“Moe’s is the best.” “No! Willy’s is better.” “No way! Qdoba is the best.” This is the argument that was unable to be resolved as about ten college guys disagreed in the locker room. All these restaurants were Mexican, but I didn’t know the differences between them. All I knew is that each restaurant was Mexican and that each person was extremely passionate about his own opinion of the food. So which one was the best? It would be my job to determine.
These restaurants are nearly identical in their audience, marketing techniques, food type, serving style, menu, location, popularity, restaurant style, cost, store hours, etc. The picture above displays how each restaurant serves their food. Costumers enter the building, look at a menu up on the wall, and order from the beginning of long counter. Menus are pretty standard, consisting of burritos, nachos, tacos, quesadillas, and chips. Once a person orders, their food is passed down the line and they are asked what they would like to add to their entrée. Customers have the option of cheese, lettuce, different types of salsas, chicken or steak, black or pinto beans, sour cream, guacamole, etc. Finally the food is placed in a tray and passed to the checkout counter. Here the employee will ask if you would like a drink and perhaps a cookie to go along with your meal. Then they accept your payment. If you order a drink, then you must go to the drink fountain where you pour your own drink. Next to the drink counter is the condiment section; here there is everything from napkins to Tabasco sauce. Each restaurant has a similar dining room with tables and booths along with an outside seating area. Once a customer finishes eating, he or she takes the tray to a trashcan where excess food is dumped and used trays are collected. My job was to find the differences between these restaurants. So I planned out to visit each one on a weekend night accompanied with only one male friend. I was to order the same thing from each restaurant and contrast my experience. Here are the differences.
I arrived at Moe’s with one male friend on a Friday night at 8:30. The particular Moe’s that we attended is located in Tech Square by the Georgia Tech campus. As I arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the clean environment. Chairs were placed under tables, tables were wiped down, and the floor was shiny. This made for a comfortable place to sit and eat. As stated before, there was a giant menu atop the restaurant wall. I ordered a burrito and my food was then passed down the counter to the next employee. He asked what type of meat I would like and also what type of beans. I told him chicken with black beans. My food was then passed to the next worker; here I added lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream. The service was very quick, perhaps due to the fact that there were not as many people in line. However, my friend noticed that the certain employee making the quesadillas was not wearing any gloves. Gross! He pointed it out and his food was politely remade. Then finally I ordered a drink and submitted my payment of $7.58. I proceeded to fill my cup with sweat tea and find a place to sit. My friend and I sat at a two-person table. My burrito was wrapped in tin foil and served with a side of chips. The burrito was large, easily satisfying me appetite. The chicken was juicy, but everything else seemed a little sub par. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the food. But nothing stood out to me. I thought the chips and queso were average, partly because the queso were served lukewarm. Overall, the meal was nice. It was quick, economical, and in a pleasurable environment. It just didn’t awe me in any way.
Next up, Willy’s. This restaurant was unique. From the outside, it looked less professional than the others. Inside, it seemed as though it were two restaurants. There was a bar with tiki huts and neon signs, and then there was the normal looking restaurant. It was stuffy from all the cooking steam. This made it hard to breath and I quickly got hot. I observed the large menu on the wall and continued to my order. Just like the other places, I ordered from one staff member at the front of the counter. I ordered a chicken burrito and my food was pasted to the next employee. He added beans, rice, sour cream, cheese, lettuce and tomato. My food made it to the checkout station where I paid $8.36. This included my chips and drink. Proceeding to the drink fountain, I filled up with sweat tea. The condiments isle was messy. Napkins were lying out, empty straw wrappers were on the floor, and the lemons didn’t appear to be fresh. I sipped my drink as a walked to the table and the sweat tea was bitter as if it had been out for a while. My friend and I sat in a big wooden booth. The spacious eating environment was relaxing. The burrito was delicious. The meat was tender and the cheese captured so many flavors. Aside, the chips were average. They didn’t take anything away, nor did they add much to the meal. Then we took our used trays and laid them on top of the trashcan as we left.
Lastly I visited Qdoba. The restaurant was small and compact. There were Tables squished to fit as many seats as possible. The counter faced almost diagonal to the dining room. And again I ordered a chicken burrito. Progressively, my order was passed from employee to employing until finally it was complete with chicken, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. As I went to pay the man asked me if I would like chips with my meal. “Of course I want chips, what an idiot!” Then he said your total will be $9.90. Wow! I quickly realized that chips and queso were extra. I said okay and completed my payment. I sat down to eat the massive burrito. This thing was huge and from the first bite I was amazed with the capacity of flavor. Every ingredient and topping was so fresh. My favorite part however, was the chips and queso. The chips were heavily salted with a hint of lime. They were served warm and when dipped with the cheesy queso, I’m not sure there’s anything better. These alone will keep me coming back and were well worth the extra $0.99. We brought our trays to the trashcans and left.
At first, I couldn’t believe the similarity between these three restaurants. Its almost as if they were set up by the same owners just run with different names. Once I looked at the details, however, I realized differences in quality, service and food. Each restaurant- Moe’s, Willy’s, and Qdoba- had its own personality. After I completed my visits, I came up with these reviews. They are as follows:
Moe’s Willy’s Qdoba
Service: * ** ***
Dining Area: *** ** **
Food quality: ** *** ****
Value: **** *** **
Overall: *** *** ****
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