Two years of Spanish in school, and I never once saw the letter Q followed by the letter D.

Yet I find myself at an establishment called Qdoba, enjoying a burrito and wondering how to pronounce the name.

Qdoba (Cue-doba? K'doba?) is one of those fast-food joints that have appeared in recent years to capitalize on the twin trends of fresh ingredients and relatively healthful eating.

At least it seems healthful. A chicken burrito will set you back 1,030 calories and a staggering 2,280 milligrams of sodium. That's more calories and sodium than a Double Whopper with Cheese.

Lose the cheese and sour cream, and you're down to 890 calories. Drop the tortilla -- have the burrito "naked," as they provocatively call it, in a bowl -- and you're at a more-reasonable 570 calories, but you're still ingesting 1,380 milligrams of sodium.

Still, you only live once, which means you only die once.

Qdoba (Kwe-doba?) belongs to the Chipotle-Qdoba-Moe's genus of chain restaurants, with variations on a burrito theme. You can choose among marinated-and-fresh-grilled chicken, pork, beef and vegetables, all served up on a sprightly bed of rice with lime and cilantro. The burritos are in the $6 range. Choices of salsa range from heat-free pico de gallo through several gradations (in order: corn, green, red) all the way to an extra-hot and garlicky tomatillo sauce that the restaurant says has haba?eros in it.

The menu also includes taco salads, quesadillas, nachos and tacos, all with the same choice of meats and vegetables, along with tortilla soup and a delicious but geographically confused concoction they call Mexican gumbo (690 calories per serving and 2,600 milligrams of sodium).

Also available are chips and salsa I sometimes used to get until I learned just now that one portion, which theoretically serves four, contains a minimum of 1,160 calories.

The drinks are Coke products, the iced tea is fresh-brewed and small slices of lemon and lime are available.

How, you may wonder, did these burrito joints get so good at what they do? Each has been taken over by a chain. McDonald's owns Chipotle. Jack in the Box owns Qdoba. And Moe's Southwest Grill is owned by Focus Brands, which runs Schlotsky's, Carvel and Cinnabon.

No wonder they are so filled with calories.
Contact Daniel Neman at (804) 649-6408 or Dneman@timesdispatch.com.