My first torta at Andale Taqueria & Mercado

Andale Taqueria & Mercado
7700 Nicollet Ave S.
Richfield, MN 55423

This afternoon, I decided to stop by Andale Taqueria and Mercado on my way home from running errands.  I was surprised to find this restaurant was so close to home, as it is located on 494 and Nicollet.  

I have been following the reviews and discussions regarding this new Hispanic grocery store and restaurant on the local Chowhound boards and Lazy Lightning blog.

First things first, I checked out the market section of the establishment.  The market was relatively small, but carried a basic selection of fruits and vegetables as well as cooking ingredients, snack foods, and desserts.  The store contained a bakery case (no churros, though, which is a bummer because I am rather fond of churros), hot food case with stewed meats, tamales, and rotisserie chicken, dessert cooler, and a meat counter.  I bought ingredients to make quesadillas, a container of red Chile de Arbol salsa, and chili-lime seasoning for fruit.  In Mexico, I became hooked on eating fruit sprinkled with chile and lime salt, or paste.

This pint of salsa cost $3.99.  The salsa was smooth and creamy, smelling of garlic.  The flavor tasted of Chile de Arbol and was spicy enough not to be boring.  After many mouthfuls, I began to sweat a bit.

Next door at the restaurant, I ordered a beef milanesa torta for $7.75.

At 2 p.m., the restaurant was basically empty so my sandwich was ready in around seven minutes.  Somehow, I never tried a torta during our recent trip to Puebla.  We were too busy consuming tacos arabes, which I saw an advertisement for in a recent Citypages.

Although the sandwich was not heavy, it was large enough to take up most of the to-go container.  The first thing I smelled were the pickled jalapenos.  I agree that freshly pickled jalapenos would taste better but I didn’t mind them.

The bread tasted fresh, toasted, and soft.  However, it was hearty enough to withstand all of the toppings including the thin, breaded beef, shredded ice burg lettuce, tomatoes, sliced white onion, cheese, beans, avocado, and mayonnaise.  All of the vegetables seemed to be fresh and crisp and the beef milanesa was tender and pleasantly salty.

I really enjoyed the flavors of this sandwich at first bite, especially the mayonnaisey goodness.  Since Jake was not home from work yet, I debated whether or not I should finish the entire sandwich or share the other half.  Just as I was finishing the first half and leaning towards eating the second half, a hungry Jake walked through the door.  I explained that I originally had the intention to share the sandwich with him, but that it tasted so good I was changing my mind.

In the end, I took pity on hungry-home-from-work Jake and gave him the second half of the sandwich.  At first he resisted, saying he felt bad that he was taking the sandwich I enjoyed so much.  After a couple bites, he also concurred that it was really good, stopped feeling guilty, and quickly polished it off.

As a criticism, I wish the cheese could have been more melty.  Since this was my first torta, I am not sure if the cheese is usually on the cool side or melted.  The price seemed a little high for the sandwich a la carte, but it was delicious and something I would consider returning for since it conveniently located near my home.

I already have an intense craving another torta.  Who makes your favorite?

Jake and I hope to continue our bucket list chronicles tomorrow evening.