GERALDINE: Today, we're making a cemita.

It's a sandwich originally from Puebla, Mexico.

So this is what started the whole journey of Taqueria Xochi, and we're very famous for it.

SETH: So this is a pretty special sandwich for you guys.

GERALDINE: Yes.

Yes.

SETH: All right, I've had tortas before.

How is the cemita different?

GERALDINE: So, what makes a cemita, cemita is actually the bread.

The bread is a brioche kind of bread, and it's going to be topped with sesame seeds.

It's very sturdy, and it has a bit of sweetness to it as well.

SETH: Oh, nice.

And it's got to be sturdy because it looks like it's going to be supporting- GERALDINE: It has to pull a- SETH: ...a lot of ingredients.

GERALDINE: Yes.

Definitely.

So, to make a cemita, we first put Mexican mayo on both sides of the bread.

SETH: Mexican mayo?

GERALDINE: Yes.

It has a little bit of lime juice so it helps bring up the other flavors of the sandwich.

SETH: All right, so a little extra acidity?

GERALDINE: Yes.

And we just cover every part of it.

And then, at the bottom, we're going to put our refried beans that we make.

Now we're going to put our chicken milanesa.

So, for the chicken milanesa, before you got here, we sliced some chicken breasts, and we breaded it with some milk, eggs and some seasonings as well as breadcrumbs, and then we just fried it.

And we make it fresh.

Now we're going to put some onions, some tomatoes, and then we're going to put the avocado.

SETH: And I'm always so jealous whenever I come to a good Mexican restaurant.

Avocados like I have at home never look this nice.

GERALDINE: Yeah, it's a little bit hard to find good avocados.

So this is quesillo, which is from Oaxaca Mexico.

This, we pull it, and it melts.

It tastes great.

SETH: This is kind of like a string cheese for grown-ups right here.

GERALDINE: In a way, yeah.

Yeah, it's very similar, some people say, to mozzarella because it melts and how it's stringy.

We have a lot of our cooks come every morning and string out two or three bowls of this cheese.

SETH: I think I would enjoy that job, just pulling apart cheese.

GERALDINE: And then, lastly, we're going to top the bread with chipotle that we blend to give that little kick of spiciness to the sandwich.

So now we're going to put it in the press for about six to eight minutes to give that nice crispiness to it.

(sizzle) SETH: Oh, love that sizzle.

GERALDINE: All right, Seth.

So the sandwich is ready, and we're going to slice it.

SETH: All right.

So the cheese melted a little bit in there?

GERALDINE: Yes.

And, as you can see, you have that crispiness now to the bread as well.

(bread crunching) SETH: Making a wonderful sound as the knife slides through.

GERALDINE: All right, Seth, so this is our Xochi cemita.

As you can see, it's packed to the brim.

SETH: Stuffed to the gills with flavor.

Can we go dig in?

GERALDINE: Definitely.

SETH: Let's do it.

All right, chef, I don't know how I'm going to eat all this in one bite.

I'm just going to go for it.

Wow, that is a stacked sandwich both in terms of its size and its flavor.

Big and bold.

I love the freshness that you get with the avocado and the quesillo.

But I also love the little smokiness that comes with the chipotle peppers.

But my favorite part, that crunch.

GERALDINE: Oh, yeah.

SETH: The crunch of the chicken cutlet and that incredible bread.

GERALDINE: Yes, and that's why the sandwich is called a cemita, because of the bread.

The cemita bread, it brings it all together.

And it doesn't break when you take that bite.

And you still have that crispiness and that sweetness to it.