Roosevelt Avenue-Style Cemita Sandwiches

How to make a cemita just like your favorite New York City taco truck.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated March 08, 2024
New York-style cemita on a sesame seed bun with avocado, tomato, queso Oaxaca, and meat.
A cemita sandwich, as made in Queens New York. .

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

Why It Works

  • Compressing the bread while griddling it helps create a sandwhich that's just a little easier to get your mouth around (though it's still plenty big and messy).
  • Warming the sandwich in the oven helps simulate the warming effect that happens when the cemita vendors wrap the sandwich in paper and foil, trapping heat from the warm meat filling and softening the shredded cheese.

Cemitas are a type of Mexcian sandwich originally from the State of Puebla, but they've taken on a life of their own in New York City. This recipe creates a cemita sandwich as served in the restaurants and taco trucks of New York, in particular along Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights.

If you'd prefer to make a cemita closer to what you'd find in Puebla, here's a recipe for freshly fried cutlets and the preferred toppings and assembly.

A collage of photos showing the assembly of a New York-style cemita with refried beans, meat, avocado, queso Oaxaca, sliced tomato, fresh papalo, and more cheese.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

We start with that same cemita (store-bought or homemade), but toast it on a griddle or in a hot skillet, pressing down with a spatula to compress the bread.

Then we spread warm refried beans on the bottom bun, and top it with the meat of our choice—taco fillings are fair game here, or you can do the breaded fried cutlets from the Pueblan-style sandwich.

On top of that goes avocado, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Con todo (the works), basically. Then papalo, chipotles in adobo or pickled jalapeños, and a heaping pile of shredded cheese.

The top bun gets slathered in mayo, and then we close the sandwich. To do it really right, either wrap it in foil to trap the heat of the ingredients and semi-melt the cheese or pop it in a 350°F (177°C) oven for a few minutes to warm through.

A side view of half a New York-style cemita sandwich, with taco meat, avocado slices, sliced tomato, vegetables, and queso Oaxaca.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

April 2015

Recipe Details

Roosevelt Avenue-Style Cemita Sandwiches Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 15 mins
Active 35 mins
Total 25 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 homemade or store-bought cemita buns (see notes), sesame-seed buns, or brioche buns, halved
  • 6 tablespoons warm Refried Beans
  • 2 cups warm pork carnitas, al pastor, carne asada, carne adovada, or other taco filling
  • Canola or vegetable oil, for greasing
  • 2 ripe medium Hass avocados, halved, pitted, and sliced
  • 1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce from 1 small head
  • 8 thin tomato slices from 2 medium tomatoes
  • 12 raw onion rings (about 1/4 inch thick)
  • 20 leaves papalo (see notes), or fresh cilantro leaves
  • 4 chipotle chiles from 1 (7-ounce) can whole chipotle chiles in adobo
  • 1 cup finely-shredded queso Oaxaca from 1 (14-ounce) ball of cheese (see notes), or low-moisture fresh mozzarella or string cheese
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Heat 2 cast-iron skillets or 1 large griddle over medium-high heat until lightly smoking. Rub with oil using a paper towel and toast cut surfaces of buns, pressing down with a sturdy spatula to compress. Set aside.

  2. Spread refried beans on bottom buns. Top with meat of choice. Arrange avocado on top of meat.

  3. Top avocado with lettuce, tomato, onion, and papalo. Tear each chipotle into pieces and arrange on top of papalo. Mound cheese strands on top.

  4. Smear top buns with mayonnaise and close sandwiches. Set on baking sheet and transfer to oven until just warmed through and cheese is just starting to soften throughout, about 3 minutes. Or wrap in foil to warm bun and soften cheese, just like they do at the taco truck. Serve.

Special Equipment

Two 12-inch cast iron skillets or one large griddle

Notes

Cemita buns, papalo, and queso Oaxaca can be found at well-stocked Mexican and Latin American bakeries and grocers. Queso Oaxaca should be shredded by hand into very thin strands, just like string cheese. Cilantro can be used in place of the papalo.

Read More

More Serious Eats Recipes