Chipotle’s spicy tofu sofritas let me down, so I made my own

My most recent takeout experience at Chipotle one of our teenager s favorite sources of quick food didn t go so well. I had ordered bowls for h...

My most recent takeout experience at Chipotle - one of our teenager’s favorite sources of quick food - didn’t go so well.

I had ordered bowls for him and my husband, and for myself I wanted hard-shell tacos filled not with my usual beans but this time with sofritas, the tofu protein option the chain debuted more than a decade ago (to much gratitude from vegan customers).

When I unpacked the bags at home, just a few minutes’ drive from the nearest Chipotle, my tacos had gone soggy - so much so that when I tried to pick one up, all of the filling fell out of the bottom and I was left holding two pieces of shell. I dumped the filling out of the other shells, broke them into pieces and tried to reassemble them on my plate into some sad excuse for nachos.

I should’ve known not to get crispy tacos as takeout - not fully assembled ones, anyhow - and I won’t make that mistake again. But an even bigger disappointment was the sofritas itself: I remember enjoying the smoky, slightly spicy flavor the first few times I tried it, but this go-around it was squarely on the bland side. Repeat visits reinforced my opinion.