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bigtums
Oct 10, 2008 08:06 PM
I went to Cook's Tortas for the first time today and I loved it! I got the Milanese (is that right?) and California-which was grilled chicken, avocadoes, tomato cream sauce, and some other veggies. The Milanese was great-the chicken was a little dry. But it almost didn't matter because the bread is great. I hear they make them in house.
I had a slice of the cake-I didn't care for it much-personally. I also had a chocolate chip cookie, it was huge and good, but passable. Lastly, I had one of their shortbread cookies with jelly in it-the name escapes my mind, that was excellent!
I say give this place a try!
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I'm a sandwich fiend, and now Cook's Tortas has become a must stop when I go to SGV for my weekly foot massage. I've tried their Mojito and Breakfast tortas on my last two visits. The pork in the Mojito was really moist. Wish it was a little spicier though. Today I had the Breakfast Tortas with grilled sausge, eggs, avocado, lettuce, jalapenos AND a cup of sangria...what a delicious way to start a day! There are so many unusual choiceson the board. Wonder what I should try next ???? What are your favorites?
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We went to Cook's today being excited by these posts.
This is a Cuban torta place. There is definitely a difference between the tortas made at a Mexican restaurant and Cook's. The Mexican tortas are traditionally made on a telera roll and includes re-fried beans and avocado.
I had the ahogada torta and my husband had the grilled chicken. I have to say they sure give you your money's worth. While advertised as "spicy", I didn't find it spicy at all. It was tasty but got a little mushy from the tomato sauce and the black beans which I had requested. The red potato salad was delicious as was the limon (lemonade) drink. My husband thought his sandwich was just so so. He had asked for avocado which was .50 extra and they forgot it. When he went back, they were apologetic even though the cook said in Spanish that the torta didn't come with avocado. My husband answered that he had paid extra for it and the cook apologized. My husband ordered the apple salad as his side and it was very good. Some friends came in while we were eating and said this was the fourth time they had been there. They highly recommended the lengua torta. We'll try that next time. I ordered a piece of "great, great grandma's" corn cake and they gave me a huge slice to take home. It is very good, different, but sort of like a cheesecake with a very strong corn taste. I will order this again.›1 Reply -
Webb, this place is located in Monterey Park, not Alhambra. I which it would have been in Alhambra, because then it would be closer to home!!!
WOW! If you are looking for a place that offers unheard of and traditional tortas (sandwiches) search no more!!!
This place has them all; according to the owner he has collected hundreds of recipes and puts them on the chalkboard menu at any given time. At my recent and first visit, I had the CALIFORNIA torta (Grilled chicken, tomato cream, salsa, avocado, lettuce, fried sage). It was gooood!!! It was accompanied by their Ham and Cheese macaroni salad, and their freshly squeezed lemonade. Both excellent!
Just today, I had their torta AHOGADA (Slow cooked pork, spicy double dip), I loved it! The taste is very close to authentic (Jalisco style); it was lacking the beans though. The only suggestions I would make the next time I visit and order the Ahogada, is that they but more escabeche (pickled onions), and add the beans. Other than that, the Red Potato Salad was awesome, along with the Cucumber-Lime agua fresca. So refreshing. I recommend this place very highly, if you're into Tortas.
This place is definitely worth the trip, especially for those of us that live in the Northeast part of L.A. (sorry King Torta). The only drawback is that it closes too early, at 4pm. :(
Looking forward to trying a different one every week. :)
Address:
1944 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(323) 278-3536
www.cookstortas.com›5 Replies-
re: BCM
Cook's has expanded their hours: Mon-Sat 9am to 9pm. Good thing too, because I'm working my way through their really wonderful and ususual menu.
I'm surprised that more SGV/Eastside people haven't been raving about this place - the tortas are really wonderful and imaginative. They have the traditional milanesa, ahogada, carne asada etc. tortas, but also ones based on Spanish and Cuban sandwiches (I'm dying to try the bacalao marinated in Spanish paprika!). They also have California-style deli sandwiches and salads - they have a fresh tropical fruit sandwich with cream cheese!
All the torta bread is baked on the premises by the owner's mother-in-law (who also makes a tremendous fresh corn cake and some beautiful cookies) and yes, i's really more like ciabatta (it's made with a levain-style starter) than traditional Mexican torta rolls, but I think that adds to the experience. They offer unusual sides with every torta - a dilled potato salad, macaroni salad with red peppers and ham, spectacular home-made bread and butter pickles, a fruit salad (on my last visit, it was a creamy apple salad) or little cups of homemade flan. Really, this is such a find - delicious, fresh, thoughtfully prepared food, reasonable prices, and it's right on Atlantic and Brightwood in my old hood.
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