CHIPOTLE

The Space: 396 W. Army Trail Road Bloomingdale, IL 60108. Medium sized space. Seats about 30 human beings. Very clean. Stainless steel tables and chairs. Bar like tables. A modern Aztec steel sculpture at entrance. Overall contemporary style. Room temperature was about 73 degrees. Oldies radio station playing. Author noticed a Fax In, Pay Up, Walk Out sign on wall. 2 main colors in restaurant were red and gray- red walls and steel furniture.

People: Caucasian teens. 3 couples, 2 groups of five teens and two grown men. Everyone wore casual clothing and looked middle class. 2 groups laughed and talked amongst themselves. Customers loud, relaxed, and joyful. Couples talked while they ate. The two men ate and drank beer. Mostly everyone had smile in their face. About 4 customers took food for takeout.

Staff: Very friendly. Cashier made author laugh. Cashier in his twenties, Hispanic. Staff joked amongst themselves; seemed to have fun while working. Employees wore black polos with a small chili on it. Employees seemed like they enjoyed working there and did not put fake smiles on. All employees Hispanic. 2 men and 1 woman.

Food: Steak taco. $2.29. Choose what you want on taco like in Subway. Picadillo, guacamole, veggies and many other condiments to choose from. Author chose sour cream, steak, and salsa. Only flower tortillas. Salsa was very spicy. Meat quite tender. Taco served on paper, no tray. Author did not like taco. Meat was tasteless and salsa too spicy. Author would have preferred corn tortilla. Author felt food tasted halfway authentic, although condiments (picadillo, guacamole and cilantro) were very much authentic.

Atmosphere: People in restaurant reminded author of Starbucks, young crowd, a place to relax and hang out. Everything neat and simple making restaurant enjoyable to be in, not so much eat in because author disliked taco. Fax In, Pay Up, Walk Out sign made author feel like restaurant wanted her to order for take-out. The friendly staff and good vibe of people made author’s eating experience enjoyable. Restaurant lacked authenticity. Nothing was handmade, especially steel, one color "Mayan" sculpture. No colors other than red and gray compared to the multi-colored authentic Mexican style. Contemporary style completely defeats any sort of attempt of authenticity. Author felt cozy eating in restaurant. Very pleased by customer service.