are you sick of reading about pure luck already? too bad! because until i’ve tried everything on the menu…i’m gonna keep writing about it and providing you with pictures.

carnitas taco combo plate: soft corn tortillas filled with jackfruit “carnitas”, topped with diced onions and cilantro, and our fresh tomatillo salsa. $8

fresh noodle salad: cold rice noodles on a bed of fresh spinach, topped with tofu and peanuts, bean sprouts, basil, onions and a sweet cilantro-lime dressing. $8

well, i went back to pure luck this weekend, and let me tell you, they didn’t disappoint! the service was great and i finally got to try the much-talked-about “carnitas” made from jackfruit. sounds weird, i know, but it was wonderful. it will be very hard moving forward in my quest to try everything on the menu, not to back out and just continue ordering the carnitas tacos.

we started off with the fresh noodle salad. i’ve actually had this a few times, and it’s always very tasty. the key to this salad is the squishy savory tofu. i don’t know what they do to it, but it’s always spongy and oozing with flavor.

i love the roasted peanuts that are sprinkled throughout, but they are a bit overpowering. i’m down with that, but it’s something to consider if you aren’t a peanut-fan.

however, i have gotten the salad in the past and the peanuts WEREN’T roasted. i didn’t really notice at the time, but looking back on it, i realized something was missing. luckily, i have photographic evidence to prove it. so beware the raw peanuts, they aren’t as tasty!

next up, we tried the jackfruit “carnitas” tacos, which are definitely my new favorite. it’s so refreshing to try a new fake meat that isn’t some kind of textured soy, and that i know i can trust 100% to be vegan. traditionalists may prefer to order the tacos with the grilled tofu option, but if you are feeling adventurous, the jackfruit will not let you down!

the jackfruit takes on all the fake meat flavor, without being chewy or stringy in texture. while i LOVE stuff like seitan, soy chicken, and all those other thick proteinous substitutions, i must say that the soft light jackfruit “carnitas” are a welcome change of pace.

and not to be outdone by our leafy appetizer, the taco combo plate came with an amazing caesar salad that doesn’t deserve to be called a “side.” seriously, i need to find out how to make this rich and gooey dressing.

so, thanks pure luck, for wonderful lunch. like i said, on this visit the service was top notch, the food was flawless, and the 20 oz beers with names i can’t pronounce sure didn’t hurt either! 🙂