Bandoleros
This might be an unlikely place to find super fresh, super authentic and super delicious Mexican cuisine, and yet, here we are. We're in a little strip mall in Concord, Massachusetts, at a restaurant named Bandoleros. And if you're looking for tacos, tequila and some of the best churros you will ever taste this is the place to go.
As soon as you walk into Bandoleros, you know that this is not your typical Mexican restaurant. It's very stylish, from the tile floors to the beautiful murals up on the wall to the lighting overhead, a super cool bar, a massive selection of tequilas and mezcals and craft cocktails. It's the kind of place you want to come in for lunch or dinner and then just hang out for a few hours.
The owner of this place is Elmer Melendez. He’s a really interesting guy. He spent a lot of time in Mexico, and he is obsessed with real deal Mexican cooking. Now, the menu at Bandoleros is really authentic. Chef Luis is a true Mexican master. He knows all the real ingredients, the real techniques with recipes that date back centuries. So let's dig into the food.
To start out with some appetizers, you definitely want some small plates to share here. And you want to start with the corn, or as they call it, the Elote Preparado. This is like Mexican street corn, but they do it in a totally different way. They actually serve corn ribs. These are sections of corn on the cob that have been sliced so they literally look like you're eating some barbecue spare ribs mixed with a blend of chipotle aioli, some Tajin, some ancho spices, and a little sprinkle of cotija cheese over the top, this is vibrant, tasty, absolutely addictive.
If you are a cheese lover, an absolute must on this menu is the Queso Fundido. Essentially, this is a skillet full of piping hot Mexican cheeses. We're talking Chihuahua cheese and Oaxaca cheese. I recommend taking it over the top and throwing in some of their house made chorizo, that chorizo sausage has so much depth of flavor. Dip that tortilla into the cheese, get a nice stretchy cheese, pull going, and you are going to have one cheesy day.
It is Taco Time. This is actually one of the only restaurants I know of in this area that serves real deal blue corn tortillas. They use corn that is imported straight from Mexico. They make them by hand every day, throughout the day. It's hard to choose a favorite taco, but Elmer's personal favorite is the pork belly taco. Glazed pork belly, pineapple, some pickled onions, cilantro and avocado mousse, full of flavor, full of fat, full of richness, full of yumminess. My personal favorite taco, without a doubt, is the birria taco, super slow cooked shredded beef. They take the tortillas and they actually dip them in the sauce. When they grill them, add a little cheese, you stack that shredded beef onto the tortilla and onion and cilantro. And what makes the birria taco really special is the side that comes with it. So it comes with a bowl of beef consommé, basically all of the delicious drippings where they make that beef goes into essentially a soup. You take that crispy, cheesy beef taco, dip it into that consummate to really get the juices flowing. Absolutely incredible taco.
The vast majority of this menu is authentic Mexican, but there are a few Tex-Mex options here as well, and the fajitas are definitely an American Mexican mashup. I mean, is there anything better than the smell of fresh grilled fajitas wafting through the dining room. I like the Texas fajita that has a combination of shrimp and chicken and steak. So you got a lot of protein and a lot of veggies. Throw down your tortilla, little shrimp, some veggies, maybe a little guac. Wrap it up for yourself, and you're having a little personal fajita party.
Now it is time for dessert. You got a sweet tooth, and you want to keep it authentic, you want to get the Tres Leches cake. It's light, it's sweet, it's dense. You got cake. You got three milks and yes, yes, yes, it's delicious. If you want to try a dessert that is really special, though, you got to roll right into these churros. The churro batter is made here fresh every single day, they deep fry it, they dip it and roll it into some cinnamon and sugar, and it comes with a variety of three different sauces, homemade berry sauce, tres leches and then a chocolate sauce. And also, there's a surprise inside, as if the churros weren't good enough already, believe it or not, inside, they are stuffed with Dulce de leche, hot dough, cinnamon and sugar, Dulce de leche, three different sauces all in a rolling cart. We're going for the churro taste test. I think I have to retire. I think I've hit the pinnacle, literally, top 10 things I've eaten all year. That one bite, that's ridiculous. If I'm looking for great, authentic, delicious flavors and amazing drinks, I come right here to Bandoleros in Concord.
