A burrito is not a sandwich

11-10-2006 @4:46PM Kate said... Our firm has tried cases such as these before, and we actually prevailed. The burrito is (with the exception of Chipotle burrito anyway), a portable meal designed to have meats and filling folded in a bread like tortilla and eaten with the hands. While not a sandwich per se, the intent is the same ... it is a very similar type lunch entree which detracts from Pantera's business. I'm not "pro corporate chains" by any means, but the lessor agreed not to put in a competitor when Pantera leased the space, and the lessor signed on the dotted line. In my view, a burrito shop next to a sandwich shop is certainly a lunch competitor.
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11-10-2006 @4:50PM Al said... Yes, but is a slice of pizza a "open face sandwich"?
And, since in certain parts of the country pizza is folded to form a sandwich like form, is it a sandwich?
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11-10-2006 @5:04PM Kate said... No, Pizza is not a sandwich, and the fact it's a baked entree that you have to make such stretch to call pizza an "open faced sandwich" or point that only in certain parts of the country is it a habit to fold and eat out of hand, automatically takes it out of the running as a competitor.

It's too big a leap, for me.

Using that logic, everything eaten with the fingers can be argued to be a sandwich -- for instance, Chicken McNuggets. It's meat, covered in breading, and eaten with the fingers. Is it a sandwich? No. I just think the stretch between sandwich and burrito is MUCH shorter.

Basically, what we're talking about here is the "spirit and intent" of the lease, and that's when most legal arguments start. When you have to bring in a USDA expert to define "sandwich" in order to win your argument, it just sends up a flag that you're working really hard to prove you didn't violate the spirit and intent of the lease clause, which is designed to prevent one lessee from moving in and setting up shop and improving the lessor's interests, and then lessor brings in a competitor with the "It's not a sandwich" argument.

I say "phooey" on this landlord, even though I don't care for Pantera, myself.
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11-10-2006 @5:21PM Villarreal said... sand‧wich  /ˈsændwɪtʃ, ˈsæn-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[sand-wich, san-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun 1. two or more slices of bread or the like with a layer of meat, fish, cheese, etc., between each pair.
2. open sandwich.
3. something resembling or suggesting a sandwich, as something in horizontal layers: a plywood sandwich.
–verb (used with object)
4. to put into a sandwich.
5. to insert between two other things: to sandwich an appointment between two board meetings.


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[Origin: 1755–65; named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718–92)]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

As you can see, most definitions talk about putting something between two things or layers. A burrito is composed of 1 thing: the tortilla. So it is not a sandwich, and some would say "but when you roll it the food inside would be between layers", well, that's not exactly true, the food would be inside one single layer, but you know what? who cares! just eat it and call it a burrito, a taco, a sandwich, a torta or whatever, it will still taste the same.
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11-10-2006 @5:48PM susan said... Are you sure Bob Barker isn't a sandwich?
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11-10-2006 @6:34PM Robyn said... too funny!
but why bring heavy metal into this? (j/k Kate, I find your posts very interesting. but the typo is also too funny.)
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11-10-2006 @6:32PM Kate said... Thank you, Mitch ... and it also means if you go to a sandwich shop and order a grilled chicken wrap, rolled up in a single TORTILLA, you won't find them listed under sandwiches, because the USDA and credible chefs and/or culinary historians would find that absurd.
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11-10-2006 @6:50PM Mike said... That the landlord needed to bring a USDA official to testify is more of an example of how far-fetched Panera's claim is. Unless you're reading something I'm not, nothing in the article precludes a "lunch competitor". If the operative word is "sandwich" then it's ludicrous to extend a very specific definition of a particular type of food to include types food, like the taco, that have no culinary relationship to the sandwich and was developed independently centuries ago. Perhaps this argument would fly in areas of the country, like my hometown of Philadelphia, where everything you eat is some sort of sandwich as there is little interaction with Mexican food, aside from Qdoba and Chipotle. In Los Angeles, where sandwich shops and burrito shops get along quite nicely, try imagining a, say Poquito Mas suing an landlord that pledged not to open another burrito shop, but leased to a Quiznos.

From a culinary perspective, it belittles Mexican cuisine to imply that our mighty sandwich is not a specific preparation but a vast category that world's foods fall under.
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11-10-2006 @7:58PM Kate said... Robyn, I know ... I cracked up and said "oops!"

Mike, your point is well taken, but I just keep coming back to my original point. Having been embroiled in these types of disputes several times, I've seen countless lessees taken advantage of by greedy landlords who promise no competitors in the same small strip mall and then reneg by claiming "a burrito is not a sandwich" or in the worst case, a "Starbucks is not a donut shop" -- which was permitted to build right next to a little Mom and Pop Donut (and naturally coffee) Shop. It drove them out of business because the "spirit and intent" wasn't followed, and we prevailed when seeking damages.

Okay, so a burrito is not precisely a sandwich. It's a pretty easy argument to make that putting in a burrito shop next to a sandwich shop will directly affect lunch business -- they both serve those seeking a quick sandwich to eat out of hand.

While the definition of the two may differ, I think diners see sandwiches and wraps as a similar style menu item, and from there, a burrito isn't a long journey. That, in the end, is the best definition, in my opinion.

This post and the USDA expert's hoity toity response just made me cranky, today.

And I don't like the band Pantera, either.
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11-11-2006 @8:19AM Hawk said... A burrito is not a sandwich. Additionally, a burrito is one of many kinds of food characterized as 'mexican', while panera is characterized as 'yuppie sandwich bistro food'.

I don't see the complaint. That's like a homestyle italian fast-service restaurant complaining that a chinese takeout place opened next door.
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11-10-2006 @11:15PM JK said... I totally understand what Kate is saying with regard to the little guy. But in _this_ case, I find it strange that we wouldn't want to listen to "the USDA and credible chefs and/or culinary historians" in regards to defining what a sandwich is. I imagine that if you pull 10 people off the street most would think you are crazy to include a burrito as a sandwich. Yet, 10 random people aren't experts so I can't imagine they hold up well in court.

In my opinion, they should be suing the lawyer they had review the lease in the first place. The lawyer should have seen this. And if they didn't have a lawyer review the lease then they should learn to take a little responsibility. There is no reason to suspect that you will be the only "lunch competitor" when the lease only refers to "sandwiches."

In addition, I can't imagine Panera had much to worry about. Mexican food on the east coast is a very very sad thing. I love mexican food and I will never ever move to the east coast. Come to California and you will know what I am talking about.

Although come to think of it, I have maintained that cereal is a type of soup for years. Just because it is not classically thought of soup it certainly seems to fit the definition.
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11-11-2006 @12:42AM Word Diggity said... This is asinine. A burrito is a sandwich in the same way that a flamingo is a pelican. They are similar, in that they involve a bread and a filling, but by that definition an éclair would be a sandwich too. This is Panera trying to prevent competition, pure and simple.

I've eaten at Qdoba, and frankly I can't see what they're worried about. You get far too little food for far too much money. The food's okay, but you'll (probably) do better at your local taqueria.
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11-11-2006 @3:16AM James said... I like Qdoba. They make great burritos. Too bad there is no Qdoba in the west coast, but we have plenty of Baja Fresh and Rubios though.
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11-11-2006 @11:43AM Mike said... Qdoba is now on the west coast, so keep your eyes open. They're commendable for the amount of cooking from scratch they do, but their steamed tortillas are gummy and soggy.
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11-13-2006 @6:38PM Elliot Essman said... This is a case that probably should never have been brought--Panera's wasteful error. In real life, dealing with real appetites and real food, sometimes you want a sandwich and sometimes you want a burrito. There's room for both, in both commerce and our stomachs.
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