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The torta ahogada, or “drunken sandwich”, is the king of Mexican sandwiches. Mightier than the torta Cubano, or even the Mexico City-style pambazo, this symbolic sandwich of Guadalajara is a mammoth creature of meat, bread, and sauce that will leave its mark on your hands, your face, and most likely your shirt.
In other words, you don’t eat the torta ahogada — you go to battle with it.
You can find this king of Mexican sandwiches, along with authentic Mexican street food and Guadalajaran specialties, at Tortas Ahogadas Guadalajara. A bustling little eatery inside the Mercado Plaza del Sol in Chandler, there’s enough tasty and affordable eats here to make this adventure into a mini-community of Mexican culture worth the trip.
Here’s an excerpt from my review this week:
“You will be given a knife and fork. But know the cutlery is for picking up the remains left in the shallow, onion-shaped bowl the torta ahogada arrives — and is barely contained — in. To use them otherwise would be to stand out as a true gabacho among the émigrés of Guadalajara’s state of Jalisco. You will need to attack this Mexican sandwich with your bare hands. And hope for the best.”
Hungry for more? Read the full review of Tortas Ahogadas Guadalajara.
