What’s Worse? ABP or Qdoba
From Lunch’er Andrew: “fyi…the au bon pain that once was on 40th and 3rd below my office is now going to be a qdoba…the windows are blacked out but there is a banner hanging.” Meh. I’m still waiting for my Baja Fresh!
Posted by Zach Brooks at 1:45 pm, April 6th, 2009 under Asides, Qdoba.
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13 Comments
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Never cared for ABP. I’m not a big fan of sandwiches and industrial salad. Every one I’ve been in felt kind of dirty in a way I could never quite put my finger on. Kind of like how even the cleanest McDonalds still seems filthy.
Qdoba is OK for what it is. Depends on what you order. I like chicken burrito with pinto beans, salsa verde, guac, and lettuce. Sometimes I have them throw in some of the roasted squash, too.
It’s a reasonable facsimile of fresh Mexican fast food. It’s not anything like what you’d find in, say, CA. It’s not a “foodie” lunch. But it’s an acceptable way to occasionally satisfy the craving.
One positive is that the kitchen area is completely visible and I occasionally see them cooking and prepping. Perhaps I’m deluding myself, but that adds a plus in the freshness and cleanliness department.
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ABP is worse by far. I think Qdoba kinda like Chipotle with more options, but with worse quality. So not really that good at all. But ABP is an abomination. And I refuse to call it with its fancified french name “Au Bon Pain”. Qdoba is definitely a small improvement.
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Qdoba at least duplicates my childhood taco dinner. Plus they have the best ‘ i need junk food’ nachos ever.
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Qdoba is worse than taco bell because Qdoba sets your expectations fairly high but then once you taste their goods you’re immediately reminded why you should’ve moved to california.
au bon pain at least has a few decent options.
@ neil – get over yourself. -
ABP has no redeeming qualities. It should only be visited if you are stuck in United terminal at LaGuardia airport…. and Auntie Ems is closed or sold out. And the news stand ran out of prepackaged sandwiches. And your flight is longer than 4 hours. And you are in coach!!!
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I had an elvers (baby eel, to you U droppers) omlette for lunch.
And a glass of perry from our own orchards.
Food is awful here.
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Perry I like. Elvers not so much.
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thats the second Qdoba to replace an ABP…another one was on 52 and 3rd i beleive a while back…
qdoba > chipotle
all i gots to say is ground sirloin and naked burritos
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i agree w. samwich qdoba > chipotle.
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One side note: Au on Pain has pretty good coffee. Never really ate there though, so I can’t compare to the Q.
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I’ve had food from ABP at various times and never felt sick. I had Qdoba once—> it was a cold, wet, nasty “burrito” thing and I felt sick on impact.
I’ll never go to Qdoba again.
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Consider yourself lucky. I have been waiting for a Qdoba to open near my office. I went to the one on 53rd and 3rd and it was very good. In my opinion way better than Chipotle. Warmer decor like a Panera, more options, better quality, and they actually smiled when they served me. The Ancho Chile BBQ Pork Burrito was awesome. I would gladly wish ABP a goodby and hello Qdoba.
Well, this might help sort this out. Health.com has ABP listed as one of the nations healthiest fast food restaurants with an A-.
http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100235019
And Baja Fresh is a D-
http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100235017&page=2
So under this criteria, you should be in mourning. :)