A family-owned taquería in Chicago’s Hermosa neighborhood is serving tortas on orange, pumpkin-shaped bread, and its video of them on the grill is going viral.
Tacotlán calls it Chicago’s first pumpkin-shaped torta. It costs $25, it’s carryout only at the restaurant’s Tacotlán Express location on West Fullerton Avenue, and it’s on the menu through the first week of November.
Fillings and Price
You pick the filling, and Tacotlán loads the pumpkin bun with beans, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and queso fresco. The birria torta comes with onion and cilantro, and adding beans, lettuce, tomato, or sour cream to it costs $1 each.
- $25: al pastor, chicken, chorizo, veggie, or avocado with queso fresco
- $30: carne asada, birria, or milanesa de pollo, each a $5 upcharge
- Avocado: $3 extra on any filling
That’s about double Tacotlán’s regular tortas, which run $10 to $14 on bolillo bread. Its regular al pastor torta is $12.
The Video That Started It
Tacotlán posted a video of the orange buns loaded on the flat-top on the evening of Sept. 15, with the caption “Thanks for keeping us busy with our Pumpkin Shaped Tortas! See you for more tomorrow.” By Sept. 27, it had 62,400 reactions, 1,000 comments, and 4,900 shares.
The next afternoon, the restaurant posted a photo of the torta with “Thank you for the love on our Pumpkin Shaped Torta! More tomorrow!” On Friday, Sept. 25, it was still pushing it: “Have you gotten the FIRST EVER pumpkin shaped torta in Chicago yet?”…