Gordita carnitas

The gordita at El Sol stars a chewy masa with a crackly exterior, which is necessary to contain the soggy tangle of meaty filling. Made with slow-cooked pork, lard, garlic, bay leave, oranges, evaporated milk and cactus paddles, the contents are garnished with cilantro and fresh cheese. You’ll be thinking of it long after your last bite.

It takes a big flavorful stew to penetrate a gordita’s crackly and chewy masa armor, and El Sol has the perfect one: a dense tangle of pork slow-cooked in a copper pot with lard, garlic, bay leaf, oranges and evaporated milk. The kitchen adds some cactus paddles to give the filling a slippery vegetal note. Garnished with cilantro and fresh cheese, the carnitas mixture not only will poke through its protective shell, but it also will lodge itself in your long-term memory, where the gorditas will forever provide happy thoughts, long after you’ve finished the last crumb.