As I am walking down the Nishiki market,(a traditional Japanese market) and exploring the streets of Kyoto, I see this beautifully taken photo of a burrito. At the time it was just passing lunch and my stomach grumbled letting me know it`s time to eat. This is the first time I have ever found a Spanish food spot in Kyoto. I was intrigued to see if they offer vegan options, so I went in and this is where the adventure really begins!

I walk in and you can smell the tortillas and the salsa as soon as you get inside. The aesthetics of the store were very simple, a stainless steel and cement finish, some relaxing music in the background, and staff that seemed like they were working at home.

I was greeted by the nice guy in the front and I could tell I was going to like this place already.

After I introduced myself, I asked if they offered any vegan options, and the staff said, “Oh don’t worry, we got you covered.” The excitement started to build! I haven’t eaten really good Spanish food since I was back in America. Today`s find was really a surprise and I was excited to see what I will be shoving down my mouth today!

The menu is simple and easy to follow. For you veganites, the three different options, the burrito, chips, and the quesadilla can all be made for vegans! Now as far as the quesadilla, they don’t have vegan cheese, so it will be a bit pointless to get the quesadilla without cheese, but if that is what you want, they have no problem satisfying your taste buds.

As my stomach said earlier, I was hungry, so you can already guess which option I went with!

Moving on, the burrito has three sizes you can choose from! (Three is a popular number today, hmmm.) That day I was just feeling so lucky, so I decided to go big or go home. I told him “KING ME!” What is great about this place as well is that it is very affordable.

I got a lunch set, and the lunch set includes a mini salad, chips and salsa, and a drink for an extra 300 yen.

As I was waiting for the food to finished, I was having a great conversation with the staff. This store is actually the second one to be built. The original Que Pasa is down the street near Sanjyou, an area of Kyoto. The original store has been open for 4 years, and the store I was in just opened up recently. The man who opened up this establishment visited California and loved the food out there so he decided to bring a little piece of California back to Japan.

Then BOOM before I knew it, this huge, gigantic monster of a burrito was in front of my face!

Oh baby, I knew this was going to be fun to eat. Luckily, the staff said many people order the King size but end up taking what they couldn’t eat home, so that was a relief. I definitely was unsure if I could eat the whole thing!

Here let`s take a look at this baby with the foil off!

She’s a beauty isn’t she? A nice crispy tortilla filled with your burrito basics, rice, beans, salsa, lettuce, and to top it off for me, I added guacamole to my burrito. The beans and the salsa were made from scratch. A very simple but tasty and affordable meal for those looking for some great Spanish food.

Yes, she is as good as she looks! The chips were great as well, especially with the salsa. As soon as I ran out of chips, I dug my burrito right into the salsa, it was perfect! It was definitely impossible to finish the burrito in one sitting. I was stuffed about 3 quarters in but I was definitely satisfied with my meal.

It was great finding this place because in Kyoto the vegan restaurants in particular close pretty early, so if you are out late and you are not a real fan of convenience store food, Que Pasa stays open to about 9:30, and they allow you to do takeout orders.

LESSON WRAP UP

The simple things in life also makes life great as well. I say that because Que Pasa has three simple options, with simple ingredients, but you will be leaving there with complete satisfaction, and a little in your pocket. The staff is friendly, the atmosphere is very chill and lax, and if your friends are not vegan, the place accommodates to the customer. Thank you for the great experience Que Pasa, this definitely won’t be the last time I come, but maybe next time I will just order the regular size burrito!

Until next time class, class is dismissed! (Class bell rings)