’s not common for Chipotle to add a new menu items. This new menu item is the first since 2014 when the organic tofu item, Sofritas. That was the first new menu item since 2005.
In a statement announcing the chorizo this rarity was addressed. “Since we opened the first Chipotle 23 years ago, our menu has changed very little, and our focus has been on constantly improving the quality and taste of the food we serve,” said Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO of Chipotle. “While we have never been opposed to changing our menu, we only do so when we think there’s an opportunity to add something that is really unique but that fits within our overall menu, and where we can find ingredients that meet our high standards.”
It all started on my drive to work, passing my local Del Taco I’m always neck-craned looking over to see if they have any new menu items calling my name. Today was my lucky day, as I caught a sign I hadn’t read before…something about chorizo tacos:
I arrived at work a few minutes later, the photo on my phone burning a hole in my pocket. I shot over an e-mail to Del Taco asking for more information. A few short minutes later, I received a response with the info I wanted and what was essentially a Willy Wonka-esque golden ticket invite to their headquarters in Lake Forest (a few minutes up the freeway from our office in Orange County).
Feeling like Charlie bringing the golden ticket home to show my decrepit family, I snagged fellow Foodbeasts Peter and Marc, and we went on our merry way to the Del Taco headquarters.
At Del Taco’s Headquarters
We learned from their culinary team in the short hour we were there that Del Taco has been serving breakfast for over 30 years.
They gave us a quick tour of their kitchen, showing us how they grate their cheddar cheese from huge blocks every morning (damn, who’da thunk?!), and hand chop their pico de gallo, then we got right down to how the chorizo sausage is fresh grilled in every restaurant’s working kitchen (yes, Del Taco actually cooks in their kitchens), until golden brown and juicy. While the new slightly spicy chorizo sausage can be added to anything on their menu during breakfast hours (more on that later), here are the featured chorizo items:
Chorizo Breakfast Taco: freshgrilled chorizo sausage and scrambled eggs, topped with freshly grated cheddar cheese and served in a warm flour tortilla—available for only $1, this is one of six items on Del Taco’s Buck & Under Breakfast Menu.
Chorizo Half Pounder Burrito: freshgrilled chorizo sausage and scrambled eggs, freshly grated cheddar cheese, and red sauce served in a warm flour tortilla
Epic Chorizo Scrambler Burrito: freshgrilled chorizo sausage and scrambled eggs, freshly grated cheddar cheese, crispy hash brown sticks, handmade pico de gallo, and red sauce served in a warm, oversized flour tortilla
They also introduced a new coffee blend, including an iced version (not too sweet and great coffee flavor) that’s available for $1 on their Buck & Under menu all day long. Currently, the Chorizo items are all available during the chain’s breakfast menu hours of 11am — 11pm. If the stuff takes off, which I hope it does, it should find its way into more non-breakfast items.
The entire squad of new items:
Left-to-right, lightest-to-heaviest:
Closeup of that Epic Chorizo Scrambler:
Inside that $1 Chorizo Taco:
After throwing around some thank yous for the exclusives, Pete, Marc and I decided we weren’t quite done with chorizo, plus we wanted to grab some grub for everyone working back at the office. So, we decided to cruise through an actual Del Taco location on our drive back.
Once we were in line, we decided to take advantage of Del Taco’sclaim that “you can add chorizo to anything on the menu.” Rushing to Del Taco, we made it with 20 minutes left on their breakfast timer (11 am), and proceeded to order EVERYTHING with chorizo on it, and BOLD (fries + secret sauce).
And damn did they do it, here are some of my favorites from our haul:
We didn’t think they’d do this one…but they did, and it tasted better than you’d think…Chorizo Vanilla Milkshake:
So, there you have it. After our Willy Wonka-like experience, we stepped out of Del Taco’s glass elevator ridiculously full and happy. The good thing is, a golden ticket isn’t necessary to chow down on Del Taco’s new spicy chorizo, perfect for late night (which I personally love) or as a pretty damn effective hangover cure the morning after.
McDonald’s has always been a burger joint, ever since its inception in 1955, and rarely do people see it as anything else.
Still, with the demand for food constantly changing and currently gravitating towards generally healthier options, McDonald’s continues to try and find ways to keep up, or at least get one foot in the door. That foot may be their new Breakfast Bowls and Chobani Non-Fat Greek Yogurt.
The two bowls being released are the Turkey Sausage Breakfast Bowl and the Chorizo Breakfast bowl.
The Turkey Sausage Breakfast Bowl (and the healthier option of the two) will have kale, spinach, bruschetta, small slices of parmesan cheese, turkey sausage and egg whites.
The Chorizo Breakfast Bowl will have a more Tex-Mex feel too it, and will be made with chorizo (a spicy Spanish pork sausage), hash browns, scrambled eggs, shredded Jack and cheddar cheese, then topped off with some pico de gallo. The Chorizo bowl also comes with red sauce on the side.
McDonald’s will also begin using Chobani Non-Fat Vanilla Greek Yogurt in their yogurt-based dishes, namely the Fruit ‘N Yogurt Parfait and the McCafe Smoothies. The switch from low-fat yogurt to non-fat yogurt is a small one, but could make a big enough difference for many customers.
With my luck, the big bossman at Foodbeast said to me today, “Hey, Izz. Why don’t you go over to Starbucks and try the new chorizo sandwich for a story.”
Aww, damn it.
Disclaimer: PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS BE YOUR FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH CHORIZO. YOU WILL BE LEFT UNIMPRESSED, AND NEVER WANT TO TRY THE REAL, SPICY, FLAVORFUL MEXICAN GOODNESS.
… now back to the regularly scheduled story.
So, I reluctantly shuffled over to the Starbucks next door to the Foodbeast office and ordered this sandwich that essentially had, “I will ruin your day,” written all over the menu board.
I’m not exactly well-seasoned in Starbucks culture, but one thing that has been engraved into my head, by my fellow coworkers no less, is that the coffee shop’s attempts at food are usually god-awful. It makes sense. At the end of the day, it’s still fast food, like, don’t try to sell me on a brisket sandwich that’s been sitting in packaging all day, Starbucks.
The friendly barista assured me that the new sandwiches were good and she had been eating them almost every day, so that made me feel a little better.
I got back to the office, took out the sandwich, and the chorizo consists of some kind of reddish sausage patty. That’s definitely not what I expected. I guess it makes sense instead of crumbly chorizo, but I didn’t even know chorizo patties existed.
The rest of the sandwich consists of Monterrey Jack cheese, caramelized onions and egg inside a potato bread bun.
It does not taste like chorizo. It tastes like some half-assed, white-washed semi-spicy sausage patty.
It’s not as gross as I thought it would be, it’s just not really chorizo.
I made the boss try it since he made ingest this sad excuse for Mexican food. He was not impressed either.
Oh, yeah. They have some other Mexican-ish spicy sandwich on the menu. I didn’t even ask what it was, I just said, ‘Give me both of the new items,’ and walked away, ready for the worst. Apparently, it’s an Ancho-Chipotle Chicken Panini with shredded chicken in ancho-chipotle sauce, fire-roasted Poblano peppers, red onions, Gouda cheese and a spicy cilantro pesto stuffed inside a ciabatta roll.
Anything that’s that mushy should not be sold to the public, but at least this one had some kind of kick to it.
Nope. Apparently, that’s chicken, my dear sweet Evan.
Ok, so neither sandwich is that great, honestly. It feels like Starbucks was scared to feed the masses something that actually tasted like chorizo. If they thought the public wasn’t ready for chorizo, they should have just shelved it instead of poppin’ off some bootleg version.
If you absolutely need to eat something and Starbucks is your saving grace, I pray for your soul and hope you don’t have the chest pains I’m feeling while writing this sentence.
Some of our most joyous times at Foodbeast come when we’re tasked with chronicling the new food the Disneyland team brings into the park. As an appropriate followup to our list of 26 Magical Foods To Eat At Disneyland, we’re now showing you the hottest foods (and drinks) available for the park’s well-celebrated holiday season.
Don’t you dare sleep on getting yourself a slice of Chorizo Pizza. Yes, Chorizo Pizza. With cotija cheese. And pico. And a tomatillo-cilantro crema drizzle.
Clarabelle’s in California Adventure also serves these items.
Hungry Bear Restaurant (Critter Country)
Pulled Pork Hot Dog (above): A seared hot dog topped with BBQ pulled pork, citrus slaw, fried jalapeños, fresh cilantro and served on a toasted roll.
Apple Pie Funnel Cake (above): Funnel cake topped with apple pie filling, caramel, powdered sugar and graham crackers.
Mint Julep Bar (New Orleans Square)
If you blink, you’ll miss it. The tiny Mint Julep Bar is near the back of the French Market. Usually there’s a line, so if you’re stuffed you’ll have plenty of time for your food to digest before indulging your sweet tooth.
Candy Cane Beignets (above): Mickey Mouse-shaped beignets dusted with a peppermint powdered sugar.
You can also find the Candy Cane Beignets at Cafe Orleans.
Penny Arcade (Main Street)
Sure you can’t get penny candies with inflation these days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still get dope sweets to fill your gut with. Like most candy stores in the Disney Parks, you can find tons of holiday-exclusive snacks and sweets. Here are some we bit into.
Olaf Cake Pop (above)
Gourmet Apple (above)
Olaf Marshmallow (above)
Frozen fans might be able to find the Olaf marshmallows and cake pops after the holidays. Frozen, after all, is still crazy popular.
Plaza Inn Restaurant (Main Street)
Located practically at the center of the park, across from the statue and next to Tomorrowland, is the Plaza Inn Restaurant. You can find delicious fried chicken and sweet waffles year-round, here.
Pumpkin Yule Log (available until Dec. 6): A spice cake stuffed with marmalade filling and pumpkin mouse. It’s topped with cream cheese and a chocolate ganache frosting.
Chocolate Coffee Yule Log (available Dec. 7–Jan. 6): A cake stuffed with coffee butter cream filling. It’s topped with chocolate crunch and chocolate ganache.
Another hidden gem tucked away behind The Golden Horseshoe. Lines here are usually shorter than most spots in the area.
Holiday Funnel Cake (featured): Funnel cake topped with brownie chunks, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. It’s sprinkled with powdered sugar and crushed candy cane pieces.
Disney California Adventure (the park with the coasters)
Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta (Paradise Pier)
On the opposite end of Paradise Pier is a little remote Oasis Disneyland calls Viva Navidad! Though it’s only for the holidays, Disney throws a celebration of Latino traditions all day long. This includes awesome live music and performances surrounding Boardwalk Pizza and Pasta and Paradise Grill.
Best of all is the food.
Chorizo Pizza (above): A thick crust pizza topped with cotija cheese, spicy chorizo, fresh pico de gallo and a tomatillo-cilantro crema drizzle.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Boudin Bread Cart (Pacific Wharf)
These look and sounded so awesome. Unfortunately they’re not yet available. Definitely going back for them.
Carnitas Plate (available Dec. 18–Jan. 3): Slow-simmered pork that’s marinated in garlic, onions and orange. It’s served with Mexican rice, refried beans and flour tortillas.
Cozy Cone Motel (Cars Land)
Look for the giant orange cones and you’ll soon find yourselves devoting these delicious pumpkin twists. They can also be found at Maurice’s Treats Snack Cart at Disneyland parked in the Fantasy Faire area.
Pumpkin Twist (above): A bagel twist with baked in pumpkin filling and spices.
Mad T Party (Hollywood Land)
Walking into the park, keep your ears out for some live music and eyes out for neon lights. There, you’ll find the Mad T Party and these spectacular treats.
Merry Mudslide
ACE Hard Berry Cider
Pacific Wharf Café (Paradise Pier)
Near the entrance of Paradise Pier, the Pacific Wharf Cafe features some of the most savory soups and bread bowls around. They kind of have to dominate the bread game seeing as how they’re right next to the bakery.
Turkey Pot Pie Soup (featured): Turkey, peas and carrots in a cream-based broth. Served in a sourdough bread bowl.
Pumpkin Spice Bread Pudding (above): Pumpkin-flavored bread pudding topped with whipped cream, a sweet sauce and shelled pumpkin seeds.
Part of the Viva Navidad! mentioned earlier. Tons of sweet and savory comfort foods for you to enjoy.
Homemade Pozole: A mild chilie and pork stew made with hominy and oregano.
Street-Style Tacos: Three tacos filled with shredded beef or marinated pork. The tacos are topped with cilantro and diced white onions.
Buñuelos (above) – Golden-fried flour tortillas coated with cinnamon sugar. It’s served with cajeta, a sweet caramelized syrup made from goat’s milk.
Champurrado: Mexican hot chocolate made with masa harina for a thicker texture.
Sopes de Barbacoa: Fried cornmeal patties topped with chorizo beans, shredded beef and cabbage. The sopes are topped with cotija cheese and served with a side of achiote rice.
Sweet Pineapple and Raisin Tamales (above): Sweet tamales baked made with pineapples and golden raisins and served with a pineapple-caramel sauce.
Ceviche Plate (above): Fish and shrimp marinated in citrus, cilantro, chiles and onions. It’s served with tortilla chips.
Chicken Mole: A piece of roasted chicken drenched in a mole sauce and topped with cotija cheese. It’s served with cord salad and achiote rice.
Torta al Pastor (above): Marinated pork with chorizo beans, lettuce, avocado mash and Mexican crema served on a telera roll.
Schmoozies (Hollywood Land)
Holiday Harvest Smoothie (above): A blend of spinach, pineapple, banana, yogurt and orange guava juice.
Smokejumpers Grill (Grizzly Peak)
Gingerbread Man (above)
You can find the Gingerbread Man cookies, complete with mouse ears, at pretty much any bakery in both parks.
Brewers fans are familiar with the Milwaukee tradition of five people in sausage costumes running around the baseball diamond. You’ve got bratwurst, chorizo, hot dog, Italian sausage and Polish sausage. This custom is what drew Milwaukee native DudeFoods to create the Racing Sausages Corn Dog.
Nick took a few of each sausage and grilled them up. Once cooked, he diced them into bite-sized chunks and skewered them onto a corn dog stick. Once a dog featuring all five sausages is formed, the stick is dipped in batter and deep fried. When the batter is a nice golden brown, it’s ready to chow on.
Check out his full recipe on DudeFoods where you can also find other insane creations.
With the popular carnitas option falling in and out of the Chipotle menu, the fast-casual Mexican chain added a tofu option as a protein last fall. It looks like the menu is widening even further, with a new spicy meat.
Chipotle is testing a chorizo option at all of its 33 Kansas City locations. The combination of ground chicken and pork sausage can now be added to burritos, tacos, salads and bowls. The two meats are combined into a patty (the addition of chicken makes it less greasy overall) and then seared on the grill. Before serving to customers, the meat is crumbled into chunks.
According to the Kansas City Star, corporate chef Nate Appleman says that he’s been trying to get the chain to serve chorizo for the last five years.
If successful, we may very well see the protein on national menus in the near future.
