Cook's Tortas

Cook's Tortas
1944 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park
323-278-3536

I heard that Cook's Torta had a wide variety of torta and not the usual meats you get at most Mexican restaurants. I have heard Cook's Torta described as a Mexican fusion, but whatever. I just wanted to see if the tortas were good.

Cook's Torta has no sign on the front or west facing part of the store. I was coming south on Atlantic and missed it, because the only sign is on the south side of the building, and not visible when driving south on Atlantic. Anyways, a quick legal u-turn and I was there. From the looks of this building, this was an old Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I looked at there wall menu, the north side wall, has their entire torta menu. All tortas are $7.79 and includes one side. I got the shrimp Po'Boy-spice battered shrimp, avocado-red onion remoulade, and lettuce.

WOW, was this great. The torta was bursting with shrimp, always a good sign when they pile on the meat. The bread was a soft chewy, almost ciabatta like bread, that was slighty and perfectly toasted, and stood up very well to all the remoulade and shrimp. The avocado-red onion remoulade was mixed well with mayo and added a subtle taste to the torta. But the best part was the shrimp. It was so fresh, it may have been in the Pacific Ocean that morning. It was well seasoned with some chili power and cumin. It was lightly battered and fried to perfectly.

Service by the cashier was OK. She just went through the motions. She wasn't the most friendly or welcoming person. Service by the girl who brought my food, was good. She was nice and friendly. They call out the number, as they are walking to the table. When they called my number, I was looking around for my receipt, which had dropped to the floor. I kind of raised my hand, she came over and gave me my order. I told her I can't find the receipt, but she said don't worry about. I did find it as she was leaving.

I would go back just for this shrimp po' boy, but I do want to try a couple of their other tortas.

La Placita Del D.F.-Closed

La Placita Del D.F. 1859 E 1st St Los Angeles 323-780-8232 There are many great restaurants near the Metrorail subway system in LA. The Gold Line extension, that goes east to Atlantic Blvd, has been nicknamed Sushi-Torta Express, because it goes to Little Tokyo and East LA. I decided to see for myself what the, torta portion of the Sushi-Torta Express has to offer. So I took the Gold Line to the Mariachi Plaza station and went to La Placita Del D.F., which is about a two block walk from the station. I noticed a torta on the menu and go the torta Milanesa-breaded steak, $4.25, with mayo, cheese, and breaded steak. I loved the bread, lightly toasted, with a nice crust and nice chewy texture and held up well to all the steak. But I didn't like how fatty the steak was, just too much fat and gristle. The pieces of actual steak was a bit tough and chewy. This was really a greasy mess. Service was pretty good, but if you don't speak Spanish, it's all point at pictures. I wouldn't go back to La Placita Del D.F., at least not for the torta. My next stop along the sushi-torta express Gold Line is Liliana's Tamales.

Birrieria Moreno's

Birrieria Moreno's
1745 S Mountain Ave
Ontario
909-395-5567

I am a fan of hole in the wall Mexican places. Most of them have great tacos with good quality meats, like Taqueria De Anda. Too bad Birrieria Moreno's isn't one of them.

I ordered a el pastor, carne asada, and carnitas tacos, a carne asada torta and a soda, $12.99!!!
First of all the tacos have too much cilantro and onions for my tastes. The el pastor was the most flavorful taco, with nice blend of spices. But the pork was fatty and tough. Not a big fan.

The carne asada taco was terrible. WAY too much fat!!! Some of the fat was fried to a crisp, not good.

The carnitas taco was OK. Not much flavor though.

The carne asada taco torta was also very, very fatty. How can they serve such bad meat? There was barely any beans, lettuce or sour cream on the torta. The bun was pretty good, nicely grilled, but soft on the outside and held up well to the meat, beans, and lettuce. But who cares if the meat is terrible.

Service is OK. But this is a very expensive place. Tacos are $1.50, the torta was $4.75. What a ripoff especially when you consider how bad the meats were. I would not come back here again. As I left I saw they had a B rating from the health department.

Molcasalsa

Molcasalsa
580 Beach Blvd.
La Habra
562-691-0035

You want fast, quick Mexican food at inexpensive prices? Go to Molcasalsa. They have good Mexican food at great prices. Nothing on the menu is over $5.50 and that's for a combo with beans and rice. Tacos for $2. Burritos for $3 and they are huge.

I had the Flying Saucer tostada and an al pastor tortas for $6.57. The flying saucer tostada has beans, shredded beef, lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, and cheese all on a nice crispy tostada. As you can see this tostada is huge. I couldn't finish it. There was a ton of shredded beef and all the other ingredients were fresh and tasty. This is one of the better tostadas I've had. Much better and less expensive than the tostada from
Casa Gamino.

The torta wasn't as good. The Al Pastor was tender and tasty and the bread was good but it was very dry. They had a small amount of guacamole and a little lettuce. I would like some mayo and/or salsa. I would either order a taco or burrito instead of a torta. But overall Molcasalsa is a very good place for inexpensive Mexican food.

Service was very good and friendly. She was helpful and didn't cop any attitude when I asked what's on the flying saucer tostada. My order was quickly served. And the great thing about them? The drive thru is opened 24 hours!!!!

If I was in the area I would go back again. I wouldn't make a special trip, the food isn't so outstanding that I need to drive out of my way for it, but if I'm in the area, I would gladly go back.

El Gallo Giro- East LA

El Gallo Giro
5686 Whittier Blvd
East LA
323-726-1246

As you know from my review of the El Gallo Giro in Santa Ana, you know I love this place. So while driving in East LA, I notice another El Gallo Giro. I just couldn't resist and I stopped in for another torta, this time the Torta Cubana for $6.30.

The Torta Cubana comes with four meats, pork leg, bread beef, head cheese and ham and topped with acocado, tomato, lettuce, beans and mayo. WOW what a treat. The torta was great. I loved the spicy pork leg and the breaded beef. Both were very tender and had lots of flavor. The toasted torta bread was so soft. A great sandwich and well worth the money.

I didn't notice any difference between the East LA location and the Santa Ana location, except the East LA location has signs for where to order tortas and where to order tacos and burritos.

I would go back to any El Gallo Giro. I love this place!!!

Taqueria Azteca-Closed

Taqueria Azteca
2767 Diamond Bar Blvd
Diamond Bar
909-598-6311

After having a great torta at El Gallo Giro in Santa Ana, I wanted to see how other Mexican places matched up.

So I went to Taqueria Azteca and ordered a carnitas torta and a pollo taco.

The torta didn't come close to El Gallo Giro. The carnitas, not that there was much of it, was dry and didn't have any flavor. Instead of nice fresh slice of avocado they had guamcamole, which was rather bland. The torta was also very small compared to El Gallo Giro.

The pollo taco was also very dry. The salsa was mild, which I like. But it's about the only thing I liked.

I wasn't impressed and I wouldn't go back to Taqueria Azteca. On March 28 they also had a B health department rating.

El Gallo Giro-Santa Ana

El Gallo Giro
1442 S. Bristol
Santa Ana
714-549-2011

I don't go to many Mexican restaurants. But when I want Mexican, I almost always go to El Gallo Giro in Santa Ana. They have good quality food at good prices. But the service can be and is slow most of the time.

I ordered a carnitas burrito and asada torta for $10.11.

The burrito has rice, beans, cilnatro, and of course the carnitas. The day I went and took the picture, the amount of meat wasn't as much as the couple times before. The meat was pouring out before tonight the meat was about a quarter of what they usually put on. But the carnitas is awesome, very tender and cooked to perfection. They put a little too much cilantro for my tastes.

The asada torta was very good, with fresh avocado, cheese, tomato, lettuce, beans and mayo. The fresh avocado really enhances this torta. It was great. The meat is usually good but again tonight the asada was tough and overcooked or it was in the warmer for too long.

At the Santa Ana location, there is one line for to order the torta and another line to order tacos, burritos etc. That can be confusing and most of the workers there speak little English, which can add further to the confusion. But most people there are friendly enough to help you. The great thing about the Santa Ana location is they are open 24 hours!!!

I do like going to El Gallo Giro but it wasn't up to it's usual standards tonight. I would go back but I want to go to their new location in Long Beach, on Long Beach Blvd and PCH.