Although the sign on Chipotle’s door states the restaurant's new queso dip is “Not Fake News,” I wish it were.
I’d like to think of myself as a Mexican food connoisseur, so I was pumped to try the new queso at the Athens’ Chipotle, 41 S. Court St., home of fantastic burritos.
Chipotle’s queso dip reminded me of a slightly spicier nacho cheese one can purchase at a baseball game. It had the same thick texture but a less artificial orange color.
It does not help that Chipotle’s salt and lime chips are always on the verge of staleness, so the combination of the textures gave me flashbacks to overpriced stadium food.
An overpowering lime taste on Chipotle’s chips drowned out any chili spice that has been mixed in the sauce. The dip had a few chopped green peppers, but any flavor had disappeared. Also, it did not taste very cheesy. Cheese dip is essentially just melted cheese, but I was not getting a sharp cheese taste.
The queso was bland and nothing to get excited about, although I found myself dipping chip after chip into the dip purely for “research purposes” (I admit, it was addicting and easy to eat).
In general, cheese dip hardens after a while, but Chipotle’s bowl of, let’s face it, glorified tortilla soup never grew hard. What’s in this stuff?
The queso’s bland flavor was a major disappointment, given Chipotle’s habit of putting real spices on its food. It was OK. Nothing special, nothing worth the extra calories. But completely easy to eat and enjoyable for the less hardcore cheese dip fans.
Rating: 6/10
