Tortas Ahogadas

Honestly their is nothing similar around southbay like these tortas. The chef usually only makes between 80 – 120 of them per day so if you wanna score one you should get there early and claim yours. It’s nothing fancy just simple good cooking that she is passionate about. For spicy level it ranges from 1 – 10. If you want, start off at 5 and add on as you please. I usually start at 8 but then again I like my food really spicy personally. Most definitely a place to check out at least once and you be the judge.

Let me just start with how amazing this place is!!! The owner is amazing. Major sweetheart! Took these guys home the sauce was on the side. The family loved them! Even my 2 year old daughter. Got it with 5 as spicy and it was just right! Hands down I will be coming back and referring everyone I know over!

Ive been to guadalajara and am mexican. I have NEVER had torta augada with marinara sauce. Uhm no not even close to real tortas augadas! its a shame this place has such high ratings i seriously thought this was gross! PASS

I checked an app I had that lists places visited by TV shows, and this was in the area for my plans that night. I had had tortas before, including some in Guadalajara, but nothing soaked like this. I never liked French Dip growing up because I don’t like soggy bread. But this was not that. That had crunchy bread stayed that way and was so good. I enjoyed the sauce, and I kept it on the low spice side, although I think it would have been even better with more of a kick. Take the time to go down and grab a sandwich. The guy was very nice and very helpful. Hope they can keep going.

This is the most amazing and authentic «torta ahogada» that you can have in all south california! They even have «Tortas GEMMA». I used to lived in Guadalajara and seriously it was like a flashback! The chef was super nice! Everything was amazing and delicious

This was absolutely worth the drive to taste there Tortas.
We all had a #2 and it was delicious albeit very messy. We split a #1, with a heat range of 5 out of 1 to 10… Was way to spicy and I like spice. Next time I’ll try it at 2.
Again well worth the 1+ hour drive to give them a try.
You won’t regret it.

Best tortas I have ever had! We go there often. The bread is amazing and the spice level is crazy! A level 5 is like a level 10! There isn’t more than 3 things on the menu, but they are 3 great things!

Small little cart but wow the Tortas are good, if your passing by the 5 Fwy you should stop. Just a FYI it a messy sandwich so make sure you do not mine getting your face and hands dirty.

It is a food truck. It was on travel channel. So, yes, of course, I had to try it. Very barebones menu — I am sure you can find a picture of it in the Unilocal list with their 3 options.
The sandwich was delicious. The bread withstood the generous pouring of the sauce to drown the sandwich — hence ‘ahogado’, meaning ‘drowned’ in Spanish. Generous serving of meat inside, and onions on top. You get to pick the picante level from 1 to 10, and 6 was plenty spicy. The lady at the counter confirmed that I like spicy food. I have to admit, 6 was probably as high as I can handle if I am not doing it as a dare!
Small concrete benches outside for you to sit and enjoy the view of the Toys’R’Us parking lot, and the highway noise, while you partake in the food.
Have to go back to try the other options on the menu. Good novelty to try out, if you are in the neighborhood.

I had wanted to try this place for along time, and was not disappointed. I ordered my #1 with a spicy level of 10. Great seasoning. Very spicy. Very tasty. Yes, it was messy. It is supposed to be messy.
Looking forward to trying the other items on the limited menu.

The #2 is delicious!!! I recommend that over the #1 which is what Andrew Zimmerman eats on his show. The #2 has so much more flavor. Don’t expect a comfortable dining experience it’s next to the highway and it’s just a food truck. I give this 4 stars based sole on the taste of the food.

We tried the #1 and #2. They were both shredded pork sandwiches with hard baked bread and came soaked in a tomato sauce. #1 came w/​a regular sphaghetti sauce with red onions on top. #2 came w/​a spicy tomato basil soup or vodka like sauce and a spicy green mayo. The sandwiches were $ 7.50 each. Interesting to try if you haven’t had it before. I will be back to try #3.

Simply put, wow. Tried the OG and the chipotle and they were both out of this world. The bread is superb, the meat is succulent and the sauce is a crossroads from savory to sweet. Well worth the time and money. PS the lady behind the register was awesome!

I tired their food a while back, and I think it’s WAY over rated. Especially to get almost 5 stars? The bread just falls apart (not in a good way), and it’s just a big oh mess with not much taste to it at all. Bottom line, I have had better.

Great food, limited selection, and you might remember it from «Bizarre Foods» but this is a must. Great flavors and friendly staff. They specialize in a few greats, but it’s okay. If you’re visiting or living in SD metro, this is one place you can’t miss.

I believe this is a duplicate record of the El Gallito Tortas Ahogadas parked outside the Toys ‘R Us on Industrial. In any case…\\At last! I have finally discovered an authentic torta ahogada truck! After studying abroad in Guadalajara for five months, I was desperate to locate any shop in San Diego that sells these spicy, saucy treats. Tortas ahogadas are a staple in Guadalajara, but you’ll encounter difficulty locating them outside of the city, state of Jalisco, and certainly outside of Mexico. I can assure you that these tortas are legit. Karina Reed, the better-​half of the husband-​wife ownership, was genuinely excited to serve me, a once upon a time Guadalajaran, to a scrumptious, nostalgic meal.
Tortas Ahogadas are pork sandwiches doused in a spicy tomato/​chile sauce. It literally translates to «drowned sandwich.» The bread is birote or bolillo, a hard-​crusted, shorter French loaf. The pork is pierna (leg), but to the Mexican food amateur, essentially like carnitas. Some versions of a torta ahogada features refried beans spread on the insides of the loaves, but this one forgoes the beans. It’s messy enough. These tortas are topped with marinated red onions that lend an extra kick to the dish, which is already spicy and flavorful enough. And, of course, the tortas are then drowned in a spicy chile de arból/​tomato sauce. They provide you with a small plastic spoon. «How do you eat a sandwich with a spoon,» you ask? You don’t. Pick it up! Eat it with your hands! Lick your fingers! The spoon is there so you can lap up the spicy, saucy goodness afterwards. Embrace the messiness!
The menu is simple. #1 Original Torta Ahogada. #2 Gemma Torta Ahogada. #3 Tostadas. They offer canned sodas, bottled water, and aguas frescos. You order at the truck’s counter, and loiter until it’s ready, which only takes a couple minutes. The original is spicier and authentic. The #2 Gemma incorporates a creamy chipotle sauce that takes some of the heat away.
They accept major credit cards, but I would bring cash in small bills. I don’t think Karina had a lot of small bills in her drawer, because she was unable to make change for a $ 20 so I could tip her! In any case, I bought a diet coke while I was waiting for my friend, so I attained a few singles for the tip jar.

Been wanting to go here after watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman & finally did today! It was definitely good & juicy! Totally worth the drive down if you’re not from around the area. My work is just a couple exits away so I’ll definitely be coming here more often now!

Very messy! Be ready with your napkins.
This is the first torta ahogada that I’ve tried and I was a bit disappointed. I decided to come try this place after seeing it on bizarre foods. The carnitas in it was flavorful but not really that much better than at the local Mexican markets. So that’s why I gave it an average rating. The sauce was alright. May have been better if I ordered it hotter because they ask you from 1 – 10 how hot you want it. I ordered a 5 to be safe. The tostadas were average as well. The agua de mango was really good tho. Read the signs because sometimes they don’t have certain traditional drinks available on certain days. What I really like about this place is the simple menu. Only a few items (~3 dishes if I remember correctly) so there’s no fuss about it. I’d recommend it especially if you haven’t had tortas ahogadas. I guess it just wasn’t exactly to my taste since I’m not a local but still good.

I did a «Best of San Diego — Bizarre Foods» edition one gloomy Saturday afternoon. It was a lot of fun but the restaurants that Andrew Zimmern went to were pretty meh. We started at the lamb place (review for there upcoming) and hit this Torta truck second. The sandwiches were not as amazing as I had hoped. In fact, they were pretty sub par after all the build up from watching the show and having to drive all the way to Chula Vista. Don’t get me wrong, the flavors on the sandwiches were good, I just don’t think it’s worth the trip.
They only have 2 types of sandwiches. From what I gathered from the lady inside the truck, each sandwich is the same on the inside, it’s just smothered in a different sauce. I wish I knew the exact details but all of the food signs were in Spanish. One sandwich was spicy and one sandwich was creamy deliciousness. Between the 7 of us we split one of each. If you can imagine, it was quite messy lol. There was no knife available so we put caution (and sanitation) to the wind and each just dug in and shared. I enjoyed the flavors but the bread they use is too hard for my liking. The sauce they dunk it in softens it up a bit, but it still has too much of a bite, and reminds me of stale wheat bread. I would much rather prefer the torta be served on a typical torta roll.
All in all, it’s a food truck in a not so easy to get to location, the lady, although cordial, was not the most energetic, and the food seems lacking and not worth the effort to get there. If I lived a lot closer, I might try it again, but I give it 3 stars because the flavors were there, it just needed different packaging. I’m okay with places that only sell one or 2 things, but the food here wasn’t up to par to pull that off.

Pretty much just piling on to what everyone else has said. The owner is really nice and helpful. I ordered the two main choices, the Ahogadas and the Gemma. Both are good but for different reasons. The Gemma is richer and layered in flavors. The original Ahogada is spicier and less rich. Try both!
We went on a Saturday afternoon and there was no wait at all.
Now some hints to help the expectation and dining experience.
*It is toward the corner of the lot, it may not seem obvious but keep driving in.
*There are cement patio tables to eat at.
*The food is served on a plastic bag wrapped plastic plate. This makes clean up easy. You will also get one paper towel and one plastic spoon.
*You will get messy. Try eating with one hand to minimize the issue.
*You will not get cutlery to eat the wet torta with. The spoon is for the sauce. Just pick it up and enjoy.
*Bring wet naps for afterwards. Seriously.
*unlike most places, when you ask for a level 5 spicy, it will be a level 5. 6 or 7 is pretty damn hot.
*When you are done, toss the aluminum drink can in the recycling bin and the bag of juice and napkin mess in the other bin and return the plastic plate.
Enjoy