While we try to cook most of our meals at home–with the help of all of the awesome recipes curated on Cool Mom Picks by our resident foodie, Stacie Billis–sometimes dining out is a necessity. You get it. And now Chipotle’s new Cultivating Thought author series is a very cool effort that just put the chain at the top of my list for our next pit stop.

Author Jonathan Safran Foer apparently came up with the idea to print writing selections on cups and bags after stopping for a bite at Chipotle one day, then finding himself with nothing to read. He pitched the Chipotle CEO, who loved the idea.

Starting this week, Chipotle’s bags and cups feature original text from people as diverse as like Toni Morrison, Malcolm Gladwell, Sarah Silverman, Michael Lewis, and George Saunders, each illustrated by a different artist. Curated by Foer, who is also a contributor, the selections are all new writings that won’t appear anywhere but Chipotle’s restaurants and website. I can’t think of too many other chains that could pull off such a thing;

 

Chipotle Cultivating Thought Author Series: Sarah Silverman | Cool Mom Picks

 

Chipotle Cultivating Thought Author Series: George Saunders | Cool Mom Picks

Like Foer, I’ve always preferred to read when I eat alone (not that I get to do that so much with three kids). For those times, it’s almost like having a companion during my meal. How cool to have writers and artists like these give me a literary excuse for some extra guac.

Stop by Chipotle to see the new cups and bags in the  Chipotle Cultivating Thought initiative, or read the authors’ selections on the Cultivating Thought website. Their burritos are pretty amazing too.