Burrito Bandido

Aguas Frescas & the Bandido himself.

The place: Burrito Bandido is located in a standalone building right off Maryland Avenue on the Elsmerey side of Wilmington, and, like many taquerias, its outside is painted bright yellow. Burrito Bandido reopened about three weeks ago, after several months of renovations. What they were renovating, I’m not sure, because the inside looks just the same as always: 6 or 7 fast food style hard booths, a case full of aguas frescas (more on these in an upcoming post), and a little cashier’s counter on the left when you first enter. Compared to some other places, it’s roomy and welcoming, and the young woman taking my order was friendly and happy to give suggestions.

In the bag: Foam take-out box containing foil-wrapped tacos, two lime slices, and red & green salsas. Healthy pile of thick napkins.

The tacos: I ordered chorizo, carnitas (pork), and, per suggestion, spicy chicken. I approached the chorizo first, covering it, as I am wont to do, with green salsa. The salsa itself appeared at first glance to have a fine texture, but there was a foamy, aerated quality to it that made it a bit hard to pour. Eventually I resorted to using a lime slice to spread it onto my tacos. Even without its lime slice conveyor, it had a very citrusy taste and was decently hot, too. The chorizo soaked its tortilla and those of its neighbors with a puddle of orange grease, but the sausage in and of itself didn’t taste overly greasy.

Mexican sausage, pork, spicy chicken.

The meat in my carnitas taco was cut into big, flat pieces. It tasted like pork! What did I expect? It was pleasantly fatty, and was satisfying to chew. While I waited for my food (which was ready within 5 minutes of ordering), I asked the lady the difference between carnitas and al pastor. She said that -- at Burrito Bandido, at least -- al pastor is more heavily seasoned, and cooked with pineapple. A man came in the other day, she said, ordered three tacos al pastor, and paid $20 for them because they were so darn good. I guess I know what I’m getting next time ...

I topped my carnitas with the red salsa, which has a beautiful, deep red color and a full flavor with what I would estimate as a mild to medium heat.

Ok, enough bandying about. How was that spicy chicken?

Holy God, that spicy chicken was nice. Now I wouldn’t exactly call it spicy, per se, more spiced. It tastes like it’s been marinated for a day in some sort of smoky, peppery goodness, and it is wonderfully tender. It’s technically off-menu for the tacos, but is available as a tostada filling and can seemingly be ordered in any dish. Just do it.

Tacos at Burrito Bandido range from $2 - 3. My only complaint is that they were a bit light on the toppings (cilantro and chopped onions, of course).

Here’s the thing about Burrito Bandido: though the location is a little iffy, they are well-documented, on-the-map, English-friendly, and open late. The inside is spacious and air-conditioned, and the TV is never on too loud. The food is authentic, simple, well-made, and inexpensive. Their marketing materials (i.e., business cards) are nicely put together and informative. For somebody just getting into this whole tacos authenticos deal, Burrito Bandido is a comfortable place to dip your toes in the salsa.

You know what I mean.

227 N. Maryland Ave.

Wilmington, DE 19804

Mon. - Thurs., 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Fri. - Sun., 9 a.m. - 11 p.m.

Cash, major credit cards

Fully cooked meat sold by the pound.

Chorizo leavings.

$2.00

al pastor - assorted meats

carne enchilada - peppered beef

carnitas - pork

cabeza de rez - beef head

suadero - beef

chorizo - mexican sausage

taco campechano - mix

torta asada - steak

(tinga) - spicy chicken

$2.50

lengua - beef tongue

tripa - tripe

$3.00

torta milanesa - no translation given (mystery taco. Something deep-fried, I hazard.)

Update: As it turns out, this is what caused Burrito Bandido's mysterious renovations.