Bandidas Taqeria, Commercial Drive, Vancouver

Saskatoon is a fabulous place to live, but I do wish there were some vegetarian restaurants or even more vegetarian options on the restaurant menus. Some restaurants have been offering the same token vegetarian main course for years!

So I love visiting Vancouver, and British Columbia in general, because I have so many more food options. Not only are there vegetarian restaurants, but the menus often list vegan and raw options as well. It’s awesome to be recognized and to have choices.

Bandidas Taqeria serves really great Mexican vegetarian food. The corn tortillas are fresh and handmade. The menu has lots and lots of choices, and it changes frequently to satisfy their regular, daily customers. Some dishes include tofu, others tempeh, and there are vegan options (house-made soy sour cream and Vegan Gourmet cheese.)

I had Chile Lime Fajitas – marinated tempeh with sautéed strips of poblano chiles, onions and red peppers, served with rice and beans, salsa, sour cream, red cabbage and tortillas. It was amazing.

Helen had tortilla soup (topped with avocado, tortilla chips, cilantro, feta cheese and lime) as well as two burritos.

The Ronny Russell burrito was stuffed with roasted yams and onions, fresh guacamole, black beans, green salsa, purple cabbage, and pumpkin seeds, while the Camillo burrito had spicy breaded walnuts, pinto beans, cheese, purple cabbage, fresh red salsa and sour cream. A great combination of sweet and spicy, soft and crunchy.

Bandidas Taqeria, at 2781 Commercial Drive, is only two blocks from the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station. It’s worth the trip – I promise!

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