Eating in LA - Cemitas Poblanas El Sapito

Right now as I'm looking at the photos for this post

I'm starting to get really hungry...again. And I just ate dinner. My memories from lunch earlier coming back in full experiential force. The place where I headed today with a friend is called Cemitas Poblanas El Sapito and is on 3010 e 1st st in Boyle Heights, a suburb of Los Angeles.

I think it had been about 6 or 7 years since I'd met up with this friend. So we had a lot to say. Tons of stuff to catch up on. But, funny enough, we ended up talking about food. And my buddy had spent the 6 years here in LA finding some really cool places. This was one of them.

Apparently he'd heard about it from an article in a local paper.

He'd come, eaten. And become a convert. No one really believed him until they came and gave it a try. Best described as 'stuff you'd put in a taco but on special bread,' it's both nothing like that...and everything like that. Better. So much better.

The main thing on the menu are Cemitas. The name refers to both the sandwich as well as the bread itself. Made from eggs and covered with sesame seeds it resembles brioche, a kind of flatbread. The stuff inside is traditionally made up of sliced avocados, meat, white cheese, onions, the herb pápalo and a sauce.

These sandwiches are amazing. I mean, you think you know what you're going to get from that description I gave before...'everything from a taco, but on bread'...and then it's so much more. The combo of Carnitas, the fresh onion, some unknown chipotle flavored sauce, that bun with insides toasted with butter, all sitting on a bed of shredded Mexican cheese...washed down with ice cold real Coke, talk about a great lunch.

A nice little unassuming restaurant

It's a chill place to sit and have a conversation while enjoying some really tasty food. There's a good selection of sodas...Coke, Fanta, Mandarin...the good stuff. It's also really affordable. For 2 sandwiches and 2 drinks it only set us back $20. There were more expensive and less expensive dishes on the menu, but you'd have to work hard to go broke before you were stuffed. Just one sandwich had me sitting back with a satisfied smile.

I'd probably been past this place half a dozen times.

It's not too far from where I live. But, I never would have thought to come in. This chill lunch with my buddy reminded me to keep my eyes open and be willing to just walk into places, especially ones just down the road from you. So many gems sitting right out in the open. :)