Two Happy Outlaws
After a trip to the car dealership to repair a dent (thanks to the jerk who hit us and didn’t leave a note) on the brand new car with about an hour of time to kill and two hungry ‘hombres’ looking for tasty grub, my stomach called for American-Mexican. We headed to the closest place ‘Carlos’ had not been to yet. After parking and zero expectations we passed through the doorway at Bandito’s on Patterson Avenue. Before going any further, I should add that after a certain hour Bandito’s patrons quickly shift from an eating crowd to a drinking crowd. Bear in mind that we arrived at 4pm, well under that fateful time. Once through the door we were quickly greeted and I requested a non-smoking table for one and a half. At that point, I was asked if I needed a children’s menu. “Yes, thank you.” The waitress immediately whips out some crayons and a coloring foldout and leads us to the non-smoking section of the restaurant located in a smaller room off to the side of the main dining/bar area.
On the way, she asked “Do you need a high chair?”
“Yes, thank you.”
We were shown our table and as we settled in the waitress brought over the high chair. She then asked, “Does the little guy need some water?” Thinking I had water, I politely declined.
For me, the ordering process was easy because I was there for $1 tacos and a $3 margarita (available 3-7 pm, Monday through Friday). Much to my surprise, on the back page of the coloring foldout, which includes several mazes and connect-the-dots, I found the children’s menu. With a huge smile, I began to review the available options. With choices like quesadillas, mini burgers and even sliced grilled chicken breast I was excited. I soon became ecstatic when I discovered that each entrée came with a side of which I could choose french fries, potato salad, black beans, refried beans or Mexican rice. Add to that, every order comes with your choice of fruit or apple sauce cup. With the final surprise, each of these entrées were $4.95 or less. Very few ‘pesos’ indeed considering I paid $4 for a pb&j on white and tube of yogurt at Panera.
Our food arrived and ‘Cisco’ enjoyed his tacos and margarita while ‘Carlos’ proceeded to scarf down sliced grilled chicken breast and french fries. It was at this point that I realized the ‘agua’ was a phantom. So I asked our waitress to bring ‘my little burro’ some water. Another surprise. She returns with a children’s cup (decorated with space aliens, legal I assume), lidded with bendy straw.
Upon finishing my tacos I was forced to wait on ‘the kid’ as he continued to stuff his face with sliced grilled chicken breast, french fries and drink from his legal space alien cup. We then packed our mule, Rupert, and headed for the border to pick up Mommy. The entire way, Daddy was smiling at discovering a new destination that truly is (astonishingly) ‘niño’ friendly.
So for any of you Fan ‘gringos’ out there, Bandito’s Burrito Lounge is highly recommending before 7pm.
THE RATING
Customer Service: 3 Star (she did everything she needed to do)
Atmosphere: 2 Stars (it’s a bar, lots of tv’s, etc.)
Cost: 4 Stars (I got a margarita, four tacos and a kid’s meal for $15.89, includes tax but not tip)
Kid Options: 4 Stars (outstanding)
Allergy/Nutrition/Restriction: 3 Stars (I wasn’t left guessing)
Quality of the Food: 3 StarsTotal: 3.1 Stars
