El Chile is all about color, from the pink booths to the vibrant jugs of aguas frescas near the register and the faux parrot perched by the wall-mounted menu. This 11-year-old establishment in the southside City of Huntington Park is run by a Guadalajara native named Marisa, who features plenty of jugos, licuados and bionicos, but their Torta Ahogada ($5) is the dish that drew my eye.

The sandwich, famous in her home state in Mexico, featured a firm roll that held up unusually well to the traditional drowning by chile de arbol broth. El Chile’s torta also featured earthy bean paste, a generous helping of flavorful carnitas chunks, shaved red onions and radish slices, which added some welcome crunch. I ate most of the tortas that Jonathan Gold highlighted in his handy torta ahogada round-up, and El Chile’s version would rate at or near the top.

The manager, Armando, asked if I wanted my sandwich “spicy,” and he repeated the question enough times to let doubt creep in. Given that, I went with fire-red habanero salsa on only half of my sandwich, and that was indeed lip stinging. Thankfully, a terrific strawberry agua fresca ($1.50 for a small) was handy nearby, and half the sandwich remained relatively mild.

Dose of Vitamin P spotlights my favorite pork dish from the previous week.