Battle of the burritos

Chow down

There is an emerging subculture dedicated to the unique and varied delights of the burrito, that most egalitarian of foods, which provides your protein group, your tortilla group, and your salsa group, usually for less than six bucks.

We convened a panel of serious burrito eaters for a blind taste test of offerings from five chains: Boca Grande, Anna's Taqueria, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Boloco, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. We ordered the same burrito from each restaurant: grilled steak with rice, pinto beans, cheese, and medium salsa, and tested them side by side in the Faneuil Hall food court. Our panelists, all veteran burrito-heads, were Burrito Blog author Jonah Feld, 27, a self-employed IT consultant; John Liu, 22, a Brookline resident and search marketing specialist; and Mike Prerau, 27, a neuroscientist who lives in Allston and also writes the popular Food Monkey blog. Away we go.

— Dennis Fisher, Globe Correspondent

(Christina Caturano for the Boston Globe)
Chow down There is an emerging subculture dedicated to the unique and varied delights of the burrito, that most egalitarian of foods, which provides your protein group, your tortilla group, and your salsa group, usually for less than six bucks. We convened a panel of serious burrito eaters for a blind taste test of offerings from five chains: Boca Grande, Anna's Taqueria, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Boloco, and Chipotle Mexican Grill. We ordered the same burrito from each restaurant: grilled steak with rice, pinto beans, cheese, and medium salsa, and tested them side by side in the Faneuil Hall food court. Our panelists, all veteran burrito-heads, were Burrito Blog author Jonah Feld, 27, a self-employed IT consultant; John Liu, 22, a Brookline resident and search marketing specialist; and Mike Prerau, 27, a neuroscientist who lives in Allston and also writes the popular Food Monkey blog. Away we go. — Dennis Fisher, Globe Correspondent