Living in Iowa City has introduced me to food establishments such as Pancheros as an alternative to the Chipotle I grew up to know and love in Naperville, Illinois. However, other than Pancheros’ chips and queso, Chipotle still remains my one and only true love for commercialized Mexican food.

The killer fact that cements my love for Chipotle over Pancheros is that all of its ingredients are real. With responsibly raised livestock, local produce, and organic ingredients, Chipotle is far more healthy than Pancheros while still offering the bonus of great taste. Pancheros is not nearly as devoted to food activism as Chipotle is, and it shows in its website, which doesn’t mention anything about where their ingredients really come from and how they were produced.

Now I’m not going to lie. Pancheros does offer a certain curb appeal in Iowa City, especially during nightlife, when the streets are crawling with hungry college kids looking to snag a bite after a night out. The establishment also preaches about the excellence of its tortillas, which are firm (never tear) and hand-crafted and -pressed by employees.

However, if you’re actually thinking about the items you put into your body, Chipotle would be the obvious choice, because it provides its customers with natural ingredients that have no added colors, preservatives, flavors, or GMOs.

When thinking about the ideals and priorities of a company for its customers, Pancheros does not meet the gold standard for me. Taking care of customers by serving them nothing but real, organic foods is paramount to the success of a company because it shows it has a responsibility to their consumers’ health and cares about what they put into their bodies.