Chino Bandido is a casual unique one of a kind restaurant located in North Phoenix Arizona. According to Food Network Chino Bandido is a Top Place to Eat. Chef Guy Fieri of Food Network said about Chino Bandido, “One of the most original on DDD.” (Food Network TV Show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives). You might be wondering??????….WTFork is Chino Bandito anyway?

Chino Bandido is a casual restaurant that serves a disjointed mashup of Chinese type food, Mexican-ish Food and Jamaican Jerk Chicken that comes to you in a foil pan plus more!. You have many choices when ordering. You have according to Food Network 90,000 choices. Chino Bandido offers 14 different entrees. You pick either one entree ($7.35) or a combo with two entrees ($8.90). The single entree comes with white rice. Whatever entree you pick you can add on to roll your entree into a burrito (.85 cents) or make it into quesadilla (.85 cents). The two entree combo comes with white rice and your choice of black beans or refried beans. You have your choice to upgrade the rice to plain fried rice (.85 cents), chicken fried rice (.85 cents) or jerk chicken fried rice (.85 cents). Prices are subject to change…

The entrees you get to pick from are -carnitas, chile relleno, Chinese bbq pork, egg foo yung, gringo chicken, hengrenade chicken, jade red chicken, Jen red pork, jerk chicken, emerald chicken, teriyaki chicken, veggies (basically a salad), pollo diablo, machaca. Somehow all the different combinations imaginable add up to 90,000 different plates.

Now you sort of understand……..Here’s how it goes! You walk in and wait in line.

You look up at all the different choices and wait till it’s your turn to order.

The person at the counter is helpful and walks you threw ordering. They also offer samples. You can fill out a sheet for your order but unless you’ve done it before it is too easy to FORK it up so you are better off if you let the person at the counter take your order.

Here’s the other ordering counter with a view of the kitchen…they have two lines. You pay here and they take your name. You get your drink and plastic silverware and seat yourself.

Maybe by the Bandido Panda Cowboy Mascot?………Chino Bandido himself?

Or by the fresco on the wall.

It’s not a fancy place but HEY…it’s not a fancy food place either…..but they do have an oil painting by the condiments of an Asian Panda eating a quesadilla from a big pan of food.

Soon someone runs our food out and calls our name.

My husband gets his pan.

He got a carnitas burrito, emerald chicken, jerk fried rice and black beans. He’s a fan! He said the carnitas burrito is really good and the white meat emerald chicken is moist and flavorful. He likes the black beans and said they are very tasty and of course he likes the jerk fried rice.

I got the Chile Relleno and hengrenade chicken with white rice and vegetables.

GOD this is a Forking ENORMOUS plate of food for only $8.90 and it comes with a fresh baked snickerdoodle cookie. The Chile Relleno is an Anaheim Chile Pepper that is stuffed with gooey melted cheeses. The coating is very unusual……The menu says its breaded and the coating appears to be made of LOTS of broken saltine crackers.

The hengranade Chicken is sliced chicken thigh that is spiced up and a little smoky. It’s very flavorful and moist but lacks sauce or something like sautéed vegetables to go with it. Perhaps the hengranade is a flavor that’s best for quesadillas?……….Or maybe better with beans to add that something I’m missing here. Got a mountain of white rice and a whole field of salad with fresh broccoli, and some pico de gallo. The salad is also served unadorned (with out a sauce) I was really hungry when we got here….Was only able to eat maybe half of everything. It’s quite a value. I think this plate is two dinners for most people.

We shared one of the cookies.

The snickerdoodle is large, but tasty.

Checked out The Great Wall of Chino when we left.

YEE HA!

That was my Trip to Chino Bandido! Fast food priced and better quality, value and taste than fast food!

www.ChinoBandido.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

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