La Esquina Del Chilaquil, Mexico City

The original spot for torta de chilaquiles, the line-up to La Esquina Del Chilaquil was down the block by the time I arrived at 9:30AM. Workers ran back and forth from their corner pop up tent to an indoor kitchen out of sight to refill bins of red sauce, green sauce, fried meat, and chilaquiles. Only operating for about 5 hours a day from 8:30 to 1PM or whenever they sell out, the hype was strong, and the hype was real.

While a torta is your run of the mill sandwich, chilaquiles is a popular breakfast dish of fried tortilla chips served with hot salsa. Some have called this dish a soggy nacho, but I don't think that this description does justice to the level of salsa involved. Yes, the chips are soaked in salsa, but if the salsa is fresh and deeply flavourful, then what's the problem?

Apparently, this was the first place to load the torta with a heavy helping of chilaquiles. In my mind, this would be a mess, and in my hands, it was one of the messiest wettest sandwich experiences of my life -- and I would do it all over again.

After a 30 - 45 minute wait, I ordered two. One verde. Another rojo. My Spanish is weak, so whatever they asked I just said "Si."

I ate the red first, almost immediately, which was sweet and tangy and incredibly difficult to eat in public. I opted for only the breaded chicken cutlet versus the pulled pork (or even the combo), and I wasn't going to mess around with vegetarian today. Besides meat and chilaquiles, a layer of refried beans as well as a heavy smear of Cojita cheese and crema top these fellas off.

The chilaquiles could not be held. I devoured the first one in public, spilling only a small portion of its contents onto the ground, before I was back in the privacy of my rental apartment. The green was holding strong in the firm crusty roll, but I was happy to have a plate and utensils to help catch the drippings.

I had only found this place by chance as I was wandering for coffee. The line up caught my attention on a weekday morning as it was a mix of locals, nurses, cops, and hungover tourists. I needed to know. I never did get my coffee, but if I hadn't only gone on my last day in town, I would have gotten a cup to wait in line the next day.

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