Located at 1609 Friendly Avenue, Bandito Bodega offers internationally influenced tacos, burritos, and bowls for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday and lunch on Sundays. Food specials rotate, and catering is available.
Though Greensboro is a competitive town for both tacos and food trucks, the Bandito Burrito truck has been a popular mainstay at events and festivals. When this brick-and-mortar offshoot opened at the beginning of the year, it had the benefits of name recognition and an extant fanbase. Though the food remains solid, the immobile iteration doesn’t exactly dazzle.
Bandito Bodega is a small spot with a short counter and a handful of tables inside and out. The parking lot is also smallish, and exiting onto Friendly Avenue takes some patience. Should you make it inside, the staff here are friendly, and the menu is tantalizing. Tacos come Asian style, Baja style, or crispy rolled. Burritos and bowls similarly offer both Mexican and Asian offerings, and there are plenty of protein choices (including tofu for vegetarian patrons).
Having enjoyed it off the truck, I opted for a Big Ass Burrito (rice, black beans, pico, corn, radish, red cabbage, cilantro, and tomatillo) with chorizo. In terms of portion sizing, it certainly lived up to its name and proved to be quite filling. Though many of the flavors came through, the chorizo lacked the expected spiciness.
Bandito’s pricing, forgivable on a food truck, comes across as high for a sit-down restaurant. At $9, the bountiful burrito provides decent bang for the buck, until you factor in upcharges for cheese and guacamole. Meanwhile, a single baja-style fish taco runs north of $5.
There are enough menu options (kimchi fried rice balls, Korean-style po boys, etc.) to make Bandito Bodega worth further exploration, but future visits will come with somewhat lowered expectations.
7.5/10
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