Review: Chipotle - Carne Asada Versus Steak

Chipotle's new carne asada comes sliced into strips rather than cubed like their regular steak. It's seasoned with lime and then tossed with chopped cilantro and a "signature" spice blend. Since you can get two meats in the same burrito bowl, I got both their carne asada and steak to compare the two.

I paid $8.95 for the bowl.

Chipotle's regular steak is seasoned with black pepper, chipotles, cumin, garlic, oregano, and salt. On this occasion, it was moist and only slightly tender. I'm not sure if it was just the batch I got but it was surprisingly spicy. Beyond the heat, it was fairly light in seasoning.

The carne asada hit with a strong dose of tangy lime. Typically with carne asada, lime is something you squeeze on to taste. I'm not sure I like it as the main flavor but it was complemented by a good amount of seasoning as well as some herby notes. The meat was juicy and more tender versus the steak (I feel like that would vary depending on which was cooked most recently though). Due to the larger slices, I did notice the gristle more than I did in the steak.

At the end of the day, I preferred Chipotle's new carne asada over their regular menu steak because it simply had more flavor to it. There was a better balance of tangy, savory, and salty to it that was accented by more prominent seasoning and herbs. If they were to only keep one, my vote would be for the new carne asada (even with its slightly higher price - $8.95 versus $8.45).