Freebirds

A favorite of UCSB college students, Freebirds is the original Chipotle (founded in 1987, six years before their much-more-successful rival), a burrito chain that uses fresh ingredients to build custom-order Mission-style burritos. As far as I can tell, it’s pretty much identical to it’s more-successful cousin (but more expensive). Like Chipotle, you get to build your own burrito, and also like Chipotle, the ingredients are pretty high quality. But it definitely has a Tex-Mex, bit-too-bland vibe, and the people building/wrapping your burrito are not masters of their craft. And due to it’s strong brand / prime location, Freebirds gets away with charging a lot for a burrito: $13.50 for a steak “monster” burrito that was pretty similar in size to a normal burrito at most other burrito spots.