Judge Rules That a Burrito is Not a Sandwich WORCESTER, Mass. - Is a burrito a sandwich? The Panera Bread Co. bakery-and-cafe chain says yes. But a judge said no, ruling against Panera in its bid to prevent a Mexican restaurant from moving into the same shopping mall. Panera has a clause in its lease that prevents the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury from renting to another sandwich shop. Panera tried to invoke that clause to stop the opening of an Qdoba Mexican Grill. But Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke cited Webster's Dictionary as well as testimony from a chef and a former high-ranking federal agriculture official in ruling that Qdoba's burritos and other offerings are not sandwiches. The difference, the judge ruled, comes down to two slices of bread versus one tortilla. "A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans," Locke wrote in a decision released last week. In court papers, Panera, a St. Louis-based chain of more than 900 cafes, argued for a broad definition of a sandwich, saying that a flour tortilla is bread and that a food product with bread and a filling is a sandwich. Qdoba, owned by San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc., called food experts to testify on its behalf. Among them was Cambridge chef Chris Schlesinger, who said in an affidavit: "I know of no chef or culinary historian who would call a burrito a sandwich. Indeed, the notion would be absurd to any credible chef or culinary historian."
Are you freaking kidding me? A lawsuit over whether a burrito is a sandwich? I say we defer to our culinary expert, FattyFatBastard, on this most important and life changing issue...
Of course there is a question on this at "White" City Shopping Center... Interesting that they have a clause in there lease like that...
Alot of retail properties have these kind of clauses. What If the Mexican restaurant is very successful? They'll take away Panera's business. What if Panera is barely making enough to stay operational? With the new competition, they'll start to lose money every month and will be forced to go out of business. If they close their doors, they'll have to buy out their lease contract. All in all, bad for Panera.
That's funny, because Chipotle is 100x better than Freebirds. Qdoba's not bad though, but it ain't no Chipotle, not even close
I used to think that way....till I started to have Freebirds more often. I love freebirds. Bigger selection.... Although Chipotle's food did seem to feel healthier.
Not by the first definition in the Miriam Webster dictionary. 1 a : two or more slices of bread or a split roll having a filling in between b : one slice of bread covered with food When you go beyond that, you are splitting hairs. A burrito is more like a wrap.
A burrito is not a sandwich. Period. Does anyone ever say I'm in the mood for a sandwich. Let's go to Taco Bell. I don't even consider a burger a sandwich. Sandwich = Quizno's or Subway or Jason's deli.. At least to me.
So, does the filling make the sandwich, or the bread? If the former, then what does that make a patty melt? Tune in next week for part VI of our panel discussion on the sandwich...
Who is the other person who voted yes? I did it for a laugh...could not stand to see such a lopsided poll. DD
I did last week. I couldn't disagree more. That place was awful. Luckily, I live in the Balto/Wash Metro area and have easy access to numerous California Tortilla outlets.
As the MEXICAN authority on this subject, I'd like to say that: != What pisses me off to top it off is that they called some sumbich named "Chris Schlesinger" to be the expert... how come they didn't call Juan García or Jose Martínez?
So then what is a Gyro?? Some may call it a sandwich, but by our official ruling is it? Somewhere the Earl of Sandwich is turning in his grave.
