Gorditas Durango

I really want to like this place. I really do.
I came here with very high expectations due to excellent reviews and high ratings. I came here around noon and it was packed. That was a good sign. I was the fourth in line. I didn’t mind. «It’ll be worth it,» I thought.
What I liked best about this place was their menu on the wall. It was big enough for people waiting in line to see and it had pictures of most of their dishes, which I thought was immensely helpful. The next thing I knew, it was my turn to order. The girl spoke to me in Spanish. I did not know what she said (I guess Spanish 1 was not so helpful after all). I smiled and said «Hi.» It took her a few seconds to realize I could not speak Spanish. She switched over to English and we were able to communicate that way.
I ordered three flour tacos: barbacoa, beef and pork. I was thirsty and wanted something refreshing to drink. I got a small cup of «fresh» cantaloupe drink. The total came out to be a little over $ 11. Compared to many mainstream places, the items here are fairly cheap. However, compared to many decent hole in the wall restaurants, I would have to admit everything here is… a tad bit overpriced.
The girl gave me my drink and a ticket with a number. I looked around for a place to sit but couldn’t find an empty table. I take that back. There were empty tables. Lots of them. Except those tables had dirty plates and cups on them. No one bothered to take those back. I didn’t want to just stand there, so I went ahead and cleared one of the tables and sat down.
Eight minutes later, the girl called out my number. I didn’t understand her at first (once again, I did not learn much in Spanish 1). Actually, I didn’t know she was calling out my number. She figured that was the case and brought the food to my table instead. She asked if I wanted hot sauce. I said yes, which was the best decision ever because their green hot sauce/​salsa tasted amaaaaazing.
Their tacos were filling. They looked pretty and I like pretty things. They smelled alright but tasted quite delicious. I wouldn’t say they were the best tacos I’ve had, but they were certainly not the worst. Their «fresh» fruit drink did not taste so fresh. In fact, it was too sweet for me. Did they use some kind of fruit powder/​mix or something instead of fresh fruits? I guess I’ll never know.
Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll be back. I probably will if I’m close by but I don’t know if I’d go out of my way just to order something from there.

The food here is excellent. Seasoned and cooked well, served up hot. People who eat a lot of international food in this town know how difficult it is to find a place that does rice well. Gorditas does rice well! They are affordable, friendly, and know how to cook some serious Mexican food. The space itself is not great by any means, but they are making it work, for sure. I think you just have to have appropriate expectations when wanting to dine in. The seating is very limited, and it is not a very clean dining area at all. The amazing food, and the cold, glass-​bottle Coke make you forget that though.
Gorditas truly is my go-​to Mexican joint. Truly authentic. Truly tasty.

I’m currently living in California, but this is my go-​to mexican place when I’m in town. California has nothing on gorditas durango’s gorditas, and my personal favorite, sopes. Don’t let its’ looks deter you, your mouth will rejoice in all the flavors offered here. Superb!

Weekends are busy at Gorditas Durango: the limited number of tables in the small restaurant quickly fill, and there’s often a line of people at the register waiting to place an order or pay for their food. The owners have been running restaurants in Wichita for over fifteen years — most recently the 21^st Street Carry Out, which closed in 2011 — and the confident and esoteric flavors they’re producing help them stand out from the majority of Wichita Mexican restaurants.
If the name wasn’t a big enough hint, taking a look at what’s on each of the tables should tell you the specialty of the house. Translated as «little fat one,» the gordita is a thick tortilla stuffed with a variety of different meats. It’s made from masa, or in northern Mexico — especially Durango — it’s made with wheat flour, making it more akin to a pita. In neither case is it the loose flatbread and ground beef that defines the average gordita at certain fast food restaurants. This is better.
Any true Mexican restaurant is defined by their taco (and gordita) fillings. The delicious barbacoa and carnitas that serves as the backbone of most places represent well here, though Gorditas Durango has plenty to be proud of in the radioactive red and green colors of the guisados, glistening with pork fat, and a big burst of earthiness and acidity that comes from chiles and limes. The dough isn’t strong enough to hold up to their gravies, and your fingers will come away stained as a result. You won’t mind. Guisados are not easily found in Wichita, and it may be even harder to find fillings such as rajas (poblanos and cheese), picadillo (minced meat), and chicharron (fried pork skin), so take advantage of them here.
The flour gorditas hold together well and serve as a perfect pocket for their fillings. The corn versions are even better: two conjoined disks of dough are fried on the griddle, making them crunchy and an excellent contrast to the soft and tender meat. They don’t hold the fillings as well as the flour version, but it’s worth suffering through a little extra mess.
As is the case for many Mexican restaurants, Gorditas Durango has an expansive picture menu dominating the wall behind the register, but it serves as a means to detract from the star of the show. As long as you’re putting some kind of meat into some kind of a tortilla, you won’t choose wrong.

Wichita has a lot of bad «Mexican» places, but this is not one of them. Gorditas Durango is definitely one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of trying. I really enjoy authentic Mexican food, and Gorditas Durango satisfies that craving. The food is fairly simple but the flavors are big and the salsa verde is quite good. The prices are very inexpensive with most items costing $ 2 to $ 5. Gorditas and tacos are $ 2 each so it’s easy to try several different things at once. I recommend the barbacoa gordita with salsa verde and the sope with rajas y queso (peppers and cheese), and the tacos al pastor. The taco’s corn tortillas taste fresh and home made, which in and of itself is worth $ 2 in my opinion. The tacos are smaller than the gordita, but that’s the traditional way of preparing them. If you’ve ever had authentic Mexican tacos you’ll know what I mean. This place is awesome and I really hope they stay open. I’ll be giving them more business for sure.

Delicious authentic Mexican food! Small restaurant just across the street from North High. Friendly bilingual service. Family owned.