Indigenous Eats serves up perfection

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This article was published 01/08/2025 (237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Over the next several weeks, the Sun will be visiting small locally owned restaurants and food trucks in Westman, tasting what our great corner of the province has to offer.

While scouring the internet to find where Brandon food trucks are set up, I found that there aren’t as many kitchens-on-wheels as there used to be. That’s disappointing, because some of the best food comes from mobile eateries.

That definitely rang true for the bright-red Indigenous Eats food truck operated by the Brandon Friendship Centre, which serves up delicious food.

At around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, the food truck’s Facebook page said it would be at Rideau Park at lunch time. I took note of that and drove down to grab something off the menu at noon.

I ordered a bannock taco and a buffalo hide, which is a piece of fried bannock covered in a sweet topping of your choosing. After asking the person taking my order what version I should get, I ended up agreeing to get the buffalo hide with a layer of Nutella and slices of bananas on top.

I’m always a little bit nervous when I order tacos from a restaurant because portions vary a lot. The portions for this taco were crazy, in a good way.

A huge and thick piece of delicious bannock was accompanied by a mountain of toppings, which included lettuce, tomato, green onions, salsa, cheese and a ton of sour cream.

It was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.

The first few bites were solely with a fork, as the hill of toppings made the bannock impossible to even see. But as the hill disappeared and I could see the horizon, I took a bite with everything combined.

Make sure you have a full box of napkins at the ready, as it is a very messy meal, but it was delicious.

The bannock paired with the rest of the taco perfectly, and the combination of flavours was a delight to my taste buds.

Every day, staff make the bannock fresh, and deep fry it to every order, said manager Marina Richard.

Once served, it is slightly doughy in the middle, and crispy on the outside.

The bannock I was served was slightly soggy on the very bottom once I ate it because of the juices from the salsa. But most of the bread held up in the middle, and was crispy throughout my meal. That served as a perfect contrast between bites.

Also, thank goodness I was given that fork, as I had to keep piling on the toppings that kept dropping from the top of the taco.

Over to the dessert — the Nutella and banana buffalo hide was also delicious. The buffalo hide comes in different varieties, including variations of cinnamon and sugar, cinnamon apple and just Nutella.

My order had a slathering of chocolate spread with two layers of banana in some spots. There was also a touch of cinnamon on the outside.

Other items on the Indigenous Eats menu are bison burgers made with bannock, bannock chili cheese dogs and taco in a bag.

The truck was sold out of bison burgers along with a couple of other items on Wednesday, which made my decision to get a taco an easy one.

The portions were so big, I saved half for my supper after work as well. Definitely a good decision.

Overall, I was very impressed by the food handed to me through the elevated window. I only wish there were more options available on the menu so I could come back and try new things.

I was also disappointed to see that there weren’t a lot of other people getting food at prime lunch time. That should change. The food is definitely worth it.

I wouldn’t change a single thing about the food itself. I consider myself a fan.

All in all, I give Indigenous Eats a savoury 5/5.

» alambert@brandonsun.com