Torta Cubana at Cancun Juice - Santa Ana

Someone recently asked me what food I was obsessing over at the moment. My answer was that it isn't a food, but a drink: Cancun Juice's aguas frescas.

And it's true. In the past two months, I've patronized Cancun Juice almost bi-weekly. No, not once every two weeks--I go twice a week, rotating between the cantaloupe (superbly sweet and refreshing), the guanabana (soursop to us Southeast Asians), and the strawberry aguas frescas. It still boggles my mind that they're only $2 and they taste better than the smoothies Jamba Juice charge upwards of $5 for.

But now I've actually formed a new Cancun Juice obsession: its tortas. And it's about time, because the tortas are what most of Cancun Juice's customers are ACTUALLY going there to consume. And my god are the tortas divine...and humongous.

The English translation on the menu describes them as "Mexican subs", but they're more like aircraft carriers. On board are the usual enlisted crew of sandwich ingredients of tomato, lettuce, onion, and cheese. But the sandwich is also equipped with such advanced sandwich weaponry as refried beans, jalapeños, avocado cream, and chipotle mayo.

The best torta I've had so far at Cancun Juice is the Cubana, which has all of the above and then loaded with not one, not two, not three, but four meats: pierna (pork leg meat), milanesa (breaded beef steak), jamon (ham), and pavo (turkey). When you eat it, it's a full-on assault on your hunger and senses--a blitzkrieg on a toasted bolillo roll that overwhelms your defenses until you surrender and admit this is one of the best sandwiches you've ever had.

And the free deep-fried chiles they serve at the salsa bar? They're nuclear warheads.

Cancun Juice
2302 S Bristol St
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 668-9588
cancunjuice.net

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