A good sandwich begins with the bread. It should not overpower the sandwich and yet be sturdy enough to hold the contents without falling apart in your hands. That said, I happen to have a liking for Mexican tortas. One vendor that does it extremely well is Torta Movil, a business that runs out of a small trailer parked in South LA.
Just south of Adams Blvd and San Pedro St is a liquor store. Torta Movil’s bright orange trailer is set up in their parking lot. Because the trailer is approximately 10’ x 6’ in size, they have enough room to set up an outdoor canopy for shade. They have trash and recycling receptacles, COVID signage and hand sanitizer available. Currently, masks are required.
Because their footprint in the parking lot is small, they can only offer to-go service. Most customers order by phone and pick up without having to wait. If you place your order onsite as I did, expect to wait about 20 minutes. Trust me, it’s worth it.
Torta Movil features CDMX (Mexico City-style) tortas. Made with telera flatbread rolls, the bread of choice for tortas. The bread is toasted, crisp outside, and soft inside. Tortas are all about balance. Everything is sliced razor thin making the sandwich easy to bite into it. The onions provide crunch, the avocado and mayo provide the dressing and the flavorful meat does the rest.
Because they have approximately 20 tortas, I recommend taking a picture of their menu. It is printed in Spanish on a banner sign and hung on the block wall. This way you can practice social distancing while deciding what to order. Since Torta Movil lacks a website, it’s also helpful to have the menu available as a reference.
The Sonidero ($9.00) is one of their signature tortas and made with ham, head cheese, and milanesa (breaded pork cutlet). If you take it with all of the fixings, mayo, avocados, jalapenos, and onions are added. The talera is flattened and grilled which makes the sandwich manageable to eat.
Pineapple gives the Chilanga ($9.75) a nice boost. It too is another signature torta and one of their best selling. In addition to ham milanesa and head cheese, they feature torta ahohada and pineapple. Torta ahohada is smoked pork leg with a pineapple juice glaze.
Some of the other tortas available include cubana, steak, ham, chorizo, chicken, and a vegetarian torta made with soyrizo. Prices range from $8.00 to $9.75.
If you make the trip to visit them, make sure you first check their Instagram account to see if they are taking a day off. I made the mistake of forgetting to check their schedule and so I had to make a return visit.
Hours: Fri 10:30 a.m. – 8, Sat/Sun 9:30 a.m. until they sell out
Torta Movil, E 27th St & San Pedro St. Los Angeles, CA 90011; 323.573.3968