Posted on 11/10/2006 11:34:05 AM PST by Froufrou
The burrito brouhaha began when Panera, one of the country's biggest bakery cafes, argued that owners of the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury violated a 2001 lease agreement that restricted the mall from renting to another sandwich shop. When the center signed a lease this year with Qdoba, Panera balked, saying the Mexican chain's burritos violate its sandwich exclusivity clause.
Not so, Qdoba countered, submitting affidavits from high-profile experts in the restaurant and food industry. "I know of no chef or culinary historian who would call a burrito a sandwich," Schlesinger said in his affidavit. "Indeed, the notion would be absurd to any credible chef or culinary historian."
In his ruling, Locke cited Webster's definition of a sandwich and explained that the difference comes down to two slices of bread versus one tortilla: "A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos, and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice, and beans," he wrote.
Panera spokesman Mark Crowley declined to discuss the matter or say whether the St. Louis company planned to appeal the ruling. Mitchell Roberts , manager of the franchise group that runs the Shrewsbury Panera, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Panera serves up fresh-baked artisan breads and sandwiches, while Qdoba is known for its signature burritos .
"It shows you how competitive the business is when a bakery cafe feels like it's in direct competition with a Mexican chain," said Ron Paul , president of Technomic Inc., a restaurant consulting firm in Chicago. "They're fighting for a share of the stomach.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
Mmmmm, tamales!
Now I'm hungry again.
Applying this judge's reasoning, Subway isn't a sandwich. It is meat, cheese and vegetables stuffed into one roll, not
between two pieces of bread.
Good observation.
A taco is deifnitely a sandwich, so is a gyro. That is absolutely undeniable! Instead of talking to idiot culinary experts and chefs, they should have asked any real Mexican ma. They should have supoenaed a barkeep in a MX neighborhood, where the cerveza is served with salt and lemon. The tortilla, or pita is the bread and it's stuffed with whatever. WHatever means anything they have, or feel like tossing on the tortilla. The word taco properly translates as sandwich. A burrito is simply a variant of a taco, where the tortilla is rolled instead os folded and the filling is mainly bean based.
I hate to burst your bunuelos, but a Mexican sandwich is called a torta.
It depends on what your definition of "bread" is.
A Subway sandwich is an entire loaf of bread cut into halves.
A home sandwich is 2 pieces of a whole loaf that has been cut into 50 slices.
I declare the Subway sandwich to be more of a sandwich than a "real" sandwich!
There's meat in those things? I'll have to up the power on my magnifying glasses.
This one is a good translator...
Because a burrito is not a sandwich, but this thread is making me hungry. Wait! Reminds me! It's nearly tamale time.
I've never heard that. I was told by various real MXicans that a taco is a sandwich. The tortilla is their bread, they use that to make a sandwich and the sandwich is called a taco.
Check post #21.
Did they also tell you that their ancestors came from Colorado?
I thought so. A torta is simply a type of sandwich. The common MXican didn't have this kind of bread available. The common bread has been the tortilla.
I printed it out to put in my recipe box.
Yep just some dumbass judge trying to be cute. The burrito shop easily violates the spirit of what these agreements are for. They are as common as dirt and are meant to protect businesses from having competition from being moved in right next door. It clearly reduces the value of the lease.
Yes, I'll concede on the basis that a pita is ALSO a sandwich...once again, made with an unleavened bread much like the tortilla...
It's a fruit.
Not that there's anything wrong with that /seinfeld
I was told their ancestors lived in MX, and so did they once.
Well, of course. It was an Aztlan joke.
The pita is just the bread though.
Now I'm hungry...
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