Food truck aims to show Springfield the popularity of this Mexican favorite

There's a new torta in town.

Tortuga Torta, in the former Swirly's location at 3867 S. Campbell Ave., is now open for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Saturdays, the truck is open from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and then from 5 to 7 p.m. It's closed on Sundays.

"I didn’t want to be just another taco truck, just another barbecue or burger place. We needed to be something different," said co-owner Luis Pantaleon.

Luis and Manon Pantaleon had dreamed of running a food business since they started dating, but life kept getting in the way. First, money was the issue, then COVID-19. The business took the back burner when Manon Pantaleon's career took off.

"I was really blowing up in my career as a nail technician and he was supporting me through all that. So it’s time for me to support his dreams," Pantaleon said. "It’s a new era: The food era.”

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What is a torta?

Tortas in Mexico are sandwiches, though some argue calling it a sandwich is reductive. In his cookbook "Tacos, Tortas and Tamales," author Roberto Santibanez says translating "torta" to "sandwich" is like calling a Rembrandt painting a portrait: It's accurate, but misses the point. Whatever you want to call it, tortas feature an array of fillings served between two halves of a sandwich roll like a bolillo, a variation on the French baguette.

In Mexico, a torta is just as common as a taco, Luis Pantaleon says. The dish's relative obscurity in Springfield surprised him given the community's hunger for Mexican cuisine.

"It’s shocked me that a lot of people don’t know what (tortas) were. Tortas, they’re a comfort food in Mexico," Pantaleon said. "They’re right up there with tacos — everyone has a torta, everyone has a taco in the morning, for breakfast, for lunch. It’s a sandwich. It’s very classic, very homey, very comforting."

However, they tend to be very messy, Pantaleon said. You have to sit down and focus on eating a torta.

Or you used to, until some experimenting with a 1949 kitchen tool called the Toas-Tite gave Pantaleon the idea for sealed tortas. The Toas-Tite uses two slices of bread (or your choice of other carb) and fillings to make a warm, sealed sandwich similar to the Uncrustables you see in the freezer section.

“The whole idea is that they’re super portable, right? You can grab one and eat it on the go. It’s not as messy as a regular torta. I love ’em, but they fall apart and it’s really hard to eat because you have to sit down and enjoy them," Pantaleon said. "This, you can take on the go. That was my main thing, because everybody is about convenience.”

As for the name, Tortuga Torta, it's a combination of slang and how the sandwiches looked after being sealed in the circular press. In Mexico, Pantaleon said, tortuga — in addition to being the word for turtle — is slang for tortas. The Pantaleons worked with a local machinist to make a custom torta press that grills a turtle-shell pattern into the top.

Manon Pantaleon wants to make this Mexican favorite more accessible to Springfield residents.

“It’s Mexican cuisine. We’re not trying to Americanize it, because we’re not trying to water down what we have," Manon Pantaleon said. "But it’s a fun way of eating it.”

Small menu will allow for quality over quantity

The menu includes classic varieties like pollo asado, al pastor and carne asada as well as a limited-time special sandwich. People can also order nacho fries or make their meal a combo with fries and a drink. Additionally, there is a vegan sandwich made with soy protein braised in vegetable stock and Mexican spices.

The limited menu is intentional, said Luis Pantaleon.

“I wanted to give each ingredient its respect, and the time and love it needs to really shine," Pantaleon said. "So the small menu focuses on the quality.”

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In addition to featuring traditional flavors, Pantaleon's tortas will take inspiration from other cuisines. One example of that is the salsa macha, which combines Mexican and Japanese ingredients to create a salsa "full of umami flavor and just the right amount of heat."

Pantaleon, a native of Mexico, will also have specials highlighting different regions Mexico.

Susan Szuch reports on health and food for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @szuchsm. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Tortuga Torta food truck brings Mexican comfort food to Springfield