FOOD TRUCK REVIEW: Delightful journey into Mexican cuisine

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/08/2021 (1718 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Today marks the end of my gastric journey down the food truck rabbit hole.

It has been fun. The feedback has been positive.

Who knew Brandonites are inquisitive when it comes to food truck grub? There are currently 10 food trucks registered with the city.

I discovered there is a sub-culture of food trucks — not just in Brandon, but in the province. Business appears to be good for these mobile takeout restaurants as they rumble from town to town like gastronomical gypsys.

That point was made glaringly obvious as I travelled to Medora for a footlong whistle dog from Willey’s Grub Hub. It was worth it if you read the last column.

It’s tough to choose my favourite food truck food. They were all good. All deserving. One thing for sure — the folks who man these mobile grub busters work their butts off. Especially now with a pandemic taking its cut of the profits. So hats off to all the food trucks who call Brandon home and who have made it thus far.

One food truck shuttered its takeout window as public health restrictions lifted and returned to its restaurant roots.

And one was so popular, it opened a restaurant, based on the street food it served. I’m not sure of the timeline, so don’t quote me on it.

That food truck is none other than Los Brothers.

Located at the corner of 13th Street and Richmond Avenue, Los Brothers food truck/trailer reminded me of a little yellow canary in the middle of the empty lot.

Word of advice — always check out Brandon Food Trucks Facebook page before heading out for a bite. The site will list the food trucks and their locations for that day, generally speaking. At the very least, they usually list their phone numbers. When in doubt, call.

The serving area was clean. Garbage cans sat on either side of the little food trailer with at least one blue recycling bin.

I walked up to the serving window.

“How can I help you?” a young woman’s smiling face asked behind the screen.

“What’s the special?” I asked, noting the chalkboard to the right with three items after the words fell out of my mouth.

“They’re on the board,” she said, pointing to my right.

I did a mental palm-to-the-forehead smack.

But my server didn’t seem to notice and was friendly despite her customer’s obvious lack of observation.

“What’s chicken tinga al pastor?”

“It’s spiced chicken tacos,” she said.

“OK, I’ll take the $12 one.” The sign said I got three tacos. How big can they be?

I paid for my meal and waited.

Less than 10 minutes later, she opened the screen and held out my order.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks,” I said, heading back to the car.

The little black cardboard box which held my tacos, looked like a Christmas present. It was so neat and tidy. It was a shame to have to open it and ruin the surprise.

Heat radiated from the bottom of the container.

I made my way back to The Sun.

In the lunchroom, I opened my food box like it was Christmas morning.

There, sitting on the bottom of the biodegradable box, were three perfect chicken tacos. The smell wafted up my nose and my mouth immediately started to water.

Attractively arranged, the tacos weren’t soggy, despite my five-minute drive back to work. Slices of lime sat in the corners of the box as garnish I assumed.

However, I decided to live on the edge and squeezed lime juice over everything.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Lime juice on a hot taco is like chocolate on an almond, banana with peanut butter, melted cheese on a burger.

You get the picture.

As I’m writing this, my mouth is actually starting to water.

Juice did not drip off my wrists while eating these delectable morsels of Mexican cuisine. However, I noted the fresh taco shells, how the hot ingredients mingled with the fresh toppings, and how there was a pleasant spicy heat to the chicken mixture.

Los Brothers’ chicken tinga al pastor nailed it. Simple but delicious.

I will surely return to taste the remaining menu items, just not in for this column as this is the last one.

If you miss their food truck, there’s always the restaurant at 363 First St. Check out their Facebook page at facebook.com/losbrosmb.

I’m rating these folks a five out of five based on their biodegradable container, garbage and recycling access and the simple yet delicious tasting chicken tinga al pastor tacos.

» kkielley@brandonsun.com