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Porter (Red)
Quick & friendly service. Mediocre burritos. Lots of rice and bits of ok but not amazing ingredients. decent but not my favorite.
This Qdoba:
Why when there's so many other food options in Porter Sq? There's just no reason to eat here. Hit the Anna's in the Porter Exchange if you need this type of food and want to leave your car in the lot.
This applies to ALL Qdobas:
The service is usually nice and effective. The food is always flavorless and strangely gross. The ingredients all seem fresh enough but I can't help feeling like I just ate soft plastic afterwards. Saying this stuff is Mexican food is like saying white-bread with ketchup and a cheese single on it is Italian.
I give them three for the food (I got three pork tacos, they were good, the guacamole was fresh taste and it was not too expensive.
I give them five stars for not being dicks when they could have been. I just got a new debit card that SHOULD have activated when they ran it. It did not so I had to call in to the 800 number for Citizens Bank. As I prepared to do this the manager insisted I sit down and enjoy my meal, make the call and pay when I was done. He turned what could have been an uncomfortable moment for me into a positive customer service experience and he deserves to be commended for it.
So three stars food, five stars for taking care of your customers and having a clean, neat establishment.
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The good part about Qdoba is that they give you tons of food (mostly rice). The bad part is that you feel ill afterwards. I would rather bring a can of spaghetti o's and have them cold than eat at Qdoba. I can't quite decide I why I dislike Qdoba so much but everything tastes processed. Stick with Picante or Felipe's.
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Ick! Qdoba makes me feel like the beans are having a party in my stomach. And it's a totally lame party.
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I wish I could give no stars. I love LOVE Mexican food (not that it's to be had in Boston), but this tastes absolutely like the McDonald's of burritos... which is not surprising, I suppose. Just don't bother. I felt literally ill after lunch. Every once in a while I'm tempted by the convenience and cheap price, but it's really nauseating.
Biggest burritos of all the Boston burrito joints, but not necessarily the best (goes to Annas and their nonaudible service). If you're in the mood to get filled up but taste takes a backseat, hit this place up. I'm not saying the food is bad, but just not as tasty as others.
So usually I like this location, the staff is usually friendly and engaging (sometimes a little too engaging when the asst. manager flirts with me) and the food is like all Qdoba food, hits the spot when I'm craving Qdoba (not when I'm craving Mexican or Taco Bell).
I like the rewards program and they give me coupons if I don't come in often enough.
Today they started making my naked burrito and forgot to put the rice on the plate so put it on top of the beans, not that it matters much but I had to remind the kid to put the rice on. Seriously, there are three ingredients in every burrito, how can you forget one? He then had to re-ask what kind of meat I wanted. For real? You can't remember Rice, Pinto, Pork? You have to ask after each one?
Also, no one, from tortilla girl to burrito line man to cashier was very friendly and avoided eye contact. At least sketchy 45 year old gay customer wasn't there to hit on me this time, as he has been at least three other times.
Otherwise it was fine and the food was up to Qdoba standards. I just wish the lunch staff was a little more with it today.
Sam Adams Winter Ale for $3.75.. burritos for $5-6 bucks.. sure why not.
I don't go to Qdoba often considering it's in Porter Square and there are a number of other options in that area. Although, I do like their ancho chile BBQ chicken burrito. The burritos are brick sized and they stand straight up when you set them vertical. The general contents are pretty good, although since it's so thick you won't get any perfect or near perfect bites (you know.. those bites that have a little bit of everything in them). On occasion, the wraps can be a bit doughy which gets worse when you leave them in the aluminum for awhile. However, I do appreciate the aluminum wrapping because it makes for cleaner eating for someone like me who usually needs her Yelp bib. I don't really like anything else. The nachos are way salty and I only get taco salads from Herrera's (it's like an unspoken pact I have with them).
They also have Corona, Coronitas, Bud Light, Mike's Hard Lemonade, and Mike-arita's (yeah I don't know) which may be a plus for some. I'm generally an Izze or Nantucket Half and Half person with my burrito.. but that's because it's not really Mexican. I'd call it more.. Mexican inspired American wraps.
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Just say no. Seriously.
Unless of course you like shitty imitation burritos filled with SALTY rice, chewy (and probably antibiotic-laden) chicken and hard beans in watered-down sauce.
Better than Anna's (then again, so is everything else) not better than Boca Grande and of course, not even on the same scale as Chipotle.
I have tried Qdoba on several occasions....I want to like it, I really do. But sad to say there is just something about the food that makes me *bleh* a little....i do like thier tortilla soup, but the prices, man! I got to save up just to go.
It seems like the best chains start with Q. Quiznos and Qdoba to be exact. Look ,if you want authentic Tex Mex with three guys playing the banjo and singing cucaracha, this probably is not the place.
However, if you are looking for a healthy alternative in the the Pru, try the naked burrito with some hot sauce for zip. Its really a 6 on the Richter scale of edibility
Then you can say: That Esteban, he is not so loco
My spellcheck must be going nuts
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i don't really miss atlanta that much - but i do miss willy's. and this place seriously just reminds me every time of what i'm missing out on.
its number 1 problem is the rice. its gross and they jam pack the burrito with it.
best to stay away if at all possible and get a quesadilla. i mean you can't mess up a tortilla and cheese.
i'll eat here when i'm starving and broke until the chipolte down the street opens up - which still doesn't compare to willy's
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Qdoba is great. My suggestion, try the naked burrito with a side of chips. Then stir the burrito in to a delicious soup and dip your chips in it. Eat once a week for strong bones and a big smile.
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LOVE LOVE this place. The food is FREASH. They are always keeping the place clean. Which is nice. Hard to believe it was McDonald's
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Do yourself a favor and JUST DONT DO IT. The food is vomitous. The nachos are this watery gross mess, the sauces are bland, and the prices are too high. I have not actually enjoyed one thing I ate here. The atmosphere is crappy with those stainless steel tables, it's way too cold and industrial.
NO WAY JOSE!
Hungry for tacos in Porter Square? Too lazy to walk more than a block? Got $10 that you really don't want anymore? Then Qdoba is for you.
The food is a little salty and a lot expensive. Everything tastes delicate rather than hearty. The rice is, interesting.
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I think their food was quite alright, in fact very comparable to their competitor Chipotle. It's just a wee bit expensive than Chipotle and it tasted pretty good. Maybe because my last experience with a burrito was not great. I had a chicken burrito and added Guacamole which was freezing for some reason.
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I would have to agree that this place really isn't that bad for a chain. They also offer the "naked" burrito (in a bowl instead of all wrapped up), which is great on so many levels. Less messy and no torilla to deal with.
Take this place at face-value. It's a national chain that makes good but over-priced Tex-Mex food.
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WOW this food sucked. Maybe I went on an off day but my burrito was literally inedible. I threw out almost all of it. The tortilla was like rubber so I unwrapped it and tried to just eat the middle with a fork. No good. There was, I kid you not, half a cup each of sour cream and guacamole and a tablespoon of meat. While I understand that vegetarians may be happy that there are more veggie options than Ana's, I would forgo burritos altogether if this were my only choice!
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Yucky. Go to Anna's for fast food Mexican instead. This place serves up a whole lot of calories in giant-sized portions that aren't worth it. And they give you sour cream even when you ask them not to.
Annas dressed up for a day at the Mall. Prices are dressed up, too.
There's no reason for vegetarians to go now that Anna's (as well as Felipe's) offers vegetarian rice. Go to Annas, Felipe's or a real restaurant instead.
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It's not terrible. Sometimes when I get sick of Anna's and don't want to make the walk over to Tacos Lupita I will stop in and have a few tacos. This place will probably be closed by Christmas.
UPDATE: maybe they'll be closed by next Christmas. I don't know how they stay in business. Down one star after a bad visit where this place turned into a kiddie playland. Plenty of empty space to run around in, I guess. The walk to Tacos Lupita is such a better idea.
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Qdoba is great... if you want to vomit all over yourself and have explosive diarrhea to match!
I can't believe such a terrible excuse for a burrito shop dared to open within a few hundred feet of Anna's Taqueria. It's amazing Qdoba is still open.
The burritos weigh like 10 lbs and their employees put like 1 lb of guacamole inside that tastes like mold. The rest of the fillings taste like nothing. But you'll keep eating that massive burrito, praying you'll get to the place within that tortilla that has some flavor. It is a sad, sad day when you have to eat a meal at Qdoba.
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I must say that I like Anna's 10000x better. The food is nothing to write home about and too expensive for what it is. The only thing that I like is the free refills on the soda. Also, this place is really large so you will never have to wait for a table. But sometimes that works against them when you are the only ones in there. It can feel kind of awkward to be in a huge room with no one else around you. In conclusion, go to Anna's near by and you will be happier.
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Quality fast-food, good vegetarian choices (and actually vegetarian, compared to Anna's Taqueria which uses chicken broth in the rice).
Try the Tortilla soup-- it's made with a vegetarian chicken-flavored broth (check out the ingredients online). Terrific salsa selection. Very fresh-tasting.
This is owned by Jack in the Box.
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Not bad for a national chain restaurant, but better options are close by. Qdoba features regular burritos with beef, chicken, and veggie fillings, as well as a few specialty burritos such as, mole chicken and a poblano pesto (!?). Like most chains, the meat is a little too salty and hides the flavor of the specialty sauces. With Anna's Taqueria literally accros the parking lot and Picante a 5-minute walk to Davis, I find it hard to justify going here over the other two similar and superior restaurants.
The burrito options are too limited for me. I like to pile on the toppings (veggies, chicken, beans, rice, salsa, guac, sour cream) and since they charge extra for everything, my burrito would end up costing $18 - plus the staff looks at me like I have 2 heads. And the mole is BOGUS. The only thing worth eating here are the nachos. And they are only good in that disgusting fast-food way, not the real way. Stick to Anna's. They get it.
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On the whole, the burrito experience here needs some work. It is a little on the pricey side, but this is Cambridge after all, so what's the extra $1, right?
I tried their new pork burrito. While the flavor was OK (better than the flavors you'll get at Picantes in Central), I think the staff are all relatively new and have never made burritos before. What you get for your $10 meal ticket is a short, squat burrito which isn't really filling, and tends to fall apart.
I started the review by giving it only 2 stars, but I've decided to up it to three, since the flavor of the burrito seems to be better than the offerings at other Central Square and Harvard Square joints.
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