La Casita Chilanga — Restaurant in Castro Valley

Wanted to check out a new spot in the area so we decided to eat here. I've never been to a torteria before and had to step out of my comfort zone as there aren't burritos on the menu like that a non-Chicano might fall back on.

The atmosphere seemed kind of like a diner, playing what seems to be Spanish rock music in the background with a heavy emphasis on Volkswagens buggies as there is a wall of photos of them and the front half of one by the entrance as a little photo op.

Unfortunately, there were no English menus at the moment, and it was a bit daunting since there were so many different options of tortas, but the customer service made up for it as the staff was more than happy to help explain the difference between this place and an ordinary taqueria.

We ended up getting a couple tortas, a gordita, and machete after asking the folks to cook up what they think is a good spread for a couple first timers.

The tortas all came nice and toasted with aesthetic grill marks to add a bit of crisp and toasty flavor. At first, the bread seemed rather thick for my liking, and I was afraid it would be dry, however it did a great job absorbing whatever amazing sauce they slathered on it. The meats we had layered inside each respective torta was chicken, steak, and a unique potato/sausage patty. The chicken and steak were cooked perfectly with a smoky charred flavor and the marinade really came through. The sausage patty was initially odd for my liking but had a satisfying texture. Each torta was a little heavy but was balanced out with the nice crunch and acidity from the pickled vegetables. Overall, a great combination of flavor, textures, and temperatures.

As mentioned earlier, the staff also fixed up my first ever gordita and machete. We initially asked if they had any quesadillas and he informed us that the machete was the closest thing they had to it. I was surprised to see a large blade shaped corn tortilla with large slices of juicy steak and crumbled cheese. This composition was similar to the gordita, except that came with finely chopped meat and onions/cilantro inside. I was most impressed with the corn tortillas as I've never had anything like it. They were about roughly 1/3 cm thick and crispy with a slight eggy flavor which was unlike any other I've had before.

I'll be sure to come back to try the other dishes they have...

Went yesterday. Service and atmosphere is great. Unfortunately the menu is in Spanish so I wasn't able to understand everything so had to have help with the nicest man at the counter explaining to me what some of the stuff was. I ended up with a sandwich looking thing. I think they call it a torta. I forget but it was yummy. I don't really remember what my mom got but the picture speak for it's selves because they're delicious. Everything was great and the buggies were cool. Oh and by the way this sandwich looking thing literally half of it was as big as my face so they're definitely was leftovers for me to eat...

My coworker and I found this on a fluke lunch outing We saw the tortas and knew this was gonna be good The staff were awesome The tortas were bomb, the horchatta hit the spot, the salsa actually had good flavor, heat, and wasn't Hella watery. It went great with their chips. We've been about 5 times in the past month and haven't...