Chipotle recently tweaked its 'dumpster juice' queso recipe - but it's still not the best queso out there
Comparing Qdoba's queso with Chipotle's is all about expectations. As mentioned above, "queso" is the viscous, smooth, processed cheese dip — far from authentic queso fundido, yet delicious in its own elastic cheesy splendor.
Chipotle's queso started out grainy and gluey, which stole the stage from an otherwise fairly well-seasoned dip.
The flavor was smoky and savory, but the texture was more reminiscent of a weird cheddar soup or a poorly blended Mornay sauce. It lacked the elasticity that lends Instagram-worthy cheese pulls their credence.
Now that the chain has tweaked the recipe, the texture has improved drastically. While there is still a slight grainy mouthfeel, it's much less noticeable. I'd say it's ... fine now. A solid, respectable "fine," which is a big step.
But Qdoba's has that perfectly velvety, plasticky smoothness that is expected of queso — the mouthfeel is precisely on target. The flavor is smoky, spicy, and complex.
It doesn't coagulate over time like Chipotle's — it keeps its viscosity, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your viewpoint. But to me, it's utterly delicious. It's the queso that queso should be. Chipotle's new formula soars closer to expectations, but still ends up below in the end.
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