Chipotle’s a restaurant chain, but there's little to link it to the conventional fast food joints this country's used to, if you don't count the fact that McDonald's is their biggest backer. Besides, hasn't McDonald's proven to be pretty progressive in some ways? They deep-sixed the styrofoam packaging, took a pass on genetically modified potatoes, and partnered with Paul Newman to upgrade their salad dressings.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that they're behind a business that aims to “revolutionize the way America grows, gathers, serves and eats its food.” If you think a fast food chain can't be a force for good, you haven't seen Chipotle's anti-agribusiness ad campaign. They took out a half page ad in last Friday's New York Times to declare “Eat a burrito. Help a family farm.” Their motto? “Food with Integrity” (hey, wasn't “integrity” Mirriam-Webster's word of the year for 2005?)

Matt first told me about Chipotle a couple of years ago, saying, “there's this new Mexican fast food chain, they're owned by McDonald's but they use Niman Ranch pork!” This is the kind of news that generates a lot of excitement in our household.

The buzz grew louder when they started to renovate a space a block away from us (or maybe that was the sound of a drill screwing those cool strips of corrugated metal they use for wainscoting to the walls.) I could see, peering in to watch the progress of the renovation, that this would be a new generation of fast food. The place looked cool, but in a warm and inviting way.

Chipotle gets every detail right, from their cutting edge website to the way the food is prepared and served. They use romaine lettuce instead of iceberg; what more do you need to know? The food is prepared after you place your order, so the components of your burrito or taco are speedily assembled to your specifications, unlike a traditional fast food outlet where the food's already been made and left to languish under a heat lamp or revived in a microwave.

There are hundreds of Chipotles all over the country and more on the way. The high quality of the ingredients does mean that the food costs a bit more, but there are apparently plenty of people who don't mind paying extra for fresh, healthy fast food that supports sustainable farming. McDonald's is betting on it; Chipotle's about to go public, and it looks set to be a hot stock.