BY AURA RODRIGUEZ

I personally have always refused to eat pork because the taste of it horrifies me; however I was pleasantly surprised and tricked into eating some on my visit to Tortas Sinaloa.  I was amazed at how juicy and tender the meat was as I sunk my teeth into it in the “ Torta Sinaluense” that I ordered.  The pork meat was very tasty and I couldn’t believe it at first when my mom told me that I had just eaten pork.

Tortas Sinaloa is a casual Mexican diner located at 14510 Baldwin Park Towne Ctr., Baldwin Park, CA 91706.  The restaurant is fairly big and is covered in bright, festive Mexican colors.  Mexican ethnicity oozes out of that restaurant, from the aguas frescas to the rancheras blazing out of the rocola.  Rocola is the Spanish word for jukebox, and there is always music blasting from it.  There is a very upbeat and happy vibe, with the carne asada smelling air filling the room and the overly friendly waitresses.

My parents and my two sisters accompanied me on my visit to this lovely Mexican nook. We all ordered different things.  As you know I ordered la Torta Sinaluense, which my mom recommended me and tricked me into eating.  My torta consisted of toasty, traditional torta style bread with fried beans spread on both slices, oaxaca cheese, ham, pork, carne asada, avocado, white onion, lettuce, and cilantro.  I chose agua fresca de freza, or fresh strawberry juice as my beverage.  I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and my tummy was definitely satisfied.

La Torta Sinaluense was a roller coaster ride.  I felt a little crunch as I bit into the toasty slightly sweet bread then was surprised by an amazingly tender mystery meat (pork) covered in flowy, melty Oaxaca cheese. Next my taste buds were thrown sky high with the slightly tough but great tasting carne asada wrapped with sweet Smokey ham. My taste buds then plunged, as I tasted the fresh crunchy lettuce with onion and tasty cilantro. The fried beans pulled all the ingredients together nicely and were very creamy.  As for my drink, the strawberry juice, it was just as great. The serving size was generous with a huge cup filled with refreshingly sweet strawberry juice. There were chunks of strawberries in the juice that gave it a good texture and it was topped with whipped cream and a strawberry.

Although my meal was amazing, I wish I could say the same for the service.  The waitresses were all very friendly and conversationalists, but it seemed that eternities passed as I waited for my food. The amazing smells that were coming from the kitchen weren’t helping either. I like to be teased because then I am more satisfied, but that was just torture.  However I left happy, because the food was worth the wait. If you aren’t patient, then this isn’t the place for you, because they have a lot of business and it is always busy. I would recommend calling in and preordering if you mind waiting. The number is (626) 338-9555.

Overall, my family and I had a good experience. We all enjoyed our food but were annoyed a bit because we had to wait an hour.  The restaurant had a fun presence and we felt right at home.  The amounts of food were fairly generous and well priced. We spent $45.00 on five people, although we could have spent less because we took home boxes full of leftovers. The food was amazing and I am definitely going back.

RATING: B+