Q Lights! Q Action!

Q-BALL: The steak fajita classica burrito, filled with steak, rice, bell peppers, cheese and sour cream, "could keep two normal humans sated." Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Sharpen your elbows and get in line -- Qdoba Mexican Grill has come to town.

by Amy L. Webb

I realize that an authentic Mexican joint would never list "grilled vegetable burrito" as a featured menu item. It probably wouldn’t serve a naked burrito either. And the interior decor would probably look more like a pueblo than a Burger King.

Mexican food -- even a bastardized version of it -- has become an American staple. But with all the Taco Bells and Chi-Chis already sprinkled around Philadelphia, is yet another chain restaurant really necessary?

Yes!

Qdoba Mexican Grill (that's pronounced kew-do-ba), which is my favorite Midwestern chain, has just opened a franchise at 16th and Walnut streets. I know what you're thinking, but you're wrong. We do, in fact, use actual spices in our food back home -- it's not all bratwurst, kraut and deep-dish pizza.

For weeks I watched 1528 Walnut St. transform from an empty retail space to a burrito bar. The walls were covered in orange and yellow sponge paint. Tiny blue lights dotted the window. A hokey Mexican-ish watercolor was hung above the seating area. Beige carpeting lined the floor. Last week, the famous white Qdoba neon letters and green cactus lit up. My wait was over -- it was time to feast.

We arrived just before noon on a very rainy Thursday. More than 20 people were already waiting in a line that stretched to the door. Juliet, our food and listings editor, spotted a vacant table under the watercolor and immediately hustled to claim four seats. Assistant editor Helen and editor in chief Howard stood in line mulling over the menu.

Ten minutes later, we were at the counter. Qdoba has a standard ordering style. Burrito, tacos, taco salad or quesadilla? Pinto or black beans? Those are your primary decisions. Don't ask about the salsa or for chips or a drink until you get to the end of the counter.

But I forgot to warn Howard and Helen, and we brought the line to an abrupt halt. Howard wanted to know how spicy the habañero sauce was and Helen wanted to order chips. Even I was trying to order multiple items. The woman taking my order became confused and we had to start over. A woman in a blue business suit behind us started doing that heavy-sigh thing, like her breathing was supposed to remind me that she was incredibly late for her incredibly important meeting. Helen confessed that she "felt like a cog in a customer processing line."

We brought our meals, served on metal tins lined with thin paper, to the table and started with Qdoba's signature side dishes: lime and cilantro chips with salsa ($1.69), tortilla soup ($2.79) and guacamole ($1.79). The guacamole, Helen thought, was "very good, with large chunks of avocado, but tasted a little light on the lime zest and salt that make good guacamole addictive." The chips weren't as good as I remember -- the last time I ate at Qdoba, the chips had just come out of the fryer and had been doused with lime and salt. Howard took a spoon of the soup and stopped. "It tasted like, well, a liquid tomato-and-cilantro-filled tortilla. Not bad."

We moved on to the entrees next. My vegetarian burrito ($4.89), stuffed with pinto beans, cilantro rice, pico de gallo and a tiny bit of cheese and sour cream, was fantastic, with very simple flavors combined in a steamed flour tortilla. Howard had the steak fajita classica burrito ($5.89), which he quipped was "about the size of a small soccer ball and filled with a heap of very tender, very tasty cubes of steak, rice, bell peppers, cheese and sour cream. It could keep two normal humans sated."

Juliet ordered the chicken mole burrito ($5.99), its rich sauce made with bitter chocolate or coco. The mole, she said, is "a coveted dish indeed, as good mole is a sad rarity at quick-service burrito counters 'round these parts." But the entire package was "thick with sauce," she said. "I'd have preferred a more discerning application of sauce, really -- spread through parts of the burrito."

Helen's grilled chicken quesadilla ($5.99) "tasted homemade," she said. Apparently we all thought so too, since the whole thing was gone in under 20 minutes. The soft tacos (three for $4.59 to $5.29) were good but overfilled. "Qdoba certainly doesn't skimp on the amount of ingredients," Helen said. We had to eat the rest of the tacos with a fork, but the tender bits of ground sirloin and chicken tasted just as good.

We tried to share our meals, but the bustle and rush inside Qdoba was too cacophonous. Howard tried to offer us some of his classica burrito, but I thought he was telling me to give him some meat from the taco. Juliet thought the commotion was a bit overwhelming, too. "I'd recommend their hefty, piquant dishes to anyone with the nerve to eat amid a mob scene," she said.

By the time we cleared off our own table, taking our trays to the garbage area, the line of customers extended beyond the door and into the rain. That didn't surprise me -- in my dozens of trips to Qdoba around the country, I've never not waited in line. But in retrospect, we thought it was worth the bustle and the noise.

QDOBA MEXICAN GRILL

1528 Walnut St., 215-546-8007

Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri. -Sat., 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

Appetizers, $1.19-$2.89; entrees, $1.69-$6.29

Wheelchair accessible. Smoking is not permitted. Reservations not recommended. All major credit cards.