It is Cinco de Mayo, so food sites, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds are filled with talk of tacos and burritos, as well as tequila and mezcal.
Now, I am most definitely a fan of a fine taco, as attested to recently on this blog. I also adore a well-made tamale. But, there is a Mexican foodstuff that rarely gets the attention it deserves - and that is the one-and-only cemita.
The cemita is a "torta" - better known by Gringos as a "sandwich" - that originally hails from the Puebla region of Mexico. It is a killer, layered beauty.
The specimen pictured above was most definitely a masterful example. It was from one of Durham's most beloved taco shacks, La Vaquita. Juicy roasted pork (aka carnitas) was piled high on a toasted sesame roll, accompanied by a slathering of fried beans, a glossing of ketchup, mayonnaise, sliced onions, lettuce, pickled jalapenos, avocados, and tomatoes.
It was messy. It was massive. It was love.
Similar beasts are available in Brooklyn at various outposts in Sunset Park. My favorite? La Flor Bakery. Haven't been there in ages, but after being enraptured by that carnitas cemita in North Carolina, I think a visit to Sunset Park's Little Latin America is most certainly in the offing.
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