#gallo blanco

[veganinaz-blog]

Gallo Blanco, Veggie Tacos with Refried Beans and Jasmine Rice FYI - Torta bread has egg

[sandwichsermon-blog]

Gallo Blanco (Phoenix, AZ)

Angela Sinclair

Gallo Blanco is known primarily for their street tacos, not their sandwiches, but boy do they make a mean torta. Located inside the Clarendon Hotel, it’s an odd place to find a mostly-locals hangout, but you can attribute the draw to the great food. House-made aquas frescas, tacos, breakfast served all day. I’d go on forever about the chilequiles verdes but this is a sandwich blog. My husband and I went for brunch over the weekend, so at this particular meal, I got a breakfast sandwich, the El Flaco Torta, which contains egg whites scrambled with locally-made chorizo, lettuce, tomato, and avocado, served on toasted telera bread.

Don’t let the egg whites fool you into thinking this is a virtuous sandwich; the chorizo makes up for that. While eating this sandwich the word that came to mind above all others was “balanced.” It’s rich and savory, with the avocado adding creamy sweetness, the tomato just enough tang, and the iceberg lettuce, which I usually hate in all forms, providing a nice crunch. Plus, if you’ve never had telera bread, it’s an extremely soft roll that when toasted in butter provides the perfect wrapper. You’ll need the paper this sandwich comes in, because it’s delightfully drippy and messy.

Gallo Blanco also does a grilled ribeye and egg torta, a cochinita torta (my favorite), and a carne asada torta, which can add be made “enfrijolada” (with beans). If you can’t handle the full rich deliciousness, order the half tortas. These tortas would be perfect hangover food, but you definitely don’t need one to enjoy them.