FOOD TRUCK REVIEW: Bannock taco a delightful experience

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2021 (1541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Indigenous Eats is The Sun’s latest food truck grub review as we embark on a grazing extravaganza over the summer.

So far, we have not encountered one bad experience. Staff have been pleasant. The food has been good. The trucks have been clean and the serving areas have been well maintained.

We don’t announce our presence and keep our identity on the down-low. We pay for our food and try hard to be objective. Admittedly, it can be a challenge if there is an exceptional dish we order.

Indigenous Eats was a positive experience as one of the newer food trucks in the city. Aimed at filling a gap in the local market by sharing traditions and tastes of Indigenous culture for everyone to enjoy, menu items include bannock tacos, bison burgers and bannock dogs, according to a previous story in The Sun.

A pilot project through the Brandon Friendship Centre, bringing the community together through delicious food is a plus for non-Indigenous folks eager to try the bannock taco or buffalo burger. Staff are friendly and helpful. Empty children’s shoes sit under the serving area with an orange T-shirt that says, “Every Child Matters,” hanging to one side, a tribute to the Indigenous children of residential schools.

The piping-hot bannock taco for $6 is colourful as the layers of green, red, orange and white give the traditionally Mexican dish a twist. The crispy, golden bannock taco sits probably three to four inches high once served.

Bannock is a traditional Indigenous fry bread and is a staple on the menu, which includes a fried bologna sandwich. I’m not sure if the sandwich is served on bannock, however.

I ordered the bannock taco because I’ve heard so many good things about it. I ordered two because I was hungry. I mean, how big could they really be?

When my food was cooked, it was handed over in biodegradable containers. Nice, I thought.

Another tailgate picnic with Friend Three (F3). She opened the back of her truck and an improvised picnic ensued. I opened my container, slid my fingers under the crispy, hot bannock and did a slow whistle.

“Oh man, this baby is huge,” I said to F3.

While she waited for her buffalo burger and Indigenous Delight, I chowed down.

Assuming the Triple D Hunch (see previous reference from the Smoked and Sauced review last week), I had to hold the bannock taco away from my body, elbows sufficiently elevated because by the second bite, taco juice was dripping down to my wrists. The taco was probably six inches by six inches and stacked high with seasoned hamburger at the base, a layer of lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa sauce, sour cream and chopped green onions. The bannock was crispy, hot, light and fluffy. The ingredients were fresh.

The second taco was just as good.

The cook said it took her 16 years to perfect the bannock recipe. I can’t decide what was the best part of the taco — the bannock or the fixings. It was good. I could have made do with one. Just saying.

F3 unwrapped her buffalo burger and offered me a bite. Surrounded by a bannock bun, although not as fluffy as a typical hamburger bun, the crispiness of freshly made bannock superseded any hamburger bun I’ve ever experienced. The buffalo meat was well cooked and tasted delicious. It definitely had a meaty taste, not gamey like moose or deer. I’ve only eaten eastern moose and deer as a precursor to that comment.

Despite feeling like the seams in my stomach were about to burst, I took one for the team and accepted F3’s generous offer of a bite of her Indigenous Delight. In the bottom of the serving container was a warm blueberry sauce, not too overpowering. Then, a freshly deep-fried Bannock (six by six, remember?), a layer of rice that sorta kinda resembled rice pudding, a layer of warm blueberries with dusting of icing sugar on top.

I mentioned it was warm, right? 

I managed a mouthful, but what a mouthful.

The blueberries complemented the bannock perfectly. Every taste in the dessert was subtle but perfectly accentuated each other.

I’d say it was another successful grazing session. It is definitely worthy of a second visit. I’m rating Indigenous Eats five out of five. They nailed it with their biodegradable container and a recycling box for pop cans, plus they delivered delicious, healthy servings.

Check Indigenous Eats Facebook page to track their location because they’re always on the move: facebook.com/indigenous.eats.brandonmb.

Note to readers: In my review of the Mexican King Food truck, I mistakenly referred to my dish as panadas. They were, in fact, empanadas.

» kkielley@brandonsun.com