San Diego, CA - Bolillo Tortas; There was an episode of Bizarre Foods where Andrew Zimmern tried a torta ahogada from a place south of downtown. This is not the place, but it inspired me to try an ahogada.

I started with the Corn on the Cob and Stuffed Jalapeno Bacon Wrap. The grilled corn on the cob with cheese is one of those street foods found in Mexico and other surrounding countries. If you we're to try this first, you probably wouldn't order it at any other place. It just wasn't good. It was cold and tasted old. It could tell that it had been cooked earlier and sat there. You didn't get any of the grilled flavor, none of that beautiful char that the grill adds. Its probably because it was boiled and not grilled. The jalapeño though was better. It was nicely paired with its saltiness to the stuffed creaminess and not spicy. It also was barely warm and could have been hotter.

Now what I came for was the Torta Ahogada: sourdough bolillo, carnitas, chile de Arnold sauce. The sauce is nicely prepared, nonspicy tomato base sauce. You can see in the picture the oil starting to bead on the surface. That makes it a little less attractive. The bread is hard but not stale and it demonstrates how it holds up against the sauce. The beef is tender, nicely shredded, just not enough on the sandwich.