Dining With Plastic Forks

Kale G: Instead of where we were headed this week, we ended up in the Global Market at Manny’s Tortas. Which is kind of funny, because we were headed to Manny’s Tortas, just not that one.

Phil B: We were originally on our way to their location at Lake & 27th (now closed), but the neighborhood drivers seemed worse than usual that day. After three brushes with death within five seconds at a nearby intersection, we saw the Global Market location coming up and decided to park the car immediately.

KG: First, some vocabulary for those not in the know. A Torta is a type of Mexican sandwich – or, to be more precise, a kitchen-sink kind of Mexican sandwich.

PB: Hmm, I usually make my sandwiches on the kitchen counter, not in the sink.

KG: ...

I can see I need to explain.

During one of the less good moments in the Mexican economy, people were left looking for ways to pinch the pesos. Of course this meant leftovers got served quite a bit – but how to mask it so you weren‘t eating the same thing day after day? Simple – slap it on a bun. It’s no longer a roast, it’s a sandwich. It’s not stew, it’s a sandwich with sauce! Generally speaking, tortas grew out of whatever hadn’t been eaten the night before, only now it was on some sort or bread, like a telera or bolillo.

PB: If you have grown weary of the same ‘ol Tex-Mex menu offered by all of the national chains around here, well, here’s your chance to have something different. A really delicious taste of Mexico right here in the Twin Cities: Tortas.

KG: So then, Manny’s Tortas. Well, first I should perhaps mention that Manny isn’t the sole mastermind behind these Tortas – his sister, Vicki, has been part of this since the beginning. Why is this important? Because Vicki was running the register when we got there.

PB: Vicki is a real sweetheart. When she saw us taking photos of the food, she came over and very politely asked what we were doing. When we told her that this was for our blog, she asked us to mention that their shop at Lake & 27th was closing, but that the Midtown Global Market (Lake & 10th) and the Mercado Central (Lake & Bloomington) locations are still open for business. Good thing, because it would be a tragedy to lose one of our favorite places to grab lunch.

KG: But first we had to find the place – the Global Market is a sprawling mass of stalls, vendors, and usually a music act – or two – set in the old Sears tower at Chicago and Lake. After wandering around for a bit (it’s been a few months since I’d been there), we found Manny’s and got down to the important part – choosing our Torta!

At Manny’s Tortas, the sandwiches all follow a basic floorplan: you’ve got your bread, then there’s cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, avocado, refried beans, chipotle pepper, mayo and, most important of all, jalapenos. The jalapenos provide a delightful snap and acidic twang to each bite that is unbeatable. Once you’ve got the basics down, let’s get to where you have some choice – meat.

I got the pork loin, or lomo, while Phil got ‘Manny’s Special’. His reasoning was quite sound.

PB: I always try the signature dish of a place whenever I can. If the proprietor of an establishment thinks highly enough of a menu item to put his/her name on it, it is usually a customer favorite. In this case, the Manny’s Special does not disappoint – it is VERY good.

KG: The Manny’s Special has a little bit of everything: breaded steak (milanesa), sausage (chorizo), ham, (jamon) steak (bistek), pork loin (you know this one already), and turkey (pavo), as well as mushrooms (I can’t be arsed to learn all the Spanish! You have Google! Go! Go!). The pork loin is good (nice and fried thin), but it’s got nothing on the Special. That thing’s a true kitchen sink sandwich, and it’s all the better for it. The meats all blend together and the mushrooms give it a nice earthy taste to bind it all together. This sandwich kicks ass, but it’s so full you’re gonna have to eat it with… dare I say it?... a plastic fork. A couple of lime Jarritos washed ‘em down beautifully.

PB: Yep, this sandwich truly befits the ‘kitchen sink’ analogy. Next time I order the Manny’s Special, I will try to leave as much of the wrapping as possible around the sandwich while eating it. Otherwise, everything overflows out of the bread with every bite, and you will need a fork to retrieve every delectable morsel that escaped. Oh well, I needed the fork anyway since we were going to have dessert with this lunch.

KG: Of course, Phil’s finally caught on to my little scheme, and so since it was my week to pay, he insisted on desserts. We decided to try something traditional and something a little less so – which meant the vanilla Flan and the Carrot Cake. I’ve always been on the fence about Flan – I feel like I should love it, but at best I like it. It’s a vanilla custard that’s been drizzled with a carmelized sugar syrup, and the one at Manny’s is an excellent example of the genre – which is to say it’s good, but if Flan doesn’t ring your bell, Manny’s isn’t either. Same goes for the Carrot Cake. Manny’s has a nice, dense Carrot Cake that it fully of nutty and carroty goodness, and their cream cheese frosting is delightful, but if you’re not a fan of Carrot Cake – and if not, why not? – this isn’t going to change your mind, but it’s still a nice finish to the meal.

PB: Exactly. I do like Carrot cake ( Manny’s is really good) and Flan is OK, but the point was to make sure that Kale bought something extra. In general, I don’t find either type of dessert terribly exciting, but you just never know these days -- there may a 12-step program out there for recovering Flan addicts.

KG: The Tortas at Manny’s are like getting everything on the plate at a Mexican restaurant, except on a bun and turned up to 11. They’re lovely, minor works of art that that can be best summed up in one word… Phil?

PB: AWESOME!

KG: What he said. And how could they not be? They even have a savior watching over their preparation.

While the desserts are a two and a half, three tine deal, the Tortas themselves are four tine dining all the way. Excellent, excellent stuff.

PB: Quite simply, the Manny’s Special is one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten, anywhere. Three cheers and four tines for Manny’s Tortas … Hip, Hip, Olé!