El Cuadrilatero, Mexico City:El Gladiador, El Super Astro's Ultimate Torta Throwdown

I have no idea how we ended up at a torteria made famous by a giant sandwich developed by a luchador(wrestler) after two weeks of relentless, gluttony, but there we were.My plan was to stroll Mexico City and look around, and possibly grab a nibble somewhere. I had stayed another day just to recuperate from Aromas y Sabores, a 2-week long stretch of eating through 5 states in Mexico with 90 others. The trip was led by famous Mexican chef and dear friend, Patricia Quintana.

Colombian Chef Pablo Aya, a new friend I made on the trip wanted to check out a market, maybe the Merced? I couldn't believe how indecisive I was that day, wait, THAT'S how I ended up face to face with 1.3 kilos of sandwich,it was a moment of weakness!So much for a light salad and a stroll. We started at the Mercado Mercado Medellin to check out the produce and food stalls before heading off to Cafeteria El Cuadrilatero Jr.(the wrestling ring), a sandwich battleground.


The signature item here is El Gladiador(Gladiator), a recipe from a Lucha Libre wrestler from Tijuana called el Super Astro.


His ex-wife, Guadalupe runs the place now, with over 30 years in the business, el Super Astro is still jumpin' off the top rope in Tijuana,"Lucha Libre por la vida." I thought to talk the guys into a regular torta, another new friend Hernan had joined us, but the regular tortas are as big as the telera roll being held in Guadalupe's hand.Sheesh,there's no easy out here, it's go big or go home.

"We might as well share the Gladiador",said Pablo,"I mean...we're here." Makes sense to me.So much for the post-2 week feeding frenzy detox!


El Super Astro's son is definitely not up for the challenge,but was a good sport when mom made him put on the mask

The challenge, eat the Gladiador in 15 minutes or less and it's on the house. You also get your name added to the list of only 99 other mortals who've achieved this extreme eating feat. "About 2 try each week",teased Guadalaupe,"but only 99 have finished the torta in the 20 years we've been in business, the last one was in February." Oh yeah, 100 is up for grabs. You'll get a Cuadrilatero torta in addition to getting your Gladiador comped for being the 100th to eat this behemoth within 15 minutes,plus bragging rights.


On the walls are photos and memorabilia from el Super Astro's still relevant career.


He even keeps a vigilant watch, Juan Ramirez, Luchador and master tortero,El Super Astro.This is his arena, his recipe, think you can pin this torta?


A wrestling ring of 8 eggs with fistfuls of chorizo piled on. It's then cut into rectangular omelettes to fit on the subway-style telera roll.


Bacon sizzles, and wennies roast; a bed of ham for the egg-chorizo omelettes to rest upon is made.


Oaxacan cheese, practically a whole ball of it to make this torta seems to be plenty, but wait, there's more. There are avocadoes too, and some other vegetable hidden in the mound of ingredients.


Thin slices of chicken and steak are the final ingredients, delicately stacked on top along with the hotdogs.

In a triumphant double spautula hold, this seasoned tortero, 5 years with El Cuadrilatero, casually lifts the torta for us to snap a few pictures.Be sure to drop a bowl of their superb chipotle salsa on the sandwich, it's to die for.



The torta itself is delicious, nothing magical here, just a lot of greasy goodness under one roof.You really get to taste all the ingredients, there's so much of everything, you're sure not to miss any element.


Even dividing the torta into thirds, we still had a whole plate of food leftover. I can't even imagine that a person could finish this. My 1/3 Gladiador kicked my ass.

We sure tried, but El Super Astro, you're too much even for this tag team.


Here's Pablo demonstrating the power of the mighty Gladiador. It took us each a moment to figure out how to go about eating this beast.


Pablo and Hernan ponder the size of the Gladiador

1.3 kilos of uber-rich torta in 15 minutes,or, bring some friends and put your heads together, we think this can feed four, easily. It costs about $17 for the Gladiador.There are other tortas and food items on the menu, and even a Gladiador Jr.,(half a Gladiador) but you're in El Super Astro's house and he's calling you out. Think you got the stomach for this?

Cafeteria El Cuadrilatero
Luis Moya 73
Mexico City, Mexico
(55)5521-3060
7am-8pm Mon-Sat

Super Cemitas Alex,Puebla,Mexico-Cemitas Poblanas, Torta's High Society Sister

What makes a great sandwich? Surely, we can all assemble one, and could likely put together any sandwich ever invented. We can buy fine ingredients, cover any substitutions, and do so with ease. I recently was presented this unusual position and thought about it some.

The cemita poblana is one of Puebla's culinary treasures. It consists of a sesame studded cemita roll, various meat options, papalo(summer cilantro),onion, quesillo(Oaxacan string cheese) or queso blanco(white cheese), sliced avocado, and chipotle or pickled red chile serrano.
But, it was a long journey of ingredients and invention to arrive at this delectable sandwich.

The cemita roll is a cross between a Spanish bizcocho de sal(a long and firm bread) and a galleta hueca, like a French roll. It developed as a unique bread roll during the colonial period, where the original cemita poblana was very different than it is today. Back then it was filled with potatoes,beans, and cactus, since meat was out of the economic reach of Spain's subjects.

The first home of the cemita poblana artisans was in the Mercado Victoria. Many of the sandwich makers experimented with fillings but a new sandwich with pickled cow's feet, onions, papalo, and serrano or chipotle peppers was a smash hit. Other meats were used and other styles of cemitas poblanas developed like in Izucar de Matamoros,Puebla, where carnitas are the filling of choice. There they are known as semivolcanes.

In 1913, the sandwich was given its trademark sesame seed decor.

Today, the Mercado Carmen in the city of Puebla is a popular place for cemitas poblanas as well as the Mercado Venustiano Carranza. Backed in August of 2009, I stopped by the Mercado Carmen entranced by the thunder created by rolling pin armed women pulverizing milanesas into cardboard thin steaks. But, I wasn't quite ready for this heavy lunch after taking in some other Pueblan delights.


After a bit of a stroll I entered the Mercado Venustiano Carranza for my first cemita poblana in Mexico, excited?Yes. A lot came of this little day excursion to Puebla.

There were plenty of fondas to choose from, all sandwich specialists. I looked at Antojitos Lupita and As de Oro, which my friend Javier Cabral dove into earlier this past year. So many cemitas poblanas, so little metabolism.

I settled on Super Cemitas Alex, with ham,foot,chicken,milanesa, pork leg in adobo, pork leg, head cheese, and barbacoa all screaming for their chance to be a part of my first cemita on Pueblan ground. The cemitas of the Venustiano Carranza Market are big, super cemitas!

This fonda had all the right stuff, a tempting tray of pickled cow's feet, and high quality cheeses. They've doing this for thirty-one years.

The butterfly herb,papalo, a pungent flavored green, is that guest at your party that's a bit funky, but you'll never throw another soiree without him.

Chiles don't come with your cemita poblana, they are a table condiment for you to choose your spice profile. Smoky house made chipotles or pickled serranos are both full of fruit and snappy heat.

But, the sandwich maker? He is an artisan that constructs the sandwich day in and day out, relying on a blueprint that has been rehearsed and perfected. He uses Reed avocados, and the bread? Only one bread maker supplies the bread for all the stalls in the Mercado Venustiano Carranza, the Dominguez-Bastran family, and they've done so for more than 30 years.

A woman named Guadalupe and her sisters carry a family ritual that has continued for more than thirty years. They bake in a community bakery nearby each day, fresh, and fashioned in Pueblan tradition.

The cemita poblana is beautiful, in harmonious design. Much more elegant than its street wise Chilango(from Mexico City) brother, the torta. The construction is essential, the sandwich maker crafts your flavor experience with ingredients and precise placement.

A half sandwich reveals Super Cemitas Alex's proportions. Cheese dominates here, then avocado, followed by papalo,and the thinest layer of pork milanesa, my choice for this anticipated event. In Puebla, you can go with the mozarella-like quesillo or the more mild and soft queso blanco.

The top roll is made thin by tearing out the insides, great for making migas,a Mexican bread and pork spine soup .

Making a great sandwich requires an sandwich specialist, the best common ingredients, and an artisanal bread maker. It's affordable because it's the food of the working class, a mid-afternoon caloric windfall for the hungry masses. In Puebla, the cemita poblana has been shaped by and standardized by the soul and ingenuity of the Pueblans. They aren't as good outside Puebla, and a novice can merely make a decent sandwich, or a home version.

My cemita poblana of tender milanesa at Super Cemitas Alex, deftly fried, perfect give of bread, and the forward flavors of bright cheese was marvelous. The extra richness of the Reed avocados and pack of acrid papalo are sensational, all ingredients working together perfect unison. My friend Rodrigo who came with me on this trip from Mexico City laughed how good it was.

Superior sandwich making belongs to the artisans that preserve those traditions, whose lives are pledged to a single task. The torta, the torta ahogada, the pambazo, the pastrami, the choripan, the croque-monsieur, and the banh mi.

We can all make a good or even great sandwich, but Puebla and in the spirits of poblanos artisanos(Artisanal Pueblan sandwich makers) is where the cemita poblana shines.

Super Cemitas Alex

mornings and until the market closes, around 5PM.

Mercado Venustiano Carranza,227

Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza(Puebla City), Puebla

Mexico

011-52-222-246-3301

011-52-222-294-4964

Tortas Wash Mobile,Tijuana,BC: A Torta Like No Otha

Tortas Wash Mobile comes with a 100% stamped seal of approval from all walks in Tijuana. When you ask around,"What's good to eat here in Tijuana?",you'll get different answers from different classes and generations, but one thing everyone can agree on is the torta at Tortas Wash Mobile.

They've been around since 1964 serving one kind of torta. The shack is named after the car wash that used to be by the iconic sandwich spot, but long after the car wash had faded from memory , the torta has remained.

The torta epicenter of Mexico is in Mexico City, where stands serve all kinds of meats, cheeses, and toppings. The sandwich is often named after famous models and actresses. In Mexican male culture, the torta is often likened to a sexy and voluptuous woman, plump and tasty.

Other famed members of the family of Mexico's sandwiches are the cemita(Puebla), torta ahogada(Jalisco), and the pambazo(Mexico City) to name a few.

But, perhaps the torta of carne asada known in Tijuana as the torta Wash Mobile is truly without peer.While other sandwiches compete in their respective categories, the torta Wash Mobile has no rivals. It is simply perfection for no motivation other than the pride of its founders.

Just ask Tijuana's movers and shakers Patty San Roman, or the Food Network's chef Marcela Valladolid, who is serving tortas Wash Mobile at her upcoming birthday party. Could there be anything greater than this torta?


The little shack on a quite street just a little ways off the frenetic Bl. Agua Caliente pulls no punches. The meat is grilled over mesquite.


The cut of steak is mariposa, or butterfly cut.


The taquero cuts the tender steak on a traditional cutting board, and then deposits


the mouth-watering bits to rest in their own juices while the sandwich is being constructed.

In place of the telera roll is a slender house made roll that resembles ciabatta bread. They call it a telera, too, and it is made at their commisary. Why? The torta at this temple of Tijuanan individualism breaks all the rules, and the result is other wordly.


The bread also is warmed on the grill then a thin layer of mayonnaise is applied to the buns.

A seasoned tomato and purple onion vinaigrette adds an acidity and a brilliant tang to this minimalist torta.


The last element is a dreamy guacamole. Carne asada, topped with a tomato and purple onion vinaigrette, guacamole, stuffed between a ciabatta like roll.This is the torta perfected.

Even more confounding is that this torta is a morning to early afternoon sandwich, not the usual afternoon meal as it is in DF. But, this torta is much lighter than its chilango (from DF) cousin, so you won't be ruined for the afternoon comida, Mexico's most important meal of the day.

Tortas Wash Mobile has a newer branch that is modeled after an American chain style of strip mall eatery, but most any Tijuana resident will tell you that the original is the place to go. This is the best torta in Tijuana, simple, delicious, and perhaps the greatest sandwich in Mexico.

Tortas Wash Mobile
Jalisco just south of Bl. Agua Caliente
past the Pemex station.
mornings 'til about 2pm.