Bolillo rolls have a hard, crunchy crust and a soft, fluffy interior. Their sturdy exterior makes them great for building a classic torta, and that chewy interior makes them easy to eat.

Flip the bread and turn off the heat. On the bottom part of the bolillo, spread a decent portion of the jalapeño aoli. Add arugula, Oaxaca cheese, tomato, chorizo or ham, and sunny side up egg.

The bolillo bread here is extra greasy and the avocado extra creamy. This restaurant's pambazo sandwich, the cousin to a torta, is also delicious and comes packed in between two moist pieces of bread.

Taqueria Tres Reyes Excellent tacos and tortas (sandwiches) made with pork, beef tongue, tripe or goat. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. 5403 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale; call 301-779-6060.

Notes Bolillo and telera rolls, the two classic breads for Mexican tortas, are 6-inch-long oval rolls that are similar to hoagies or soft baguettes; telera rolls are slightly flat.

Tortas—generally a hearty telera or bolillo bread bun stuffed with meat, lettuce, tomato, jalapeño, and whatever else you can think of—are the all-too-often overlooked big sibling of the taco.

A torta is to Mexico what a bahn mi is to Vietnam. The bahn mi's crusty baguette, the football-shaped bolillo and the rounder, squishier telera used for tortas are all rooted in French colonialism.

Richman took on the formidable Torta del Ray, a takes-two-hands (and maybe a fork) stack of ham, oozing mozzarella cheese, pork sirloin, breaded beef, sliced hot dog, chorizo omelet, tomato, onion ...

The tortas are made with bolillo-style bread. It’s thick and dense, before the bread is flattened to reduce its volume for the sandwich. PRO TIP: Don’t sleep on the Dominican Burger Torta.