Eating in Memphis (31) - Las Tortugas

In one word, Las Tortugas was fabuloso! It was a little pricey for lunch, but it was worth every penny.

I'm actually a little sad that we waited so long to try this place! For those familiar with Memphis, it's located on Germantown Parkway, an area we aren't typically in. A few weekends ago, wedding errands brought us over that way so we stopped in for lunch. At an off-peak lunch hour, the place was still booming. I'm not surprised, the food was amazing!

We knew Jeremy was going to order the Chorizo Tortuga because, well, that's the item on our list! I, however, had no idea what to order and I'll be honest, I felt completely overwhelmed. The combination of all the people and the fact that you have to order at a counter made me feel frantic. That was until it was our turn to order. The gentleman at the register asked us if we'd ever been here before (probably because I clearly looked crazed). When we told him this was our first time he started telling us about how his father, who is originally from Mexico, opened this place because he missed authentic Mexican food. Even though a line was forming behind us, he took the time to explain to us different items on the menu and the history of the restaurant. (His father used to drive around town to different grocery stores to get the authentic ingredients he needed.) He told us you won't find buritos or nachos or any of those other Tex-Mex dishes, because this is authentic Mexican food exactly as you would find if you were to go to Mexico. On their website they even claim that they refuse to Americanize the process or the presentation. He made me feel relaxed and at ease. You could tell he loves his job and his father and this family-run business.





Now onto the good stuff, the food. In English, Tortuga means tortoise. At Las Tortugas, a Tortuga is a sandwich in which they hallow the bread out (resembling a tortoise shell) so that more items can fit on the sandwich! So, the Chorizo Tortuga has imported Mexican sausage on a hallowed out bun with fresh avocado, tomato, cheese, lettuce, and peppers. Jeremy still hasn't stopped talking about how good this sandwich was!





I ordered the Flauta de Pollo. When I ordered this, it was explained to me that Flauta means "flute" and it's meant to be picked up and eaten. Basically, it's chicken inside a pastry and fried. Yeah, how could that be bad? It wasn't.





I had read somewhere that you can't visit Las Tortugas without ordering one of their Aguas Frescas. Basically, a fruit smoothie. They have a bunch of different flavors to try but we went with the Pineapple and it was incredible.  It's not as thick as a smoothie but it was so refreshing and flavorful. I mean, I would drive all the way out there just for this. Seriously, do yourself a favor and try this!

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this meal (if you couldn't already tell by this post). I can't wait to go back!



PS. Check out the rest of the 100 Things to Eat in Memphis!!