Cemitas Puebla

On North Avenue in Humboldt Park, Tony Anteliz opened a small restaurant in 2002 dedicated entirely to the cemita — the sandwich of Puebla, Mexico. The cemita is a sesame-seeded brioche-style roll, moderately sweet, structurally capable of holding what gets loaded into it: milanesa (thin-pounded meat, breaded and fried), avocado, Oaxacan string cheese (quesillo), chipotle peppers, papalo leaves, and onion.

Papalo is the herb that distinguishes a cemita from everything else. It is related to cilantro but more intense, more mineral, more aggressive — a flavor that doubles back on itself and clarifies every other element around it. Cemitas Puebla grows its own. Without it, the sandwich is good. With it, the sandwich is unrepeatable.

Chicago has excellent Mexican food. This is the best Mexican sandwich in the city by a margin that makes argument pointless.