A Burrito By Any Other Name....
They say that you really should choose your fights. Why waste your time, energy, and money arguing over something that’s...stupid? Oh sure, there are plenty of worthy things in this world to go mano-a-mano about – wars, politics, religion, Survivor, Coke vs. Pepsi, Britney Spears: Hot or Trailer Trash?
But then there are some really dumbass things to argue about. Like this:
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Is a burrito a sandwich? Judge says no
Is a burrito a sandwich? The Panera Bread Co. bakery-and-cafe chain says yes. But a judge said no, ruling against Panera in its bid to prevent a Mexican restaurant from moving into the same shopping mall.
Panera has a clause in its lease that prevents the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury from renting to another sandwich shop. Panera tried to invoke that clause to stop the opening of an Qdoba Mexican Grill.
But Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke cited Webster's Dictionary as well as testimony from a chef and a former high-ranking federal agriculture official in ruling that Qdoba's burritos and other offerings are not sandwiches.
The difference, the judge ruled, 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," Locke wrote in a decision released last week.
In court papers, Panera, a St. Louis-based chain of more than 900 cafes, argued for a broad definition of a sandwich, saying that a flour tortilla is bread and that a food product with bread and a filling is a sandwich.
Qdoba, owned by San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc., called food experts to testify on its behalf. Among them was Cambridge chef Chris Schlesinger, who said in an affidavit: "I know of no chef or culinary historian who would call a burrito a sandwich. Indeed, the notion would be absurd to any credible chef or culinary historian."
I really have to wonder how much money the lawyers made off this case. The “experts”, too – how much did these professionals of all things sandwich-y make for their skilled testimony? I also wonder if the judge rolled his eyes throughout the entire trial – I suspect he must have.
I can’t figure it out. Doesn’t Subway sell a wrap as a “sandwich”? What if you were to cut the tortilla in half, so that you’d have a top and bottom. Would that qualify it as a sandwich? Personally, I’ve always been surprised that McDonalds gets away with calling their hamburgers “sandwiches”. I’ve always referred to them as “mediocre, generic, ketchup-laden slabs of mystery meat”, but that’s just me.
Hopefully all of the attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants, judges, court reporters, and courtroom janitors were able to get together for a nice, police lunch when it was all said and done. Let bygones be bygones, and burritos be burritos, right?
I just pray that they all ordered the soup.
But then there are some really dumbass things to argue about. Like this:
* * * * * * * *
Is a burrito a sandwich? Judge says no
Is a burrito a sandwich? The Panera Bread Co. bakery-and-cafe chain says yes. But a judge said no, ruling against Panera in its bid to prevent a Mexican restaurant from moving into the same shopping mall.
Panera has a clause in its lease that prevents the White City Shopping Center in Shrewsbury from renting to another sandwich shop. Panera tried to invoke that clause to stop the opening of an Qdoba Mexican Grill.
But Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke cited Webster's Dictionary as well as testimony from a chef and a former high-ranking federal agriculture official in ruling that Qdoba's burritos and other offerings are not sandwiches.
The difference, the judge ruled, 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," Locke wrote in a decision released last week.
In court papers, Panera, a St. Louis-based chain of more than 900 cafes, argued for a broad definition of a sandwich, saying that a flour tortilla is bread and that a food product with bread and a filling is a sandwich.
Qdoba, owned by San Diego-based Jack in the Box Inc., called food experts to testify on its behalf. Among them was Cambridge chef Chris Schlesinger, who said in an affidavit: "I know of no chef or culinary historian who would call a burrito a sandwich. Indeed, the notion would be absurd to any credible chef or culinary historian."
I really have to wonder how much money the lawyers made off this case. The “experts”, too – how much did these professionals of all things sandwich-y make for their skilled testimony? I also wonder if the judge rolled his eyes throughout the entire trial – I suspect he must have.
I can’t figure it out. Doesn’t Subway sell a wrap as a “sandwich”? What if you were to cut the tortilla in half, so that you’d have a top and bottom. Would that qualify it as a sandwich? Personally, I’ve always been surprised that McDonalds gets away with calling their hamburgers “sandwiches”. I’ve always referred to them as “mediocre, generic, ketchup-laden slabs of mystery meat”, but that’s just me.
Hopefully all of the attorneys, plaintiffs, defendants, judges, court reporters, and courtroom janitors were able to get together for a nice, police lunch when it was all said and done. Let bygones be bygones, and burritos be burritos, right?
I just pray that they all ordered the soup.
posted by Tommy G at
9:32 AM
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