Guadalajara’s legendary hangover cure, the torta ahogada, arrives in Prospect Heights  

By Scott Lynch

According to Chef Hugo Orozco, who last month opened the charmingly ramshackle restaurant Cruz del Sur in Prospect Heights, the torta ahogada is a sandwich with almost mystical restorative powers. Or, at least, that’s what they believe in Guadalajara, where both he and his business partner Oscar Gonzalez are from.

Maybe it’s the fatty, well-seasoned chopped carnita stuffed inside—or the pickled onions, or the fiery chile de arbol that you dump over the top, or the lovely red sauce the whole thing wallows in, or the dense bread that sops it all up—but as Orozco told Brooklyn Magazine last Saturday, “It’s a cure for your hangover, and in Guadalajara there are more torta ahogada stands than taquerias.”

Hung over? The torta ahogada will set you straight for $15 (Scott Lynch)

I personally haven’t had a hangover in more than 22 years, so can’t vouch for any curative properties in that department, but I can say that Orozco’s torta ahogada at Cruz del Sur is absolutely delicious. Just a beast of a sandwich. You can get a vegetarian version, as well, made with oyster mushrooms instead of meat. It’s a little messy to be sure, which Orozco says confuses some of his customers—you eat it with your hands, and a spoon if there’s any leftover “soup”—but that doesn’t fully explain why finding one of these outside of Western Mexico is such a rarity.

“The torta ahogada is supposed to only be made in Guadalajara, due to the region’s climate, and the water, and all of these other myths around baking the special birote bread,” Orozco said. “Jalisco has some French influence because of the Crusades, so they have this beautiful bread that they say is only possible to be made there. We are trying to replicate it here, learning more every single time, with every single batch, and so far we are happy with the results.”

Orozco and his kitchen staff aren’t the only ones happy. “We’ve had people traveling two hours from New Jersey to get one,” said Orozco. “It’s something that you can’t find that often around here, and once you’ve lived in that region, in Guadalajara and Jalisco, this is something that makes you homesick.”

And Cruz del Sur isn’t just a one-trick pony. Maybe even better than the torta ahogada is Orozco’s carne en su jugo, which the menu calls a traditional Guadalajaran stew. For this dish, Orozco arrived at my table with a bowl full of dry ingredients—a bunch of chewy bacon, some beans, lots of onion, jalapeño, cilantro—and dumped in a jar of oily, garlicky broth loaded with tender beef and funky bone marrow. To call this restorative would be an understatement.

Chef Orozco pours the hot broth of the carne en su jugo onto the dry bits (Scott Lynch)

There are more expected delights at Cruz del Sur as well, including about a half dozen different tacos, all on two-toned, house made tortillas, folded over and stuffed with things like lengua and salsa, chicken with mole verde, vegan chorizo, and crispy potato. Orozco makes his birria taco with slow-cooked goat, dipped into a small side of consommé for added richness. Also on the menu are chicharron quesadillas and the brunch-time chilaquiles.

Goat birria taco; $5.50 (Scott Lynch)

The jericalla, “a flan-crème brûléesque-estravaganza” as the menu would have it, made for a satisfying dessert. There is also a lime pie and a spreadable cajeta with bread on offer. There are 32-ounce beers, micheladas, margaritas, several horchatas and a variety of Mexican sodas available.

Jericalla, ‘a flan-crème brûléesque-estravaganza,’ $9 (Scott Lynch)

The space is long and narrow (it used to be the Thai spot Look By Love Plant House), with multiple indoor seating areas, but clearly the place to eat this summer is out back in the shaded patio. This a first-rate addition to the neighborhood, and a worthy destination for all Brooklyn sandwich completists.

The shaded back patio (Scott Lynch)

Cruz del Sur is located at 622 Washington Avenue, between Pacific and Dean Streets, and is currently open on Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 noon to 10:00 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 to 10:00 (347-365-1618)