Alvarado's Tortas Hula Hula

LA Stand Serves El Salvador’s Beloved Hula Hula Street Sandwiches | Eater LA

"A year-old weekend street-stand in an industrial stretch of Vernon, south of Downtown Los Angeles, run by chef Oscar Cortez (who cooks weekdays at a nearby hospital) and his wife Vilm Barahona. The stand serves a Salvadoran-style torta mexicana that traces its roots to San Salvador’s Parque Hula Hula: a broad 10-inch (foot-long) pan flauta smeared with mayo and mashed avocado, layered with mustardy curtido, beef patties, strips of ham, salsa dulce and more mayo, then pressed and toasted on a flat top until big, meaty, crispy and deeply nostalgic. The cart also offers the mata niño—long, skinny rolls dressed with mayo, cooked-and-cooled curtido, grilled mortadella and streaks of salsa dulce—and panes rellenos like pan con pollo or pan con chumpe filled with curtido, relajo (tomato salsa) and watercress. The operation turns out roughly 200 sandwiches each weekend, draws customers from across the region, and is credited with helping spark a local craze for this Salvadoran street sandwich style." - Bill Esparza