Cook's Tortas - Monterey Park

On my way to meet my cousin's new baby, I decided to grab some sandwiches from Cook's Tortas - Monterey Park to bring to the new parents. I had first visited the restaurant last summer with oldest nephew and lil' sis before we went to see Casablanca at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I don't know what possessed us to order the sandwich we did because it was so spicy that the three of us couldn't finish it, nor did we enjoy it very much. So Cook's Tortas stayed on the periphery as a place I should revisit at least one more time before I could blog it, but not as a restaurant that I had to eat at again right away.

So a year went by and I decided to try their food booth at AltaMed's 6th Annual East LA Meets Napa event. I liked my sandwich bite and agua fresca (Mexican fresh beverages) so much that I figured it was worth revisiting.

I liked the wall-sized chalkboard of menu offerings. This picture is old so the sandwiches are now $7.79 and include a free side.




We'll start with my first visit last summer.

Selection of agua frescas. They cost about $3 each.




We chose "red" fries ie. sweet potato fries to go with our sandwich and pineapple celery and cucumber lime agua frescas.




The ahogada, slow-cooked pork in spicy sauce and dipped in spicy sauce.




In hindsight, I'm not sure why I ordered this because I don't like dipped sandwiches. Too mushy. It was so spicy that I couldn't really taste anything except the spice. Between the three of us, we couldn't even finish.




This time around, I opted for the mojito, roasted pork, slow-cooked onions, and garlic mojo. Juicy and flavorful And no dip meant I could enjoy the ciabatta bread, housemade and different from the usual bollilos used in most Mexican tortas.




I really loved the Cubano, ham, chicken, bacon, cheese, mustard, and pickled onions. Sooo yummy. As if you couldn't tell by the picture. Even splitting the sandwiches amongst the three of us, we didn't finish and I took a quarter of the Cubano home for later. And even cold, it was flavorful. The Cubano totally redeemed my first experience with Cook's Tortas.




I got an order of sweet potato fries as one side, which Pablo scoffed down with enthusiasm, and an order of rice pudding. There are other side options of salads and fruit, but I think the sweet potato fries are best.




When I went to pick up my order, I couldn't resist the palm-sized chocolate pecan cookie, $2.




I also got a large pineapple celery agua fresca and my cousin, who normally doesn't like celery, really liked it too.

I haven't tried to eat the whole menu like Weezer Monkey did, but if you're a sandwich fan, Cook's Tortas is worth a visit. Just remember that if the menu says very spicy, it's very spicy. I liked my second visit better than my first, but Cook's Tortas has some serious fans. Actually, when I pulled up, a couple asked me to take a photo of them in front of the restaurant because they liked the sandwiches just that much.

Some other sandwich restaurant posts:
Banh Mi & Che CALI Bakery - Westminster (Little Saigon)
Banh Mi & Che Cali Restaurant - Alhambra
Bunk Sandwiches - Portland - Oregon
The Hat - Alhambra
Kenny & Zuke's Delicatessen - Portland - Oregon
Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant - Los Angeles
The Oinkster - Eagle Rock
Tip Top Sandwiches - Garden Grove (Little Saigon)
Tito's Market - El Monte
Top Baguette - Westminster

Cook's Tortas
1944 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
323-278-3536
Monday to Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today, Tapioca Express Inc. - San Gabriel (Closed).
3 years ago today, "Meet Cute" Stockholm, Sweden.
4 years ago today, my cousins' housewarming.