The Gecko Bus

What’s green and red, has scales, sits on four tires and offers the best burrito in town?   No joke or guessing here, it’s the Gecko Bus!  It’s an oddity, a bit of Mexico in the heart of Halifax, an overlooked gem that I would have missed altogether if the friend with us hadn’t pointed it out. The bus is clever and innovative, marketing at its best.  

Hubby and I and a friend were in the city on a shopping excursion for our boats when lunch time rolled around and are tummies were growling so we started throwing suggestions around on where to eat.  Even though we were shopping at what one might refer to as “men stores” for boat parts, these guys don’t like to shop any more than I do and wanted to get home so we needed something quick.   It was a necessity buying trip, in and out as quick as possible, scratch the items off the list and head home before lunch but all good intentions need to come with a plan B.  All the stops took longer than anticipated and we were running out of steam.     

Several options were suggested, fast food places kept getting a thumbs down until Chris suggest the Gecko Bus.  “What’s that” I said immediately intrigued.  I’d crawl naked over glass for a good Burrito, so the bus it was.  

It was quite the experience to see this big green anomaly as we parked beside it.   Someone had welded metal shaped lizard body parts to an old school bus then painted on the details. Scales, legs, big eyes and a tail that wrapped around the back of the bus and flipped up over the top really transformed the old yellow bus in a giant Gecko.  The lips were bold red and full and you could imagine them holding back a bug eating tongue.  This metal reptile looked out of place in the concrete and asphalt jungle but at the same time, added a bit of interest, the bright green against the grey, drawing your eye in and peeking your curiosity to see what might lie within the belly of this beast.    

You enter into the head area and once inside running along the length of the middle were a couple of tables along the port side and cooler chests were along the starboard containing icy cans of thirst quenching drinks.   

At the back, rump part of the beast, were four guys taking orders and preparing the food.  There were three kinds of rice, I choose curry and raisin and three kinds of meat, I chose the pulled pork.  Once these two choices were made they started heaping on the toppings, handfuls of lettuce, corn, beans, salsa, guacamole, hot peppers, olives, red onion, you pointed to it and it went on the pile.  I looked on as customers ahead of me ordered their lunch, thinking each burrito was a work of art, a smorgasbord of colour, a feast for the eye. 

Like Harvey’s (as in “makes a hamburger a beautiful thing”), the fillings were displayed behind a splash guard and they asked what you wanted and then piled it on.   I had the mango mayonnaise squirted on the top and then they rolled it all in expertly until the flour tortilla encompassed all that wonderful goodness.  The last step was to wrap it in foil. It looked under pressure, like it might blow any second but it held together.    
 
The guys were super friendly, clearly enjoying their work, weaving in and out with one another, working their small space like a fine tuned instrument.   It was such a happy environment that it was almost flirtatious.  When asked if I wanted my burrito  heated, I didn’t know, I’d not been there before so I said, “what would you do?” And he smiled and said “heated” and I said “do it” and winked.   They were so friendly it was contagious. 

Although there were a couple of chairs and tables inside we opted for the picnic table outside and sat with the gecko’s eyes keeping watch.  The burrito was delicious.  I worried I might not be able to get my lips around it without unhinging my jaw but apparently I have a big mouth because I didn’t have a problem.  Hubby had his served in a dish like a giant salad and tackled it with a knife and fork.  I really liked the wrap. It kept the juices in and the ingredients mixed for optimum flavour.      It was a wonderful experience.  The afternoon sun burning down and the fresh food transported to Mexico.
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I love cilantro, a dominant flavour throughout.  All the ingredients were fresh and crisp.  The pulled pork was delicious!  The service and burrito was divine, a ten out of ten and all for $8.00 plus a bit of change!   Why doesn’t Mahone Bay have one of these metal beasts serving amazing food for lunch?  I don’t know when I’ll be in the city next, hopefully they hang around a bit before the weather gets too cold, I really want to give this another whirl.   If you’re in the city check them out.  They park in front of Kent in the Bayer’s Lake Industrial Park.  Two Thumbs up from this foodie!