Tortas de Force
A Mexican Sandwich Shop in Union Square

Today is one of those good news/bad news days.

It’s 60 degrees, but it’s rainy.

There’s football this Sunday, but it’s the Pro Bowl.

A Chocolate-Ancho Chicken torta is arriving in your backyard, but it’s not available till after the weekend.

Patience...

Introducing Tortaria, the kind of griddled sandwich bodega you’d find in Guadalajara, or, you know, Union Square, opening Monday.

If you had to guess, you’d assume this is a lunch spot. Something quick, something hearty, something Mexican and sandwich-y. And you’d be right. Partially.

Yes, you’re definitely coming here for afternoon tortas (like seared red snapper on a made-from-scratch semolina bun) and Mexican colas. But there’s more. Wraparound-bar more. Distressed-wood-grocery-shelves-stocked-with-cans-of-Tecate more. Made-to-order-guacamole more. Late-night-openness more.

Which means after midnight, you’ll be stopping here for fuel (both of the pulled-pork and reposado variety) before moving on to that four-hour karaoke binge (you can’t out-Kenny-Loggins Kenny Loggins on an empty stomach).

As for the drinks: frozen sangria and fresh-squeezed-juice margaritas behind the bar. Small-batch tequila and imported mezcal above the bar, locked down in a padlocked cage.

Good thing you always travel with bolt cutters.