I compared Chipotle's food to another major Mexican-food competitor - and the winner shocked me

Authentic or not, America is wildly passionate about its Mexican food.

Tex-Mex restaurants have exploded in the past decade or so, thanks in part to impressive success of Chipotle, the ubiquitous burrito chain that has more or less positioned itself as the standard-bearer of the fast-casual industry.

We recently pitted two Tex-Mex giants against each other, and some readers voiced concern that a major Chipotle competitor hadn't even been considered: Qdoba.

The Denver-based chain, having reached over 630 locations in 2014, began in 1995 just two years after and four miles north of Chipotle's first restaurant in Colorado's capital.

So, the debate has raged on for nearly two decades: which Denver burrito giant does it best?

With a grand plan for Qdoba in the works, I took it upon myself to investigate, comparing each chain's three classic meal choices: the taco, burrito bowl, and the beloved burrito.

So who will make it in this Mexican heavyweight match? Whose taco triumphs, whose bowl bests, and whose burrito brings home the gold? Keep scrolling to see.