Chipotle's New Queso Is Replacing A Major Menu Item — & We're Shook

Chipotle loyalists everywhere, get ready to say goodbye to chorizo. Chipotle has confirmed that its newest menu item, queso, will be replacing a longtime fan-favorite. We are officially shook — will our burritos ever be the same? It's a reminder that the whims of the casual dining gods can be cruel; Chipotle giveth and Chipotle taketh away.

On September 12th, the popular fast-casual burrito chain launched its newest menu addition and gave cheese-lovers everywhere what they'd been craving: queso. But that launch, it seems, was a double-edged sword.

Chipotle spokesperson, Chris Arnold, told CNBC in an interview on Monday, September 18, about the company's plans to replace their spicy pork sausage completely. "When we decided to move forward with the national rollout of queso, we opted to replace chorizo on the line with queso, so chorizo is going away," Arnold said. He further explained to the news site, "While we really liked the chorizo (and many customers did too), the efficiency of our model has always been rooted in part, in doing just a few things so we can do them really well." While we understand Arnold's sentiment on quality versus quantity, we can't help but wonder if liquid cheese is a worthy burrito filler adversary? Can a creamy sauce successfully replace a crispy meat? Not to mention we weren't altogether wowed by the cheese dip's taste in the first place — and neither was the majority of the Twittersphere, who kicked up a queso takedown storm: with one user tweeting, "I'm convinced Chipotle's queso is reallly jsut queso-flavored hummus." Ew.

This is a bold move on Chipotle's part, and we are waiting with baited breath (and less full burritos) to see how it all turns out. Here's hoping that chorizo's menu departure is for a limited time only — because sometimes you need the option of adding a little spice to your life!