El Torito

The overhead page should be crackling, "Calling Dagwood Bumstead. Calling Dagwood Bumstead. Please report to Taqueria El Torito ." Dagwood, that noted sandwich aficionado, would be knocking down the mailman in his rush to get there if he knew what he was being summoned for.

The stretch of Cherokee Street west of Jefferson has a slowly changing series of restaurants to serve the Spanish-speaking community, and it’s clear that they’re authentic. Certainly it’s working persons’ food rather than high-end cuisine, but that can bring some wonderful surprises. In the old Woolworth’s sits El Torito Meat Market, and almost half its floor space is given over to Taqueria El Torito.

While the choice of tacos is wide and their quality commendable, the stunning sandwich is the torta Cubano. Tortas are sandwiches, always served on fat rolls. But this is not a Cuban sandwich that folks in Miami would recognize. Piled on the bun are, among other things, beef, ham, pork, egg, sausage, cheese, avocado, mayonnaise (an inevitable ingredient of any torta) and pickled jalapenos. The variety and quantity of items are truly Bumsteadian. The sausage is chorizo, and somehow we find a little chocolate note, like mole sauce. It’s dazzlingly good, even though it will give cardiologists dreams of new sailboats or college tuition checks.

Beverage of choice with this is an agua fresca, the fruit-and-water beverage that comes in several flavors, the best of which is watermelon.

Of course there are tacos, the more common el pastor, barbacoa, and asada, all various forms of beef, as well as tripe and cachete, which is soft and flavorful beef cheek. Brains, too, which make  one remember this is still south St. Louis, where those sandwiches used to be barroom regulars. Each is served on a couple of small soft corn tortillas, not fried, sprinkled with white onion and chopped cilantro. Instead of a traditional tomato based salsa, a creamy green sauce is offered, flavored with tomatillos and cilantro and, yes, some heat, too. Do not miss it; it’s tasty enough to eat with a spoon. In fact, it would make a great summer soup.

Speaking of soup, don’t be surprised when a bowl of an orange broth with small pasta arrives before your order. It’s the custom of the house, a freebie that’s a pleasant gesture but an undistinguished dish.

Closed Thursdays and closes at 7 p.m. other days, so make it lunch, or else plan an early supper.

And the grocery store is a fine place for browsing, roomy and well-stocked with lots of interesting foods, not just meat. The produce looks good, and the non-food items range from cooking pots to those wildly colored fake sombreros found on some (other) restaurant walls.

Taqueria El Torito

2753 Cherokee St.

314-771-4049