El Chalet Salvadoran sandwich spot opens in Mastic Beach
The Hula Hula sandwich at El Chalet in Mastic Beach is stuffed with beef, ham, avocado, Salvadoran white cheese and pickled vegetables. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
A torta is a Mexican sandwich, right? Turns out, that's not always the case. "Torta" actually refers to a lot of cakes and breads in various countries. But as far as sandwiches go, tortas can be from other countries besides Mexico.
El Chalet, a strip mall deli in Mastic Beach, specializes in tortas from El Salvador. It's owned by cousins Douglas Ramirez and Hector Vazquez, who get help from their family members. The two serve the tortas from their childhood in Chalatenango, El Salvador. The name El Chalet refers to a style of street food in El Salvador where people set up tables and chairs in front of their homes, said Maria Ramirez, Douglas' wife.
The Hula Hula is the iconic torta on the menu. It takes its name from Parque Hula Hula market in the capital city of San Salvador, where it's said to have been invented. The sandwich bears similarities to one of Mexico's most famous tortas (confusingly called the Torta Cubana, after the street in Mexico City, not Cuba). Both feature an array of beef and pork piled together with avocado and cheese on a soft roll. These are maximalist sandwiches, hearty enough to put you out of commission for awhile. The Hula Hula features a toasted hoagie roll stuffed with strips of ground beef patties, deli ham, avocado, salty Salvadoran white cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise and ketchup. The queso Salvadoreño has a fresh grassy flavor to it that adds some funk to the meaty mix.
Maria Ramirez said that the biggest difference between this and a Mexican torta is the lack of spice. Mexican tortas are often slicked with fiery jalapeños and/or paired with a spicy pickled veg mix called escabeche. El Chalet has its own version of escabeche, which it serves in two plastic juice barrels that sit atop the main communal table in the deli. One contains a bright pink liquid that looks like Kool-Aid, but is actually just carrots and red onions. And the other is an orange-ish Tang color and filled with yellow onions and thin strips of pepper, but still milder than its Mexican counterpart.
Escabeche, a Salvadoran pickled vegetable condiment, at El Chalet in Mastic Beach. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
El Chalet, or "la casa de las tortas" as it's nicknamed, also serves five other sandwiches including the El Tunco Beach with ham and pulled pork (all sandwiches $12). The torta el trompo is stuffed with pork al pastor meat that's not prepared on a spinning trompo but stewed in chile sauce until it has a sloppy Joe quality to it. There are also solid pupusas ($3 each). And to wash it down? A full selection of boba drinks.
El Chalet, 199 Mastic Beach Rd., Mastic Beach, 631-657-3300, chaletmastic.com. Open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
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