Brunch at Bandidas Taqueria

James and I are moving in a few days. Right now our apartment is full of boxes. Some are packed and taped, some are half-packed and some are still waiting to be filled. It's like a bomb went off in here or something. We're hoping to get the rest of the packing done today, which would be wonderful. If not, because of the packing and moving and waiting for the internet to be hooked up in our place next weekend, the blog might be silent for a week or so. I'm going to try and pre-write a few posts so I can just post them throughout the week. That all depends on how much time there is in between trying not to pack a cat in a box with the silverware and all that jazz.

I'm pretty excited to move for a few reasons. We'll be in a new neighborhood, which is awesome and we'll be closer to awesome brunch places like Bandidas Taqueria. I've become a bit addicted to that place lately. Now we'll be just a few short blocks away instead of across town. I can't even put into words how excited I am about that.

The last time we were at Bandidas we had brunch with a friend and in usual SJ style, I asked everyone to wait to start eating until I could get a few photos with my phone. I should have written down what everyone had, I'm just going to guess from looking at the menu online, but suffice it to say that we all thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

Everyone gets a teapot of their own. That's great for someone like me who will most definitely drink the entire pot.

One of the things I like best about Bandidas, besides that it's a cool vegetarian restaurant, is all of the great vegan options. I feel really lucky to live in Vancouver where there are a plethora of places that offer a tofu scramble as a breakfast option. But you know, sometimes you just don't really want to eat another tofu scramble. At Bandidas, you can replace eggs in any entree with a butternut squash-tofu combination. They also use Daiya cheese as a substitution for dairy cheese, as well. Always a bonus. There are so many different things to choose from, it's almost overwhelming. All of the plates are full of veggies, too. I feel like I've had a really healthy meal when I've eaten there.

The Alan's Breakfast, veganized

I'm pretty sure I had the Alan's Breakfast. It's pinto beans, corn tortillas, fresh salsas, guacamole, and butternut squash replacing the eggs with a bit of daiya in there underneath, purple cabbage and a little salad. I know, that's a lot of food. I ate every bite of it and loved it. I also got a side of the roasted potatoes and yams that James and I shared. I can't resist potatoes even though I only ate a few of them, James seemed to really feel like they added something to his meal.

The Vegan

The vegan. It's not just a label for people anymore, it's also a brunch dish at Bandidas. That's what James had. I should have tasted some of it. It looked really great. More of the yummy butternut squash-tofu combo over some daiya cheese and tortilla strips with some sauteed red peppers, onions and jalapenos with a red sauce on top. There are also some pinto beans in there on the far side of the plate next to the purple cabbage.

The Breakfast and The Vegan

Since it was a typical, rainy, grey Vancouver day, there wasn't much light over in our corner of the restaurant. I took a few pictures of Andy's plate, but none of them came out very well. You can see his over there with the cornbread stacked on top. I think he got what's called The Breakfast. That name kind of amuses me. You can see the potatoes and yams all piled up being awesome.

This was so good. It's not too bad price-wise, either. It's $10-11 for a plate piled up with food. Many times we end up taking leftovers home. This particular day we were  pretty hungry and ate every bite. Yum! If you're in Vancouver, I definitely recommend checking this place out. I like their lunch/dinner stuff, too, but I feel like Bandidas really shines at brunch, especially for having interesting and different vegan options. If you don't live around here, then maybe this will be a bit of inspiration for you. I know I would never have thought of having butternut squash for breakfast before this. Now I can't get enough of it.