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Torta
A torta ahogada (drowned submarine sandwich) is a typical dish from the Mexican state of Jalisco, particularly in the city of Guadalajara
By Annelise Kelly
Endlessly versatile, economical and take-out friendly, the eternal appeal of the sandwich has earned it a prime spot on industry trend lists for several years. According to Datassential’s FoodBytes June 2017 Sandwiches Keynote Report, “…sandwiches can be the perfect vehicle for leveraging a number of industry trends—from customization (over a third of consumers choose sandwiches over other foods because of the ability to personalize) to growing interest in healthy, better-for-you ingredients…” Technomic chimes in from its 2018 Sandwich Consumer Trend Report, noting that 39 percent of consumers overall and 54 percent of millennials want restaurants to offer more sandwiches with new or unique flavors. And the company’s Foodservice Prepared Sandwich Category report, released in February 2017, also touts the ongoing appeal of the sandwich category.
“…Burgers and other traditional sandwiches remain the prominent choice for consumers who eat handhelds away from home today. However, with millennial and generation Z consumers growing in spending power and cultural influence, ethnic flavors and non-conventional formats are redefining what Americans typically identify as a standard sandwich,” Dave Henkes, senior principal of Technomic’s Advisory Group, writes. “These unique formats and flavors will only grow as these younger populations continue to mature.”
REGIONAL ROOTS
Mexico’s top handheld may be the taco, but the country proudly serves a vast variety of sandwiches throughout its 31 states. In the U.S., the torta dominates, but exceptions exist: Consider Cemitas Puebla in Chicago, devoted to the cemita— a regional specialty of Puebla characterized by a soft, round bun scattered with sesame-seeds. In fact, the cemita ranked highest in a list of global sandwiches that are “gaining traction with U.S. consumers,” with 46 percent of respondents saying they want to try this ethnic sandwich, Datassential reports.
Why does the torta reign supreme? Pedro Reyes, author of ¡Acá las Tortas!, thinks it comes down to regional ingredients. “The thing is that cemitas, pambazos, cochinita tortas, tortas ahogadas, [and] chanclas are pretty regional. You cannot find all those varieties in the same city. Perhaps in Mexico City, but they will never be as good as in their hometown. And they are regional because they are made of specific regional ingredients—including bread! I guess what U.S. restaurants should better worry about is not to include all of them but to make their very best version of a torta (or a cemita, or a pambazo), or maybe simply not copying all those styles and focusing on the best Mexican torta they could accomplish.”
By any name, sandwiches are champions of versatility and satisfaction. What’s the key to their appeal?
“The complexity of the layering of the different flavors and textures, that’s what makes it unique,” says Chef Roberto Santibañez, author of Tacos, Tortas and Tamales. “You generally have this spread of black beans, then the meat, then the cheese, the pickled jalapeño, the creamy avocado, the raw onions. Then you have everything you need in life. You have the softness, the crunch, the flavors: A wonderful universe where things live very happy together.”
STAR PLAYER OR SUPPORTING ROLE?
In U.S. Mexican restaurants, sandwiches play a variety of roles. Some restaurants focus on sandwiches as the foundation of their business, others present just one or two tortas alongside a variety of entrees. Some places put an upscale farm-to-table spin on their product, others are focused on hearty, affordable, simple food for the masses.
Cemitas Puebla has attracted a cult following for its cemitas, which are made with bread owner Tony Anteliz says is similar to a French brioche and is topped with the sesame seeds (which earns the bread its name). He also asserts that a true cemita has avocado, chipotle peppers, Oaxacan cheese and the herb papalo. Customers can choose from eight versions of this classic Pueblan sandwich, including carne asada, al pastor, jamon and Milanesa (a breaded cutlet), and the press-generating The Atomica stuffed with grilled pork loin, Milanesa and jamon. Indecisive customers can choose a flight of three mini cemitas. (The rest of the menu is limited to tacos and side dishes.)
Another Chicago sandwich institution is Rick Bayless’ Xoco, where tortas are the specialty of the house. With three breakfast tortas and over a dozen more varieties on the menu, Xoco offers high-end assemblages with organic, artisanal ingredients. Fillings include braised goat, wood-roasted mushrooms and Florida shrimp. Caldos, tacos, chilaquiles and huevos rancheros round out the selection.
Güero No. 1 Tortas started as a cart in Portland, Oregon, and its current brick-and-mortar location earned a nod from Bon Appetit magazine for the torta ahogada, a saucy-but-notsoggy masterpiece from Jalisco, stuffed with carnitas and drowned in achiote tomato sauce. The restaurant also accommodates alternative diets with gluten-free, vegetarian-friendly bowls and gluten-free posole.
Cook’s Tortas in Monterey Park, a suburb of Los Angeles, offers sandwiches ranging from authentically Mexican to purely American. The restaurant’s changing chalkboard includes Bacalao with slow cooked Spanish-style cod, red peppers and olives; Molcajete with grilled beef, grilled cheese, hot salsa toreada and black bean spread; and Cochinita with Yucatan style pork, onion escabeche, black beans and crema. The local influence shines in the California, with grilled chicken, tomato cream, salsa, avocado and fried sage. Other American combos include Cajun Fish, with blackened fish, beans and remoulade, and a shrimp po’ boy with avocado-red onion remoulade. Vegetarians have a few options, like the Portobello Melt, and four salads satisfy the gluten-free.
San Diego’s Casa Rustica, launched in July 2018, keeps one torta on a menu that focuses on upscale, authentic Mexican entrees. Chef de Cuisine Job Herrera values tortas for their variety and versatility, but finds guests aren’t familiar with them. “We encourage them to try it—we want them to understand it’s Mexico’s sandwich,” says Herrera, who started the sandwich rotation with the classic Milanesa, and recently switched to a carnitas breakfast torta. “You can make any torta a breakfast torta by adding eggs.”
THE KEY TO SANDWICH SUCCESS
Experts agree that bread quality will make or break your sandwich.
“It’s life or death,” contends Reyes, who offers a purist’s perspective. “Not only do you need a very good bread, you have to know which bread goes with each torta: telera, bolillo, birote, chapata, baguette.” Mexico City-style sandwiches usually feature telera, while the salsa-soacked tortas ahogadas from Guadalajara are prepared in birote, which is “a bit more rigid, a bit more salty,” he adds. “It has to do with how authentic you want to be,” Santibañez notes. “People say it’s illegal to make a torta on a ciabatta. First, a good telera is very hard to find, to find them delivered to you is seven times more difficult. Instead of a terrible telera, use a good ciabatta. I think you can do it, there’s no reason to roll your eyes. I’d rather use a beautiful baguette, which resembles a bolillo, than a bad telera.”
At Casa Rustica, corporate chef Cesar Garcia and chef de cuisine Herrera agree that bread is foremost: “Find a good bread or make it yourself.” At Cook’s Tortas, they do the latter, baking wood-fired ciabatta-style rolls perfected by a family member who is also a top baker at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon.
Balance and harmony of ingredients are also musts. “Find a good bread, don’t overstuff it,” says Santibañez. “There’s a balance…make something you can put in your mouth and eat comfortably. It’s ok to get a little messy but not triple-decker messy. Make sure you have the crunch, the acidity and a good protein to balance it, make sure it has all the elements to bring up texture and flavor.”
A QUESTION OF AUTHENTICITY
The perpetual question of authenticity lingers. As illustrated at the menu at Cook’s Tortas, the torta has been known to breed with other sandwiches, whether it’s a po’ boy or a bahn mi. Santibañez, for one, is wary of fusion efforts. “When you break that perfect universe it’s hard to be satisfied. For example, people start adding siracha but it tastes weird—the sweet and the garlic don’t belong on a Mexican sandwich.”
When considering the vast and valued pantheon of Mexican sandwich options, Reyes counsels caution: “Now if you can accomplish a good cemita, then you better call it ‘cemita’ rather than just simply calling it ‘torta.’ But first you have to get there. That’s the real challenge…because it is easy to name them as authentically as possible, but are they really what the name describes? I think this happens with any kind of food replicated outside its original place. Take a guy from Puebla asking for a cemita in San Francisco. It better be a cemita or he will be sad as hell. In that case, you better call it a torta and not oversell anything.”
Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer and a regular
contributor to el Restaurante.