Chago Ahogadas

Muy buenas, como si estuvieras en Guadalajara. This is my place to go when I think about tortas ahogadas.

There's Jesus on the ceiling.

And for good reason. He's who you will look for solace, as your face begins to melt from the flames of hellspice.

Just look up, for he is there, all a bit stern looking, with a goatee and windswept hair. Wondering why you're actually looking to torture yourself.

BACKGROUND
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I challenged a friend of mine who grew up in East Los when we started talking about spicy food.

"Yo man, this food is picante. And if I say it's hot, I mean it's damn hot."

"Hey, I can take it. I grew up eating fire. Pakistani fire."

"Amigo, you don't get it. This food's gonna make your lips burn off!"

"I grew up snacking on serrano chilis that my mom would use while she was cooking. It's all good, mang."

"'Mang'? You totally jacked up its pronunciation. Don't say it again."

"Ok."

So off we went, through the twists and turns of Montebello until we crossed into East Los and landed at Chago Ahogadas, punctuated with a big happy face.

YOU ENTER
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As stated, there is a giant head of Jesus floating in heaven above you. Posters about the store and Guadalajara (where its sister location is) on the walls. Casual dining area. Not too big.

WHAT I WANTED
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A torta ahogada (torta drowned in hot sauce), 100% FIRE!

WHAT MY FRIEND TRIED TO ORDER IN SPANISH FOR ME
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50%!!! Media-ahogada! Que pasa, hombre?! The dude behind the counter even agreed that a media would be the best for me. Neither of them realized I understood everything they said.

"Yo! How often am I in East Los? I'm going all the way. None of this 50% bs! I know I'm a different kinda brown, but I'm still brown! I can take it!"

"OK, you got it."

AND?
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Well, the torta looked harmless enough when it was placed in front of me. Red sauce is red sauce.

I bit in. The bread was soft. The meat was well cooked. And the sauce was actually a bit tangy. Nothing too complex going on here, but still tasty. And what fire?

Oh wait.

That's sweat starting to run down the back of my neck. Anticipating worse is yet to come in the few seconds ahead, and that my tongue was about to burst into flame, I looked up.

And just like that, that was the extent of the heat. Everything just came back down. My body re-calibrated. And the heat was actually very tolerable. Nay, enjoyable.

I wasn't drowning my sorrows in the nice cup of horchata. I wasn't crying. I wasn't panting with my tongue out. I devoured the whole thing, plus a couple of tacos, in no time.

My audience was a little dumbfounded.

Miracle from above?

Who knows.

4 stars. Cash only.

Tapatio and needing a taste of home?
Hung over and need a cure for it?
Do you like spicy food that can burn a hole through your tongue?

If you answered yes to any of the above then this is your place.

A torta ahogada (drowned sandwich) is a native dish to the state of Jalisco, Mx. Made with ground pepper, tomato sauce, and other spices. Its bread is dunked in the tomato sauce and hot sauce that can and will burn for days (at one location in Guadalajara my lips actually went numb for a few hours).

This place is a small locale in the Montebello area, with friendly staff, and a not long wait, your buds will enjoy this taste of home. They are very proud of the their Tapatio heritage and you will see that just as soon as you walk in.

The owner patrols the area to make sure you are satisfied with your dish and see if you need anything else.

Hungover or not, spice lover or not, this place is the real deal!!

Now I'm no expert on Tortas Ahogadas, tacos are more my thing but hey we all crave something different once in awhile and this sandwich is something different.

For those of you that don't know a "Torta" is a Mexican sandwich that uses a bun called "Talera", (NO it's NOT a bolillo, I know most of you think it is) but since this is "Ahogada" which means drowned, it uses a "Birote Salado" as the birote is firmer more like a French roll so it will hold up to the dipping or ahogada and not fall apart.

This great wonder is from the great land of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Guadalajara (using my best Vicente Fernandez voice) To know Guadalajara is to know Tortas Ahogadas!.

So checking some of these other reviews I find them very funny, and most have one thing in common the sauce / chili yeah it's HOT but it's suppose to me, your at Chago Ahogadas they originated and still have a place in Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico, they are the real deal.

So what I'm trying to say this ain't Subway, and it's a "ahogada /drowned" so why come and order mitad y mitad which is half dipped chili sauce and half dipped tomato sauce, I ordered mine swimming in the chili sauce http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/UFGJ_Xdz84v_8L3XSInDpQ?select=sneIvpD1PIGUT1qvn1D51w I'm crazy like that.

No doubt the sauce is HOT and the waitress was giving me looks like I'm crazy, but for my taste it was a little strong with oregano flavor http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/UFGJ_Xdz84v_8L3XSInDpQ?select=VlZe_PrSwmtrtAzvXnW2mQ the big chunks of pork was very good though with carnitas there should be some slightly crispy fried pieces and I did not find that nor the flavor from that process, don't get me wrong the pork was real good just did not have that extra umph that put's a smile on your face http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/UFGJ_Xdz84v_8L3XSInDpQ?select=hIzZrFyhrA4HQCn97YgFMw

"Hey Diego, what's a good place to eat Tortas in EastLos?"

And that's the question that gets me blabbering for the next ten minutes, ending with "Chago's Tortas Ahogadas." You should know that this place serves original authentic Guadalajara style tortas, and not that plastic-tasting Americanized version of Mexican food.

As Stewie Griffin would say, "Those are not tortas... they're LIES!" lol

First off, Chago's customer service kicks ass. The restaurant has a humble Mexican atmosphere and the staff's manners are impeccable. If you're not fond of spicy foods, do NOT get the spicy torta or the mita y mita (half-spicy, half-sauce). You'll cry.

I'm serious.

And even if you're a bad-ass macho whose sweaty testicles ooze out of his tighty-whiteys' left pocket, you should still order the mita-mita... you just don't know what you're getting yourself into if you order the spicy torta, dude. What can I say, the tortas are tasty, fulfilling, and most importantly, they're the original thing.

Since their original restaurant is established in Guadalajara, Mexico and they only have two satellite restaurants here in the United States, you're practically getting a Mexican imported exotic torta for just five bucks. It's a risk, but it's like not liking musicals and then watching "Chicago:" you'll love it, but you'll be too stupid to realize it right there and then.

Oh, it takes time, baby. ;)

Tortas Ahogadas- I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I let my husband take me to this place. First of all, this place looks really GHETTO (it felt like I was back in San Felipe, Mexico), but I was so surprised to see how PACKED it was! The place is tiny and the line to order our food ran a little too close to the people sitting down to enjoy their food. We ordered our tortas ahogadas and went to pay with our credit card but this place only accepted cash! Good thing we had enough for our sandwiches but we had to dig for loose change in the car to tip the nice waitress who brought us our food.

When my husband said that we were gonna get authentic tortas like the ones they make in Jalisco, Mexico, I did not realize what that meant... I thought torta meant soft bread, seasoned meat, mexican cheese, lettuce and tomato. To my surprise, this plain torta was made with a thick crusted french bread with just carnitas and a light spread of beans on the inside and it was drenched in a mild salsa. I usually hate anything that is wet (wet taco, wet burrito, etc) so I was very hesitant to try it. It also came with this huge spoon, which by looking around, it was to be used to eat the torta.

At first, I was very uncomfortable eating this kind of torta, especially because the bread was so hard to cut through with the ginormous spoon. I even squirted my eye with the sauce when the spoon hit the plate a little too hard and made a big dallop of sauce jump straight into my eye. What are the chances of that happening, I mean it went straight into my eye and not anywhere else on my face! It was very plain to eat in the beginning, but I added some lime juice and lots of sliced red onion and more of the mild salsa to give it some flavor.

The first impression of this place was bad because of the hard to eat, really plain and messy torta but when I left the place, it made me want to come back for more. I can't really explain why but it is kind of like a required taste of a flavor I guess...

I am now an expert on eating this type of torta. I arm myself with two spoons (one to hold the torta while the other is used to cut through the bread and scoop up the perfect bite of bread, meat, sauce and red onion). Also, I always get extra sauce and a side of spicy salsa (can be very spicy so just add a little bit at a time), lots of red onions and lime wedges. Oh, and don't forget to bring cash because they do not accept anything else...

The flavor gets monotone after you get half way through the torta. It comes with sliced fresh red onion but still needs some fresh herb to give it some depth so that you can keep going. The texture is great from the hard crust of the bread but with only the spicy tomato sauce, the raw onions, and the meat choice it comes with, it gets too repetitive.

I ordered the cavesa (beef from the cow's head area, not brains) $5.95.

I also ordered a Taco Sencio de Papa (simple taco of potato that's fried) $1.00. Now I love fried potato tacos, but this one was very bland. It came ahogada style but they put the non spicy tomato sauce that had no flavor. I really could not taste the potatoes at all.

I order the Jirricaia $3.00 to cap it off; this is like a Flan but without the caramel. This was the best thing here. Nice firm texture with a cream finish. The lady there said they import them straight from Jalisco, Mex. Oh well, the only thing that made me give this place 3 stars instead of 2 is not made here.

I don't see myself coming back for these tortas.

The service was great, the two waitresses were very nice and attentive...

I came back from Guadalajara a few months ago so I was feeling really nostalgic for a good torta ahogada... this particular location was truly a disappointment for me... first of all the bread was very hard the sauce was tasteless I felt like someone smashed tomatoes on my torta I didn't taste ANYTHING other than tomato on it. I took my whole crew that day and each of us ordered a torta... each of these tortas was five dollars!!!!... so we just ended up not eating them and left hungry... also the service was very "meh" nothing extraordinary.

I saw another location (I don't know if they have the same owner) on Washington and 4th in Montebello and those tortas almost made me cry because I felt I was back in Guadalajara!!! I recommend you try that Chago's instead... it's worth the five dollars.

Word to the wise: you WILL make a mess. A terrible, delicious mess. Don't try to eat your torta with that spoon it comes with... just pick it up, and use the spoon to ensure that you don't waste a DROP of precious sauce.

The carnitas torta is indeed a transcendent experience. Luscious meat on a dense, crispy roll, bathed in sauce that really hits that rich umami spot on your tongue. I wasn't expecting to love the taquitos even more-- just a simple smear of beans, folded once in a corn tortilla, fried to a crisp, again covered in that sublime sauce, and garnished with chopped cabbage. Dang, I'm stuffed now, but I think I might go back for dinner tonight!

Oh, and of course you have to wash it all down with a Coke in a glass bottle.

The food alone merits five stars, but an added bonus is the fantastic staff. Even though it was packed on a Sunday afternoon, we didn't have to wait more than a few seconds for a table or our meal. Our friendly waitress made helpful suggestions, and a cook came to ensure that everything was "perfect..."

Perfect it was indeed. Chagos is not to be missed!

Tortas ($5.50) tacos $2
the sauce that the bread is dipped into is awesome.

horchata ($2) was also pretty good here.

This place gets VERY busy. Parking in the small lot can be a nightmare.