Carreras Cemitas

Four of us stopped in for lunch. We were in the area and I was impressed by the Unilocal reviews. Have no idea what the fuss is about. While the Cemitas (sandwiches) were large with generous ingredients — I can say nothing else positive. The bread was dry, the meat basically tasteless and each one heaped into an impossible to eat mess. My sister ate only a couple of bites of her Cemita. The only condiments we were offered — three types of hot sauce. Our server gave us a small basket of corn chips. Some salsa, or anything else, would have been nice to go with them. As we left I felt the need to apologize to the rest of my party for picking this place. I had never had a Cemita before. Given that Cerreras Cemitas is raved about on Unilocal I can’t imagine ever ordering another.

I really really wanted to like this place. But unfortunately, I was disappointed with the quality of the food. I ordered the Milanesa cemita and the meat smelled rotten and was stiff as a rock. Not to mention there wasn’t any taste to the cemita other than old avocado taste.
I give it 2 stars only because their chips are delicious and they had decent customer service.

Delicious food and decently priced. For $ 8 – 10 you can get a solid meal that will fill you up for the rest of the afternoon. Its mainly a grab and go place (take out) The places is hidden. It is tucked back in a corner in the shopping center in the middle naples. The hours of open and close change I have noticed. The owner/​cashier seems to hate his job to be honest. Pretty rude dude.
Overall the food is good, the environment is decent, and the service is not the best.
Cheers!

Came here with a friend at 8:24pm on a Thursday night and as we were walking to the entrance, the cashier turned off the open neon light! But she saw us and told us that they actually close at 8pm and a troll keeps changing the closing hours to 9pm on Unilocal.She said she would be happy to serve us even though they usually close at 8pm.
My friend and I ordered our own cemita, Milaneza and Carnitas meat, respectively. I don’t need to explain what is in these as you can easily go on their beautiful website and get a full description with pictures. We also had our own Red Hook beer.
Ya the cemitas were delicious. Unhealthy, probably, but delicious, definitely. Came with two homemade sauces, verde, and hot, and a side of chips. Amazing service! This place is family owned and the cashier along with the cook were very nice and had a homey feeling.

So all of my life cemitas have been a rather obscure food item. I just thought of them as a simple bread. My grandparents and other elders in my family have been eating them with their morning coffee or tea for as long as I could remember, even I carelessly nibbled on a few as a youngster. It never occurred to me that cemita sandwiches were actually a thing. Not until recently, when I came across Cemitas La China Poblana and Elvirita Cemitas Poblanas on Unilocal.These two are well known cemita sandwich shops in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, and are respective rivals. I went on to bookmark La China Poblana and was hoping to make my way there whenever I found myself hungry in East LA, which is almost never.
Coincedentally, I happened to be in the Belmont Shore area and was in the mood for Mexican food — didn’t want to go too heavy on the wallet though. After some quick Unilocaling, Carreras Cemitas was like the first on the list of places. It immediately recalled my sudden interest in these sandwiches, so I dropped by. I went in with no real expectations, figured — What’s a place in Belmont gonna be able to provide?
Turns out, there’s a direct blood-​line between Carreras and La China Poblana. The owners of each restaurant are brothers. What a relief it was, I knew these would be legit.
I ordered a marinated chicken cemita, aside from the meat, it comes with cheese, avocado, and onions. You can add lettuce, tomato, and peppers for $ 1.50; what’s called «Gabacho Style». But no thanks! This one sandwich was already costing me about $ 8 alone, and I was supposedly trying to eat cheap. I wholeheartedly understand the pricing here though.
The sandwich was good though, really good actually. The order comes with a small bag of tortilla chips (like 5 or 6 chips) and two chipotle sauces (a creamy one and a chili one). They were the perfect compliment to the sandwich, just would have liked a few more chips.
I’m definitely a fan of these sandwiches now, I have Carreras to thank for that. Just rather make the trek out to Boyle Heights for La China Poblana next time, instead of having to pay Belmont Shore prices. Wouldn’t hesitate to try it again though if I’m nearby and craving one.
P. S. Get it right, these aren’t tortas.

Was expecting more of this place after reading all the reviews. The food was OK at best. I got a cemita de carne asada and my wife a chicken taco. The cemita was ok, good amount of cheese. The carne asada didn’t seem all too well seasoned and there was some gristle, more then I would expect. The taco looked too upscale, had too many things going on with it. The chicjen could of been cooked a little longer. The service was good, the 2 salsa they brought out was not the best I’ve tried nor the worst. The chipotle mayo sauce was good (I think that is what it was). They had a good selection of Mexican sodas and beers.

I have had many good cemitas before, but this is the first time I’ve had one lettuce-​wrapped. It was so good! I got the asada, which was cooked perfectly. That delicious cheese and salsa complimented it perfectly.
Add in some friendly service, free WiFi, and an awesome playlist (Julieta Venegas and Juanes playing!)…I’m hooked!

This place is just awesome. I love this place. The sandwiches are out of this world. I tried few and all has been great, even the vegetarian. Go on and try that red sauce they give you. Can’t tell what it is, but gosh it’s good. Only negative is that it takes them so darn long 30 + minutes each time I ordered, with or without a crowd. So give yourself some time. Not a pick up and go, so can be tough on lunch time.
Food, great. Service, good. Wait, forever…

Abraham — the man, the myth, the legend (and owner) is cooking up some great eats down in Naples! And he’s a great dude too.
This is literally a must try, even if you aren’t in Long Beach, go for a one-​of-​a-​kind Mexican treat before or after cruising to 2^nd street. Trust me, it’s worth the drive no matter where in LA or OC you’re coming from. If you like Mexican food and want to try it with a slight twist, then look no further. Don’t forget to try out their house made sauces which are amazing in their own right. Oh, and did I mention the «Coyote Fries»?!

We love this place! The cemitas are delicious. I usually order the milanesa cemita. My fiancé always tries something new.
The service is fast. The staff is friendly. The cemitas are great.
It never disappoints.

Amazing cemitas. The prices are great. I like that you get a comforting side of tortilla soup with every order. I’ll take that over chips any day. They’re portions are very generous. I couldn’t finish my cemita and I eat a lot. We had a lot of leftovers. The place looks very chic, for a Mexican place. It’s hard to find good food in a clean establishment. I definitely recommend coming here. All their choices are good, it just depends on what kind of protein you feel like having, but pierna is always a good choice. The cheese is amazing too.

Just when I thought I’d found my favorite flavor here (Adobada cemita) The owner pulled out the Coyote Fries – a must try. I was shaking my head in disbelief at the tastiness of this smothered sweet potato dish. I’m, once again, in love!

What can I say about Abraham’s little place? Only that it’s super awesome!
I’m a torta fanatic. My dad owned two torta businesses in Mexico City, but it’s damn near impossible to find a decent torta in California. So I was thrilled to try Cemitas, and I was super surprised because I found what I was looking for. Technically, Cemitas aren’t tortas, but they’re pretty close. This place offers lots of options (VEGGIE TOO!) and the Oaxacan cheese is always fresh and delicious. Yes, I’ve eaten here a few times.
And the chips, the chips are super-​delicious. Perfectly salted and crunchy. Oh, and I can’t forget «that pink stuff» that the place offers. It’s authentic and it goes with everything.
The service is also great, and it’s great ’cause it’s near the beach, and the times that I’ve been there, the owners have brought their cute little puppy, who just sits outside looking adorable.
Great place to fill up, no doubt.

Perfection!
Every time I go here, I see the perfection in Abraham’s restaurant. The food is awesome quality: meat, tortillas, veggies, CHEESE, bread and seasonings.
Two times so far, my fiancé and I have stopped in here before heading out of town for a weekend vacation. We always leave happy and so thankful this place exists.
I’ve had the carnitas cemita, the Milanese cemita a couple times, and a few carna asada tacos. Amazing, awesome, delish.
Location isn’t prime, but I’m hoping his perfectionism gets him far.

**UPDATE**
To all you stoners, hungoverers and lover of food… two words.
COYOTE FRIES.
Thank me later. xoxo.

yum! awesome lunch spot
ordered: asada cemita & marinated chicken cemita w/​mexican coke & a water for $ 20.
they brought out homemade chips and salsa to our table!
cemita bread so super soft and freshly baked. the mexican queso is the best touch to these dishes. they are also very generous with the avocado. so fresh and delicious! i cant wait to go there again.
homemade chipotle mayo is the best ive ever had!
staff is amazing! the owner was so helpful and service was great!
go eat a cemita right now!

Great little Mexican food joint in a strip mall in Long Beach. A nice simple menu — just choose your meat! We got the adobada cemitas and 2 chicken tacos.
While waiting for the food we were served freshly made tortilla chips which were perfectly salted and nice and crispy! Dunked the chips in their homemade creamy, spicy salsa, which I probably could have eaten a whole bottle of. The tacos were served in freshly made corn tortillas and the chicken was tender and juicy.
The cemitas was delicious! The adobada is marinated beef. The beef was tender and perfectly spiced. The cheese, lettuce, onion, and mounds of avocado perfectly complimented the meat. The brioche like bun stayed together and kept all the ingredients from falling out everywhere.
The service was FANTASTIC! The guys in the shop were soooo friendly and nice. Next time I am in Long Beach I will be stopping in again.

I had a carne asada cemita last night and it was delicious! Carreras Cemitas used to be a food truck but now they have a restaurant near Naples. This is extremely exciting to me because I love food truck food, but I hate chasing them down. A cemita is a type of torta with a specific brioche-​like type of bread. It is very soft and fluffy. Very tasty. The cemita came with a generous amount of carne asada, avocado, and two types of cheese. Seriously, the sandwich was overflowing with fillings. My biggest pet peeve for a burger/​sandwich is when the roll/​bun is so big that it completely covers up the fillings. This, thank goodness, was not a problem at Carreras Cemitas. I am just taking one star off because I thought the carne asada was a little bit on the tough side. I had to use a knife to get through it. Really, I’d just take .5 star off if I could.
The guys working there are great — super friendly and warm. You order at the cashier and they bring out your food to you to your table. You can watch them making it too, which I’m a fan of.
The parking lot is a little small, but hey, having a parking lot in Long Beach, especially on 2^nd St. is a rarity!

This little Mexican sandwich shop can be found in a tiny little plaza on Naples Island, just two doors down from our local laundromat. There aren’t a ton of Mexican places within a mile of where I live (and when you live just off 2^nd street, the idea is to not venture out too far from that mile), so we decided to give this place a shot.
Since that first bite, it’s now a weekly tradition to get our cemita on. The cemitas are about the size of a normal human face, the ingredients are super fresh (gotta love that Oaxacan cheese!) and I am really hoping that they decide to bottle and sell their homemade chipotle sauce and chipotle mayo.
My go-​to cemita is the lettuce wrap, but the breaded beef is also good… AND they have fresh horchata on tap!

I went back and forth on this place. I may fundamentally disagree with how this sandwich is made, but taken on its own terms, Carreras Cemitas is pretty good.
I love a good sandwich. And I like new things. But the cemitas breaks a lot of rules I take for granted. First off, the bread. It is too small and too dry. If the bread is a sandwich’s clothing, this bun is a pair of pasties. The contents spill out immediately, and unless you like getting down and dirty with your food, it’s best to knife and fork it. Secondly, no mayo, no lettuce, no tomato. Lots of sandwiches don’t have one of these three, but none of these three? Heresy. But everyone says it’s authentic, so I’ll just go with it.
The sandwiches come with generous portions of avocado and no less than two types of cheese. However, despite all the cheese, it is very mild. To complement this, they offer three delicious salsas. I say put red on one half, green on the other. Or if you’re brave, a dollop of the orange (habanero).
So after a few goes, here’s what I tried:
The Milanese, featuring a fried beef cutlet. Either the bread was too small or the meat was too big. Either way, not enough bun for me. Some might be thrilled with the cutlet spilling out of the sides though. It is definitely big. The texture was kinda gristly, and too salty for my taste. Thank god for that salsa. All in all, frying might work for chicken and pork, but for beef it’s a gamble. It’s a pass for me.
The Carnitas is not bad. However, they forgot the sauce, even though we just had a conversation about it. Without it, everything was just a little too dry. Otherwise, if you like Carnitas, this will not disappoint.
Lastly, I tried the Carne Asada. Pay dirt, the tried and true, what I should’ve ordered all along. Nothing goes better with all that avocado than juicy bits of marinated steak.
Service is earnest and friendly, and they were kind enough to offer complimentary soup a couple times. I don’t recall the name, but I tasted corn, avocado, and papaya. I absolutely hate papaya, but this was well-​made and pretty delicious.
So if you like sandwiches and want to try something new, Carreras Cemitas may surprise you.