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Community Series
The Making of the Pumas Torta at Tortas Neza
On a hot, sticky August day, St. John’s University English professor Steven Alvarez, who teaches a class on Taco Literacy, led us on an ultimate Mexican food crawl along Roosevelt Avenue in Corona and Jackson Heights, Queens. His first stop: the Tortas Neza food truck, helmed by Mexico City native Galdino Molinero and his wife, Lilia.
Here, we see exactly how Molinero assembles his signature torta, the Pumas, a gargantuan feat that weighs nearly two pounds and what some say is the biggest sandwich in Queens.
![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tortas-neza-truck-800x534.jpg)
The Tortas Neza truck, named after the owner’s old Mexico City neighborhood of Nezahualcóyotl (or Neza) — itself named after a famous Aztec poet-king — is parked near the corner of 108th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Corona, Queens.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01249-800x534.jpg)
St. John's University English professor Steven Alvarez (left) with Tortas Neza owner Galdino Molinero (center) and Alvarez’s friend (and Queens’ resident food expert), Joe DiStefano.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01239-800x534.jpg)
Each of the 19 tortas on the Tortas Neza menu are named after Mexican soccer teams.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01338-800x534.jpg)
But the signature is the Pumas, named after the Club Universidad Nacional soccer club in Mexico City (commonly referred to as U.N.A.M or Pumas); it's Molinero’s favorite team.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01265-800x534.jpg)
Here, Molinero, fittingly dressed in a Pumas DHL soccer jersey, walks us through how to make his best-selling signature torta.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01279-800x534.jpg)
First things first: Molinero spreads a thin layer of beans on the bottom of the sandwich, before adding lettuce. He gets his torta bread custom made at Vallecito Bakery in Jackson Heights.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01272-800x534.jpg)
Then, eggs and bits of chorizo are whipped up together...
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01288-800x534.jpg)
... before going on the griddle.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01283-800x534.jpg)
Meanwhile, avocado is layered on, followed by spicy jalapeños.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01282-800x534.jpg)
Chicken Milanese is fried to order...
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01293-800x534.jpg)
... and then mounted onto the sandwich. This is the first of many meats to come.
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Mini sausage links are fried.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01295-800x534.jpg)
The finished eggs-with-chorizo are added...
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01298-800x534.jpg)
... which are then topped off with the sausages...
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01303-800x534.jpg)
... which are themselves garnished with thin slices of ham and queso de puerco, or head cheese.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01309-800x534.jpg)
A final mound of grated cheese tops it off. Molinero then “butters” the other side with mayonnaise.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01324-800x534.jpg)
The Pumas torta is finally ready for the griddle...
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01327-800x534.jpg)
... where it’s admired by all. (From left to right: Alvarez, DiStefano, and their friend, chef Irwin Sánchez.)
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01330-800x534.jpg)
The final pressing...
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01342-800x534.jpg)
... and just like that, it’s done.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01368-800x534.jpg)
We divide and conquer the torta among ourselves. Still, all five of us cannot finish it all.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DSC01380-800x534.jpg)
Molinero with his wife, Lilia. They’ve been making tortas together for nearly two decades.
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![](https://blog.resy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/corona-queens-800x534.jpg)
Tortas Neza is but the first of Alvarez’s many stops for incredible Mexican food in Queens. Discover his ultimate guide to Mexican food in New York here.
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Community Series