ABOVE: QQ Li’s provides a local alternative to Panda Express. Photo by Ricky Rath // AS Review
A review by Julia Berkman
Today the AS Review has brought me on a journey to find the best food Vendor’s Row has to offer. I’ll be hitting all three stops, from India Grill down to QQ Li’s. Wish me luck, Western.
First stop on vendor’s row is the most popular one- Burrito King. The line for this shanty shack stretches well across the row on a warm day. The other attraction of Burrito King? Their swift assemblage of your meal right in front of you. It’s easy to get exactly what you want when you can watch them make it yourself.
Today I decided to try their veggie burrito for the first time. You could put this burrito in a front loading baby carrier and simply bend your neck to eat it. It’s both the size and the lack of quality that make it perfect for a gimmick such as that. The art of the burrito is the way you roll it- perpendicular to the line of ingredients. This ensures a bite full of all the ingredients instead of a mouthful of rice followed by a jarring mouthful of jalapeños. To be fair, all the individual ingredients in this burrito are fine, even good with added salsa. It’s the assemblage and temperature that really kept this meal from achieving greatness for me. Like Icarus, this burrito fell short while trying to touch the sun. 2/5.
The line for the burrito King may be long, but for many it’s worth the wait. Photo by Ricky Rath // AS Review.
Arguably, the best thing you can get at Burrito king is their torta. To my knowledge, Burrito King is one of the only restaurants in central Bellingham to attempt the torta. A portuguese roll slathered with beans and cheese, covered with veggies and meat on top. Like the burrito, but a more authentic and unusual choice. What’s a Burrito King to a sandwich god? Unlike soggy tortillas, the bread of the torta soaks up all the special sauce that would leak for an average burrito. Even with all the same internal ingredients, it really is the vessel that trumps the burrito. 4/5
What’s a sandwich god to a nonbeliever like QQ Li’s? I tried QQ’s pineapple chicken and chow mein next. Time is the enemy of their dishes. QQ rolls out large tubs of their food at the beginning of the day, at a time in which they are high quality and flavorful dishes. Unfortunately, because they make enough for the whole day, by the time it’s two in the afternoon the once-crispy chicken has turned soft. If you’re into textures, get to QQ’s before noon for a bite that has it all. Otherwise, accept the things you cannot change and chow down on some delicious mush.
Most flavors of their fried, szechuan-style chicken are fairly similar in taste. However, QQ’s also has a healthier, stir-fried vegetable option. This was, in my opinion, a much better taste and texture than the fried items available. It was perfect on a bed of white rice.
QQ’s also has a wide bubble tea selection. It’s pretty hard to find the popular tapioca-laden beverage between Seattle and Vancouver. The convenience of bubble tea on campus is, alone, enough. Try their honeydew melon flavor for a bright twist.
My last stop on my tour de force brought me to India Grill and their butter chicken. For $6, you can get butter chicken on rice, some naan, and a salad. To the unsuspecting consumer, this seems like a great deal.
India grill is a place I keep visiting with hopes that this time, I will enjoy my meal. I seem to have retrograde amnesia when it comes to buying a plate from them. Each time, I am reminded why I don’t usually eat there. What the food has in texture and spice, it severely lacks in flavor. I don’t know if India Grill is trying to cater to the lack of spice apparent in Bellingham or if mass-producing curries leads to a deficiency in richness. As it stands, a plate from India Grill always looks much better than it tastes.
India Grill is one of the lesser known stops on Vendor’s Row, but because of this there is rarely a line. Photo by Ricky Rath // AS Review.
One thing definitely worth getting from India Grill is their samosa. Both large and packed with flavor, their samosas are huge and only a dollar. They come with India Grill’s secret dipping sauce and nothing else is necessary. If i could recommend any meal from all of vendor’s row, it would be a samosa and a chai. India has such fantastic street cuisine that I feel India Grill could make all their money selling samosas, pakora and chaat. I know I certainly would buy them.
My final verdict? Vendor’s row is hit or miss. When they hit, however, it really knocks you out.
Great list of places to grab a snack! Thank you Julia.