One place I had ear-marked for this sandwich tour was Panaderia Ortiz Bakery. They have a unique sandwich on the menu there called a “Torta” which is a Spanish-styled sandwich and is one of the few places in this area to offer it. So let’s branch out a little bit and try something with a south of the border taste for our 31st week of sandwiches!
Here we are at Panaderia Ortiz Bakery on Monroe Street in downtown Peoria. I love the mural on the side of the building, it’s a beautiful painting with a wonderful message!
Okay, let’s go in and start our 31st week of sandwiches!
I love the Cheap Trick floor in here and the lit-up bakery case! We’ll head over to the counter and once I was there, I saw the friendly owners, Marie and Bernardo and took a photo of them in front of the bakery case. I first met them over three years ago when I had lunch with Erik Reader in here and you can see that post by clicking right here. Great to see both of them again, now if only Erik was here we’d have a real reunion!
While this place is a bakery, they also offer a full menu for lunch and dinner and check out the top entry on the board, The Torta! That’s what we’re here for! I placed my order and then Marie and Bernardo showed me a picture of their daughter, Angie on Santa's lap with her two brothers. Bernardo told me that they’ve had another son since the last time I was in here! His name is Kevin, but he’s taking a nap now, maybe we can meet him later.
I thought I’d take a quick look around in here and gaze at some of the delicious, freshly-baked goodies in here! Everything is baked on the premises daily and it all looks so delicious!
Okay, let’s find a place to sit in the dining area, I chose this booth and then...POOF...Erik Reader appeared! Now we have that full-fledged reunion I was talking about from the original post we did here! Just another magical moment here on MBIP! Great to see Erik and now it’s time to start our lunch in here!
We started out with a bag of Papa Casera potato chips and they were so good! Bernardo suggested we put a little hot sauce on them and they were a tasty pre-sandwich appetizer.
Speaking of sandwiches, Bernardo let me go back into the kitchen and take some photos of our Tortas being prepared. As you can see these sandwiches take a bit of preparation and a little love and Bernardo packs both of them in while making our sandwiches! The meats are added first then lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes and jalapenos! The final shot is Bernardo’s voilà moment! The sandwiches are all ready...
And here’s Bernardo bringing them to our booth!
Bernardo took the MBIP Camera and got a shot of Erik and I with our sandwiches, I can’t wait to try this sandwich, it looks and smells so good! Let’s take a close-up look and then try it out!
I got the chicken and chorizo Torta and it looks so delicious and it’s even tastier than it looks! The chicken and chorizo have some spice and southwestern flavor and seasonings and they blend well with the cool lettuce and rich sour cream on top of the sandwich. And then the jalapenos kick in and take it to another level of tastiness! The bread is baked fresh daily and it’s crusty on the outside and fluffy and light inside. This is one sandwich you should definitely try out and you can only find it at Panaderia Ortiz Bakery!
After the sandwich, Marie brought us each a surprise piece of homemade cake and it was out of this world good! It was vanilla and the cake was dense and sweet and sat on a base of sweet cream! As good as that sounds it was even better and a sweet way to finish off this wonderful lunch! Erik even took a photo of it so he wouldn’t forget it!
And as we were getting ready to go, Kevin woke up and I was able to get this family shot with him and his parents! Thanks to Erik for meeting me for our reunion lunch here and thanks to Marie and Bernardo for a fabulous sandwich and a fun afternoon! We’ll see you all tomorrow!
Sandwich Rating
Three and three quarters Dagwood Bumsteads—This is a really tasty and unique sandwich and you should definitely stop by and try it out. And try the cake while you’re there too, it’s a perfect dessert after the Torta!
Panaderia Ortiz Bakery
1404 NE Monroe Street
Peoria
309-643-1300
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