by Greg Schneider ·
Friday, September 27, 2024
When you hear Devens, what comes to mind first? Former training fields with the whispers of a bugle playing somewhere in the distance? Quiet neighborhoods of handsome brick homes? Possibly even the miracle of town water? Well, for me lately it’s been one thing and one thing only: Mexican food. That’s right, nothing military or related to inter-town workings: just quality Mexican food served up by Bandoleros.
Bandoleros is located on Ryan’s Way in the Devens Common Center just down the street from the Fire Department. We found Bandoleros by chance while we had stopped for gas around the corner after I refused to use Google Maps to get where we were going because I was confident there was “only one road in and out of Devens.” That’s another story for another time. A few weeks later I was back to pick up a takeout order and excited to say we have our new local spot for Mexican.
Like many Mexican restaurants, the Bandoleros menu is dense, but they have some really intriguing options across the board. The classics of tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, and burritos are all there, but for almost all of them you have a throng of options including birria, al pastor, and pork belly to go with the traditionals of chicken, pork, and steak. I am an absolute sucker for quesadillas, and I’ve really enjoyed al pastor in the past so that is exactly what I ordered along with the charro beans.
Al pastor has a long history in Mexican and Central American history and usually consists of a spit-roasted pork flavored with spices and pineapple that gives off a wonderful smoky and sweet flavor combo—with a little heat. I’m not an al pastor expert by any means, but Bandoleros does it right in my humble opinion. All of those flavors pressed between two fresh tortillas with melted cheese gets me all kinds of excited. The charro beans were a welcomed surprise as a little side dish. The brown beans are moist with an almost smoky, meaty flavoring to them that I devoured. Another small touch that I loved was the variety of sauces that was given with the meal. Since we did takeout, I can’t confidently say exactly what each one was, but there was salsa, a hot sauce, and a sauce that reminded me of green goddess dressing. The salsa was fresh with minimal heat, the hot sauce was not overbearing, but the “green goddess” sauce was the winner. Creamy, flavorful, and had some kick to it, which I was not expecting. Overall I was very impressed with the food. Even my son’s chicken and rice from the kid’s menu was flavorful and something I would have for lunch regularly if it was around. Next order I will be dipping my toes into the waters of their birria offerings, if you catch my drift.
Again, because I care about all of you good people of Harvard, there are two shortcomings that I need to document, and neither has anything to do with the food. As mentioned previously, we did takeout for this outing. I placed my order online and picked it up myself. To order online, you must opt in to their email and mobile marketing. I have never experienced this practice before and it grinds my gears. Nobody needs more marketing email, especially when it’s mandated to place a takeout order.