Try a bare burrito at Baja Fresh. The calories aren't bad, and they're very tasty.

Your comment stinks of ignorance about Baja's preparation methods and food ingredients. In fact, it shows your lack of understanding of authentic Mexican cuise and nutrition, in general. I laughed about comments on guacamole.

First, you probably havent been to a place like California that has a million Mexican joints. the reason Baja Fresh grew from a mom and pop to a successful chain is that the food is really high quality, fresh, and has no added lard or msg. Some stuff is high in fat and calories, but you have to admit the portions are huge. There is no way around the fact that some of the best tasting stuff, like a quesadilla, is going to have a lot of cheese. i dont care how fresh it is, cheese taste good and it has a lot of fat. There are also a lot of healthy options on the menu too.

Baja differiented itself from the run down mexican joints in CA by having a clean and bright atmosphere with an open kitchen showing how the food is prepared fresh. (I do agree that the decor is too bright and plain for a market like Pittsburgh for a Mexican restaurant).

When you say chicken fajitas are unhealthy, that is a subjective statement. What is healthy to someone on the Atkins diet, might be undhealthy to someone who wants to avoid fat and eat carbohydrates. Probably the worst thing on the fajita platter is the sour cream, which is high in HDL (high density fat). It is very high in protein, and if you just dont eat the sour cream, you avoid a lot of bad fat. the 100 % white meat chicken is grilled with no added fat. tortillas are probably pretty low in fat too. the rice and beans are prepared from scratch with out adding lard, the same way a lot of mexican Grandmothers prepare it. If you dont believe, ask a cook at Baja Fresh, "Prepara el arroz y los frijoles en la misma manera que su abuela?" Traditionally, Mexican rice is cooked in corn oil first, so i am pretty sure that is how Baja does it.

Two notes on guacamole: 1) I am 100% certain that Baja's guacamole is made with nothing but, avocados that were cut and scooped that day, tomatoes, salt, garlic and fresh squeezed lime juice. (if you dont believe me, ask them to show you while they make it.) 2) avocados are a fruit that are high in fiber and LDL's (low density lipid) fat. LDL's are a good fat that your body needs to break down the bad fat (HDL's). Other foods that contain LDL's are fish, shellfish, olives and some nuts.

Hope this helps.

On the note of being healthy, unhealthy is unhealthy. Matters of diet don't really come into that, outside of diabetes and other malignant diseases. Go ask a medical practitioner how healthy the Atkins diet is. They will tell you it is very much not healthy. They may tell you that using it temporarily to lose weight has more positives then negatives, but that doesn’t make it healthy. I'll agree Jess, is buying into a horrible wrong mindset that fat is a bad thing, as Jim mentioned, LDL fat = GOOD, HDL fat = BAD. "Fat free" and "Low Fat" are the worst thing to ever happen in America and is possibly a contributor to the obesity problems in America because the fats that are easiest to remove for fat free and low fat products are the LDL fats. Salad dressing is made with Olive oil most of the time, one of many mono-saturated fats that has a decent level of LDL in it. I don't even want to know what they replace it with for fat free dressing. One thing about Baha Fresh though that can't be talked around, they serve a burrito that represents HALF the caloric consumption you should be having in a day (1000+ calories per a Ultimo burrito); that is just foul. This of course this is a problem with the entire food service industry in America.

Thank God I don't have opinions on important things like politics or abortion! I'd be hunted down, murdered, and thrown in a dumpster! Geesh, I just don't care for Baja Fresh. On the other hand, I had an amazing salad from Mad Mex the other night.

LDL is the one that is bad for you not HDL. You want high levels of HDL.

I just wanted to verify LEO's post. HDL is the good kind of fats and also the kind avocados contain. Folow the link through my name for a page talking baout avocado diets.

While on this avacado thread, please keep in mind, that if you are planning on getting some Guacamole at Baja Fresh, you may be pleasantly surprised to find out that the store has morphed into a Chipotle Mexican Grill. Baja has gone adios amigos. Chipotle has great guacamole BTW, in case you need to get some of those good fats in your system . . . YUMM!!

Nice comments Jim from California. Another Californian with an opinion but without a clue. Try research instead of assumptions. I echo the thoughts of Nate on the food industry. If it doesn't taste good, add more sodium and....just heap on the portion! 33oo milligrams of sodium?!?!?!?!....
Baja Fresh©
Fajitas - Chicken w/Flour Tortillas©

Calories: 1330
Calories from Fat: 25
Total Fat: 25 grams
Saturated Fat: 10 grams
Cholesterol: 155 milligrams
Sodium: 3310 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 168 grams
Fiber: 33 grams
Protein: 82 grams



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