Tortas Ahogadas: La Playita, Guadalajara

Stepping inside from street food, but not too much inside (since half the restaurant is entirely open to the street), is La Playita, a loncheria reccomended by locals for its tortas ahogadas. Tortas ahogadas, literally translated as drowned sandwich as it is served swimming in a pool of red chili sauce, is one of the prized dishes of Guadalajara. Coming from Los Angeles, I've been sort of infatuated with this sandwich after reading Jonathon Gold' s encounters. 

La Playita has been around since 1935. Also, I am a sucker for neon pink lights. 

Starting off with a cool glass of strawberry horchata, my two compadres and I prepared ourselves for a sandwich nearly impossible to find in Portland.

Birote bread is used for these tortas, having a thick, crunchy crust to withstand the sauce. The torta ahogada came out like a baby, big, hot and wet. There were big chunks of freshly hacked pork stuffed inside the soft bread. My two (female) compadres kind of scratched our heads not knowing how to attack this thing. It was meaty, juicy, and big in every way imaginable.

Man Food Porn Alert

Two more tortas were sampled for good measure, my favorite being the simple Panela, a vegetarian sandwich made with the fresh, mild panela cheese, onions, tomatoes and chili sauce. 

The Pierna Encebollado was also tasty, with grilled onions and grilled pork. The thick tomato slices and mayonnaise dabs provided a pleasant contrast to the caramelized onions. 

Loncherias La Playita
Av. Juárez #242
Colonia Centro
Guadalajara, Jalisco
3614-5747

Stepping inside from street food, but not too much inside (since half the restaurant is entirely open to the street), is La Playita, a loncheria reccomended by locals for its tortas ahogadas. Tortas ahogadas, literally translated as drowned sandwich as it is served swimming in a pool of red chili sauce, is one of the prized dishes of Guadalajara. Coming from Los Angeles, I've been sort of infatuated with this sandwich after reading Jonathon Gold' s encounters. 

La Playita has been around since 1935. Also, I am a sucker for neon pink lights. 

Starting off with a cool glass of strawberry horchata, my two compadres and I prepared ourselves for a sandwich nearly impossible to find in Portland.

Birote bread is used for these tortas, having a thick, crunchy crust to withstand the sauce. The torta ahogada came out like a baby, big, hot and wet. There were big chunks of freshly hacked pork stuffed inside the soft bread. My two (female) compadres kind of scratched our heads not knowing how to attack this thing. It was meaty, juicy, and big in every way imaginable.

Man Food Porn Alert

Two more tortas were sampled for good measure, my favorite being the simple Panela, a vegetarian sandwich made with the fresh, mild panela cheese, onions, tomatoes and chili sauce. 

The Pierna Encebollado was also tasty, with grilled onions and grilled pork. The thick tomato slices and mayonnaise dabs provided a pleasant contrast to the caramelized onions. 

Loncherias La Playita
Av. Juárez #242
Colonia Centro
Guadalajara, Jalisco
3614-5747