Last Thursday, I was taking one of my long walks, and I came to a restaurant about a block from the Paseo de la Reforma called "El Pialadero de Guadalajara". I had passed the place many times but had never eaten there. I decided to give it a try.
The specialty of the house is something that comes from Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city. It's called a "torta ahogada". I've talked about "tortas" before. They are a kind of sandwich on a crusty roll, somewhat comparable to a sub sandwich. "Ahogada" means drowned. The sandwich which is filled with "carnitas" (braised, shredded pork) is completely submerged in sauce. There are two different kinds of sauce that are used. One is very spicy using vinegar, cumin and fiery "chile de árbol". The other kind of sauce, which is what this restaurant uses, is a milder tomato-based sauce.
When the waiter served me the sandwich, he also offered me a plastic glove, because eating this drowned sandwich is very messy. (No knife and fork are offered. You eat this with your hands.) As you can see, the "torta" is served in a bowl, and after eating the sandwich, you then eat the sauce like a soup.
I had heard of "tortas ahogadas" before, but, after fifty years of traveling to Mexico, this was the very first time that I had eaten one. The dish is beloved by the people of Guadalajara. I wouldn't say that that it is my new favorite, but it was tasty. I would come back here again.
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