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Food

Some White People Are Really Confused by the Bay Leaves in Their Chipotle

As if Chipotle didn’t have enough troubles, now people are convinced that they're putting random backyard leaves in their burritos and bowls.
Photo via Flickr user @kcaplette4

As if Chipotle didn't have enough troubles—what with the rampant food poisoning outbreaks of last year and then Trump's threat to tax most of their supply of ingredients—now people are complaining that they are finding random, backyard leaves in their burritos and bowls.

Got a leaf in my burrito bowl today…. P.s. @ChipotleTweets I'd check your lettuce. pic.twitter.com/c2HliEBNpq

— Kaitlyn Caplette (@kcaplette4) February 1, 2017

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This leaf was in my burrito @ChipotleTweets pic.twitter.com/XG4rqmhtuL

— bay leaf white boy (@matttschaefer) December 26, 2016

The thing is, though, the leaves are bay leaves. And, to make matters even crazier—this being the politically charged America of 2017—the online discussion of these well-intentioned bay leaves has taken on racial overtones.

BYE

A photo posted by Not Pagan/Wiccan (@brujeriaandfeminism) on Feb 12, 2017 at 7:19pm PST

People are tweeting—and we're paraphrasing here, but this is the gist of it: "Hey white people. Don't you fucking know what a bay leaf is?"

THIS MAKES ME VERY UPSET pic.twitter.com/lTkU3Q7Rr3

— Baby Barf (@shotacum) February 9, 2017

Evidently, some people—white or not—simply don't.

white people: hey chipotle there's a leaf in my burrito

chipotle: it's a bay leaf. it's a spice. white people: pic.twitter.com/zLnr0bzwct — Closeted Gay Guy (@CGGuy44) February 12, 2017

A bay leaf, of course, is an aromatic leaf that can be used fresh or dried to flavor food. Also known as the laurus nobilis or lauraceae, bay leaves are used in the foods of many nations: Mexican food, Indian food, French food—just maybe not so much in your typical all-American packaged or fast food… hence, the lack of recognition and the association of that lack of recognition with white people.

white people eradicated entire populations for spices and yet the bay leaf remains a mystery pic.twitter.com/y9M9T0JzeW

— Goth Ms. Frizzle (@spookperson) February 9, 2017

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Perhaps this can all be traced to one @MattSchaefer, aka Bay Leaf White Boy. Back in December, he tweeted: "This leaf was in my burrito @ChipotleTweets" Given his twitter handle and the fact that this is a pinned tweet, some began to suspect it was all a manipulative joke. Mama Bear (@QuitaWesley) tweeted, "Now I'm starting to think fools just doing this for attention."

Thank you @ChipotleTweets for the leaf in my burrito. Yum pic.twitter.com/pqKw1HAXSy

— Thomas Hoefener (@T_Heffff) February 1, 2017

Still, soon after Bay Leaf White Boy's first post, the internet took the bait and ran with it. Some attributed Bay Leaf White Boy's ignorance to geographic issues; Rank the Truth tweeted, "Damn people up north don't know." Ramon Sazon, on the other hand, went for it: "White folk," he said.

@ChipotleTweets hi yes is this an extremely large basil leaf or is this an actual leaf in my food pic.twitter.com/EVcjasZXA7

— Miranda Lobus (@mlobusss_) December 19, 2016

Then a bunch more people purported to find leaves in their Chipotle too—and they really didn't seem to know what the hell the leaves were.

@missytoney_ That's a bay leaf used for seasoning. They can be bitter if eaten whole. Sorry we missed removing that. -Dre

— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) December 12, 2016

The dreaded chipotle leaf has made its way to my bowl @ChipotleTweets pic.twitter.com/Mml6R1VK93

— coop (@CooperDavidPosz) February 12, 2017

All we can say is, we're sorry, Chipotle—we understand it hasn't been the best of years for you. We hope you keep fighting the good fight. One bay leaf at a time.