Bandida's Taqueria

(Sorry for the late update. A delicate combination of being totally sick and totally lazy has hindered my ability to do much of anything this week. Please don't hate me.)

So, this week I switched things up a bit by doing a brunch instead of a breakfast. A few factors played into this decision:
1) I'm sick. I wanted to wake up a bit late.
2) The joint that I wanted to hit didn't open until 10am.
3) I promised a friend brunch, and she had errands to run.

Now, I must admit, the whole "being sick" thing didn't bode well for this adventure. Not only does it dampen my ability to taste things, but it also just makes me generally bitter, which could skew my opinion of the eating experience. I also made the mistake of waking up early, eating breakfast at home and, therefore, being a bit full when I headed for brunch. Keep these factors in mind while reading this week! (haha) This week, you can welcome our friend Kimmy back and a new friend, Amanda, to the blog/team!

Brunch, this week, took place at Bandida's Taqueria, located just off of 12th Ave and Commercial Drive (2781 Commercial Drive). It's a fairly new cafe, having only been open for about a year or two, but has fared quite well seeming that it's always busy when I walk by. Previously, I had been to Bandida's for vegan nachoes with a couple of friends and I remembered them being really tasty (considering I'm not vegan/vegetarian) so I had high hopes for the brunch menu.

As always, the place was bustling with people when we arrived. Kimmy was waiting for Amanda and I at the bar, so we were able to get a table immediately. We all ordered coffees ($2, includes free refills) and water was automatically brought to the table in mason jars, which is definitely a nice touch. The coffee was hot and tasty, thank goodness, since it was pissing rain that day and all of our feet were soaked. (It's a JJ Bean roast, if you're wondering.) Soon enough, the server (whose accent I couldn't, for the life of me, pick out!) came to take our orders. I went with the Breakfast Burrito (beans, eggs, veggies wrapped up in a soft tortilla) since I wasn't overly hungry and it was the cheapest brunch item, clocking in at $7. Kimmy chose the Jamie's Benny (eggs benny with a yam/potato combo) which came out to $11. Finally, Amanda settled with the Vegan French Toast, also clocking in at $11.

Considering how busy the place was, the food arrived relatively quickly, so about 10 minutes by my count. I must admit, when the server set my plate down I thought to myself, "What have I gotten myself into?" The burrito was seriously massive. It came with a nice-looking little dabble of salsa and sour cream, both of which proved useless in the end. Kimmy's plate was loaded to the max. Seriously, I was surprised that it didn't just overflow into her lap. (Though, honestly, that would've been freakin' hilarious.) This leaves us with Amanda's French toast... which was probably the biggest flop of the meal. It didn't even really look like toast. More like hashbrowns from McDonald's made out of bread with some syrup on them. Yes, $11 got her enough food to feed a 5 year-old child this morning. Anyway, so yes, we all dug into our respective plates. My burrito was a bit soggy on the bottom and messy as hell, but it was quite delicious.

When I asked Kimmy how her eggs benny was, she said, "I was just at the dentist, so my mouth is still frozen. But, from what I can taste, it's really good!" That was followed by a drink of water, some of which didn't make it into her semi-paralyzed mouth. Yes, this event would occur a few more times during this outing. Seriously, I think that I bring Kimmy out for breakfast just for the entertainment factor.

Kimmy aside, this brings us to Amanda's French toast. She said that it was tasty and enjoyable, but not quite enough to make up for the sheer lack of, well, French toast. On that note, she ordered a side of yams & potatoes to make up for the lack of substance. Luckily, Kimmy and I are slow eaters, so we weren't finished before they came out for Amanda to enjoy.

All in all, I'd have to say that Bandida's gets my thumbs-up, along with my teammates. A filling meal for under $10 generally gets my approval, let alone when it tastes as good as my burrito did even though I was sick and not all that hungry at the time. I might avoid the French toast, though....

Stay sharp, kids.
Jesse