mmm-yoso!!!

Mama G’s Kitchen & Sauces

There seems to be a sort of Peruvian Renaissance of sort going on. Since August - September of last year no less than three Peruvian spots have opened in San Diego. I've already posted on Chimpum Callao and The Peruvian Spot, though it was Mama G's that I actually first visited, but wanted to do multiple visits before posting. So, here we go.....

The actual location of the restaurant is interesting; along Camino del Rio South, past the Benihana. I also recall that a TGI Fridays used to be nearby? 

The restaurant actually faces the street and has a small indoor dining area and an outdoor patio.

I've actually sampled Mama G's sauces at the Hillcrest Farmer's Market, which I'd never really taken to, a bit too mayonnaisey for my taste, but I was quite interested in what the dishes produced would be like.

Service was quite laid back and friendly. Things did take a while, but heck, it's a mom-and-pop kind of operation and they had just opened.

Of course I was going to order the Lomo Saltado. It was the first Peruvian Dish that made an impact when I tasted it back in 1997 at El Rocoto in Gardena (if you want to see a revisit post, we visited back in 2010). Before that it was basically Pollo ala Brassa from El Pollo Inka. So of course I had to order that, along with some Chicha Morada.

Well, this was the bottled stuff I can get at Tropical Star and even at Andres, it's a bit too sweet for me.

Soon enough, the Lomo Saltado ($17) arrived.

   Soon enough my lomo saltado arrived. Quite a bit of onions and papas frita in this. The rice was fairly dry and chewy, but edible, and seemed to have been seasoned a bit.

The beef was a bit on the chewier side; but not as bad as what Soo had, nor as drenched in sauce. A bit on the salty side, mild sour - savory tones, it was not bad.

Wish it had a bit more tomato to balance out the saltiness, but this was not bad.

I waited a couple of weeks and returned. It was a nice and unseasonably warm day for San Diego.

So I thought it would be great to try some Ceciche; sadly they were out of fish! I then tried to start with some Yucca Frita, but the fryer was down! Well, I didn't come here for a cheeseburger or Caesar salad. 

I had an Inca Cola to think things over.

I'm not one for soft drinks; but like I've mentioned before, there's something about that "bubblegum flavor" of the drink that takes me back to Peru.

In the end I got a Causa Rellena ($11) and Beef Empanadas ($12).

   The presentation was lovely; though the boiled egg was overcooked. The chicken was fairly bland, stringy, and there was a bit too much mayo. The potatoes were nicely done though.

The Empanadas came with a side of Mama G's Sauce, which I enjoyed with the empanadas.

   Loved the crust of the empanadas. Even though it wasn't slightly flakey, it had a nice crunchy texture. I didn't care much for the dusting of sugar as I think it detracted from the overall flavor. Like I mentioned earlier, the sauce did well with the pastry, deflecting some of the sweetness and helping with the texture of the beef which was pretty chewy.

I probably wouldn't order this again.

And so I was ready to do a post. But then, I went and visited The Peruvian Spot and couple of times. I then decided to see how the Pan Con Chicharron ($16) was.

   

It was interesting, that they didn't call this a Sanguche. Perhaps it was because it was served on a brioche instead of a typical Pan Frances? The fries were dry and got quite limp quickly.

   This was a lot less stuffed than the version at The Peruvian Spot. It had a drizzle of Mama G's sauce which did a pretty nice job of adding a creamy, mild spice to things. The ratio of camote and salsa criolla to meat was quite balanced.

The pork seems have been roasted and was decently seasoned, though there were some hard bits.

   The young lady working asked me if I wanted to try the spicy versions of Mama G's sauces and brought some over when I said yes. The verde was quite nice, not overly spicy to me. I added a tad more to the sandwich and used it to dip the very dry and limp fries.

The one thing that this sandwich had in common with the version at The Peruvian Spot was that the roll did not hold up. It got soggy and fell apart after one bite!

Still this was not bad at all. In fact, with the two versions of this sandwiches, I no longer have a desire to revisit Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food. The folks working has always been welcoming. Food can take a bit of time at this mom-and-pop restaurant, but I'm looking forward to having the Ceviche when things warm up.

Mama G’s Kitchen & Sauces
407 Camino del Rio South
San Diego, CA 92108
Current Hours:
Tues - Thurs 1130am - 730pm
Fri - Sat 1130am - 830pm
Sunday 1130am - 530pm
Closed on Mondays

The Peruvian Spot

It seems that Peruvian Cuisine is going thru a bit of a renaissance here. In the last 7-8 months three places have opened; Chimpum Callao, Mama G's (that post is coming up), and just last month The Peruvian Spot in the strip mall by Mesa College that houses Homestyle Hawaiian and Cuscatlan Salvadorean Cuisine. In checking out the hours; I really liked that the shop opens at 8am during the week and 830am during weekends. Because that parking lot can be a bit crazy and I like early lunches these days.

On my first visit; I arrived at 945 am and easily found parking. I believe this used to be a Boba - Tea place if I'm not mistaken.

Walking in I noticed how large the space is. There are just 5-6 tables, a sofa, and an area with children's toys (more on that later). The process is "fast-casual"; you order at the counter. I quickly noticed this sign as I walked in.

Whoa...well, that's interesting since I've not been a big fan of the Sanguches de Chicharron I've had in San Diego.

The woman working the counter was so nice and friendly. As was the gentleman, her husband who was working on some signs and tables. I had a blast talking to them; they were living in Lima and we had a fun chat about places that were favorites of ours.

I decided to try out the Sanguche de Chicharron ($14.95). And also got a Chicha Morada, which was a bit too sweet for my taste.

As for the sandwich...my goodness, this was huge!

First thing I noticed was that the roll did resemble a Peruvian Pan Frances, the appropriate roll for a sanguche, slightly yeasty, with a touch of saltiness. Places like Sangucheria uses a Mexican Telera style roll. There was basically a huge amount of hog in this. Various different cuts as well; tender, juicy, gelatinous "porky" belly; also some leaner, slightly crunchy, even more "pork forward" cuts as well. While my arteries were perhaps having a bit of a mild protest, I enjoyed the pork flavors.....this tasted like swine; not the typical "other white meat" that is prevalent these days.

I was provided two different aji; a rocoto and an amarilla. Both were fairly weak and more mayonnaisey.

Both were too mild in my opinion.

As for the large sandwich. Well, that roll didn't make it intact for the entire meal. 

There was a layer of camote, which added some starchy sweetness and some salza criolla, which I wish was a bit more spicy like the version I make at home. Still, this was all about the pork....a lot of pork. I really did enjoy it, but obviously my Cardiologist would recommend that I not have it too often. Still, it's a nice guilty pleasure.

And I really enjoyed chatting with the wonderful owners. I did look over the menu before I left.

It's not very large; but since it had lomo saltado on it; you know I had to return to try it right?

So, a week later I returned. This time the couple introduced me to their lovely 1 1/2 year old son....no wonder they had a little children's play area! Can you imagine running a restaurant with a little one in tow?

I ordered the Lomo Saltado ($18.95) and it arrived in a takeout container.

 Some Aji Verde was provided, which was much better than the other two I tried on my previous visit; somewhat creamy, tangy, some decent spice.

The rice was on the drier side, but accepatable. This version had quite a bit of beef; on the chewier side, but nicely seasoned, and quite beefy. Decent acidity from the tomatoes...more on that later. The papa fritas were quite large and on the dry side.

 Speaking of acidity; man, this version was on the sour side. At least it wasn't overly salty. I think it could have used more onions for an added sweet-pungency.

Overall, not bad, but I'll stick with the Sanguche de Chicharron.

I really like the warm and friendly folks here; loved talking to them about places we know in Lima like El Veridico de Fidel and Dona Paulina. They were also quite interested to hear about my experience at Maido. It really makes me miss Peru!

On an interesting note; I was going to do my post on Mama G's before this one; but they were out of their Sanguche de Chicharron when I last visited; so I think I'll need to try that one before doing a post.

The Peruvian Spot
7510 Mesa College Dr.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Tues - Fri  8am - 330pm
Sat - Sun   830am - 4pm
Closed on Monday

Chimpum Callao

So, I wasn't sure if I should do this post. After all, these days, if in San Diego, based on price, I try to do more than one visit. It's something that I took to heart a long time ago. Though in this day and age, with prices going thru the roof, not only for food, but for fuel, it's been kind of tough.

Like I said, this is a one visit post, on a mom-and-pop place that serves one of my favorite "cuisines", not sure if that's grammatically correct, but I hope you understand. 

Anyway, a while back I read about a new Peruvian restaurant opening in the Southcrest Barrio Logan area. If you've been reading long enough, you know that I have a love for Peruvian cuisine which first started when we were living in LA and visiting places like El Rocoto and El Pollo Inka. Over the years, our travels have taken us to Peru, which has only stoked the flame.

So, upon reading about Chimpum Callao, I had to check the place out. And so, here's where it gets interesting. Our friend Google and that favorite 4 lettered site and even Instagram (at that time) listed a 10 am opening time. So, once done with my Saturday errands, I headed over, not at 10 am, but 11 and arrived in the rather gritty strip mall at 11. Only to find the place closed.

Notice the business hours...... Sigh.....

Still, being the hard-headed person I am, I returned after my usual Saturday errands the following Saturday and got there at 1030 and the place was open.

So, I sauntered on in.

The place was quite empty when I arrived. There were two young men working the front of house, one was really friendly, the other was quite busy on his phone. This was so obviously a mom-and-pop shop.

The menu had the usual suspects....and even pollo ala brasa which wasn't ready yet.

I decided to go with a basic; the Lomo Saltado ($15), a dish that I've had at so many places, here in the states and Peru as well.

And of course an Inka Cola....

As for the Lomo Saltado.

  This was interesting as in terms of flavor, it seemed to lack the sour vinegar tones. Though, I had to remind myself, when reading tomes like the Exotic Kitchens of Peru, which is probably the first Peruvian Cookbook that I owned, the recipe for Lomo Saltado did not include vinegar. But, it did not include soy sauce either, which goes against everything we've had in Peru.

I was brought a little bowl of what they told me was "hot sauce". It was quite good, nice heat...when I asked if it was "aji rocoto" the young man stood back and said "yes", it is!

 Anyway, in terms of the dish, the beef was really tough, and quite "metallic" in flavor. There wasn't enough tomatoes to add a nice acidity to the dish. As for the papas fritas....well, I had to "dig" to find them. There were a few quite dry pieces of potato provided. In terms of flavor, this was slightly salty, lacking in the sour tones, with metallic tones. The rice was fine, though also on the dry side.

Not quite what I had in mind when I ordered this. As I paid and left, the young man approached me and held out a plate saying, "please take one"......it was a plate of Alfajores.

It was a nice touch. He also asked me if I was "nikkei", as in Japanese from Peru. I was ever so humbled, but told him that I wasn't. I asked for a confirmation on hours and was told that 10am was the opening time for the place. 

The menu was quite limited, but with the recent cooler weather, I thought that some Seco de Cordero might be really good. So, on a recent Saturday, I headed back down and arrived at 11am; only to find the place closed.

At which time, based on my previous visit, I decided to just put this one away for now. After all, while I really love all these mom-and-pop places, my one meal here wasn't very good. And I know there's a recently opened Peruvian Restaurant closer to where I live.

What do you think? I went one for three.....it's a bit of a drive; should I have given it another try? I did ask to confirm the hours; but perhaps I should have called to confirm....but really????

Chimpum Callao Peruvian Restaurant
3582 National Ave.
San Diego, CA 92113

Sangucheria PSF (Peruvian Street Food)(Tierrasanta)

mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog, is being written by Cathy while Kirk and His Missus are out and about. 

The "Gateway to Tierrasanta" mall at the exit of Santo Road at the 52 has about 20 storefronts which are constantly changing, along with a Veterinary office, Post Office and fuel station. The southernmost  'anchor' building used to be a small grocer which had a small restaurant connected.  Now, the grocery building is another location of Keg 'n Barrel, a beer and liquor store.  The restaurant is walled off and a separate business,  Sangucheria PSF (Peruvian Street Food), which opened in January 2022.  Kirk posted about it in 2022 and again in 2023.  It is family owned.
 The small shop has seating for about 35 and is walk up, order and pay.  Your food is brought out to the table.
 The simple menu has a good variety of choices.
  We decided to share.  First, a cheese empanada ($6).  Thin, flaky crust filled with a hefty amount of warm, firm (not gooey) Oaxaca cheese.  This was very satisfying.
 The Choripan sandwich ($10) was served with two house made chile based sauces (that one on the left is catsup; the green one had a pleasant heat and that yellow one was spicy, probably habanero or a cousin).
Served on a thin/ crisp crusted, warm bread which was light and airy (and crushed down easily), this weighty sandwich was enough to share.
 Two split then grilled chorizo links topped with a house made chimichurri sauce (with distinct parsley, garlic and oregano flavors).  You know I am picky about chorizo (see the end of this post) and the quality of this chorizo is outstanding; it is more of a medium texture dry aged (Spanish style) chorizo, mild in flavor and blending well with some of the spicy sauce at the last few (non-chimichurri) bites.

 That catsup was for the sweet potato fries ($4.50) we ordered.  We also shared an Inka Kola ($2.50); the familiar vanilla soda flavor brought back good memories.

We will be returning to try more of the menu...and desserts...and coffee!

Sangucheria PSF 5950 Santo Road, Suite K San Diego 92124 (858) 836-1112 Open Mon-Sat 11-7 closed Sunday website

Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food Revisited

Recently, an "FOY" emailed me telling that Sangucheria had closed! I hadn't heard anything about that and decided to head on over during lunch to check things out. As I parked and walked on over....well, the place hadn't closed.

And since I was here; I decided to grab a Sanguches de Chicharron.....

The gentleman working was quite friendly and I ordered my Sanguches de Chicharron ($12) to go.

 Like before, the sandwich uses a yeasty Telera roll. The pork was more seasoned than I recall, the pork was quite chewy, which is in line with what I'd had in Lima. I do wish the pork had a bit more "porkiness"....though here in the states, it's still "the other white meat". Previously, the sandwich came with pickled onions; this time it was with regular red onions. The aji provided was too mild and could use a but more kick...the verde version is the better of the two.

 I would also vote to have more camote, as it makes little impact on the sandwich.

Too bad, because I really want to support a local, mom-and-pop place like this.

Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food
5950 Santo Rd.
San Diego, CA 92124

San Miguel de Allende (2022) - Fabrica La Aurora and Mercado del Carmen

We had one last stop for the morning and we headed north of the Mercado de Artesanías. It was getting pretty warm and we took our time, checking out various sights along the way.

There seemed to be quite a bit of construction going on with new houses popping up. From what we'd seen; SMA seemed to be pretty popular with Ex-Pats.

After crossing Arroyo de Las Cachinches we arrived at Fabrica la Aurora.

Formerly a textile factory and one of the largest employers in SMA, the mill closed in 1991 after the markets were flooded with imports and the old factory was converted into a warehouse. After artists displayed interest in renting and converting various rooms into studios and work spaces the factory was converted and reopened in 2001.

There are still artifacts and photos from the textile factory.

And there are over 30 studio and shops on the premises. It was a fun time checking things out.

As much as we enjoyed browsing, the highlight of our visit had nothing to do with all the arts and crafts.

The Missus and I decided to take a break, rather it happened when we decided to take a coffee break at the Café de la Aurora.

The Missus got some espresso and I a cold brew and we had a seat at a table.

While enjoying our break, I saw one of what I assume is an artist riding up the alleyway in his bike, along his side was his faithful pooch. The Missus had Her back to this so She didn't notice when the gentleman parked his bike and walked into his shop, his pooch decided to head into the café. 

This mutt walked past us and up to one of the tables on the other side of the café. He politely sat and stared at the folks who were having lunch. He sat so perfectly, with total focus on the couple eating that the Missus thought he was their dog! After getting no response, he turned around, walked past us and went to the table behind us and did the same thing!

That's when I figured out his "game"! This little fellow only went to tables with food on it! He ignored folks just having drinks! After getting no response, he saw the Server coming out with food and followed her to the next table. Amazing! The Missus and I were cracking up! Much like I did with "Tripod", I gave him a name; Juan. And this time I remembered to take a photo of the smart little guy. Why "Juan" you may ask? Well, I told the Missus that this little fellow believes he is the "chosen Juan"! She cracked up. Eventually his owner peeked out of his shop and saw Juan doing his thing and came with a leash and it was game over for the little guy....for now. It's moments like these that really make our travels fun.

We took the fairly long walk back to our accommodation. We stopped at a few shops along the way, but the Missus really didn't see anything She was interested in. And it seemed like the prices here were quite high.

As we got back to our B&B, I mentioned being somewhat hungry to the Missus. Right around the corner from our accommodation was a food court/hall named Mercado del Carmen. We decided to pop in for a look.

There were a number of stands in the food hall, featuring Mexican, French, Burgers, Pizza, and even Korean/Japanese....

And Peruvian.....

The Missus was craving rice; so we got a Bi Bim Bap and I went with some Cebiche from the Peruvian stand.

The Cebiche wasn't very good, the leche de tigre was very mild, watery, and this didn't have enough flavor overall.

The Bi Bim Bap was not bad.

As expected, the rice wasn't very good; but the kimchi was surprisingly decent, the cho-jang was legit, and that egg was a perfect sunny-side up. We were pleasantly surprised and the Missus got Her "rice fix" which would hold Her for the rest of the trip.

Mercado Del Carmen
Calle Pila Seca 19
San Miguel de Allende, 37700, Mexico

After the meal it was a short stroll around the corner to our room and an escape from the afternoon heat.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food

Back in mid-March, I went on one of my "drives with no purpose"......I guess basically doing the Flâneur, except very SoCal.....I'm not sure what the French would call it? Perhaps "pas d'entraînement objectif"?

Anyway, I was wondering if anything had taken residence in the previous location of a favorite "local grindz" place of mine. So, I drove on over to Tierrasanta and into the strip mall at 5950 Santo Road. I was a bit surprised to see that the market in the mall seems to have closed; but was even more surprised to see the sign for "Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food"! My goodness! 

Folks who've read this blog for a while know that my first documented international trip was to Peru in 2007...man, almost 15 years ago! It was the first time that a cuisine had inspired me to travel somewhere. Something that has since been a common theme for us. So Peruvian cuisine holds a special place in my heart and I was fascinated to see a Sanguche place here.

It was Sunday, so the place was closed, but I made sure to check them out that very week!

 The shop is even more spartan than when it was ISC, with a couple of tables and a takeout counter. The menu is brief, with 5 Sanguches (sandwiches) and several drinks and two types of fries.

Of course, I had to order the Sanguche de Chicharron (Pan con Chicharron). After all, I needed to see how it compared to what I had at Dona Paulina in Lima, right?

I ordered the Sanguche de Chicharron and an order of Sweet Potato Fries.

In Peru, they serve this sandwich in what they call "pan Frances"; basically French Bread. Though it is much lighter than what we would call a French Roll here in the states. This version was served on what I'd consider a Telera roll; that you'd get from your neighborhood Mercado. It is light , yeasty, and held up well.

The pork was a bit on the chewy side; which is pretty much in line with what we had in Peru; though I wish it was a bit more "swiney", but "the other white meat" is a US thing. I would have preferred a good Salza Criolla, which would have some heat, cilantro, and lime, then the typical pickeld onions provided. Also would have liked a bit more camote (sweet potato) as it was really lost in the sandwich.

Overall, a decent Sanguche. When I'm missing Peru, I'll have it again.

The Sweet Potato Fries where seasoned perfectly and had that wonderful mildly sweet flavor and nice starchiness.

The fries however, did not travel well and while the flavor was good, it was quite soggy by the time I got back to the office......about 15 minutes road time.

As week later, I decided to return and order something else.....I choose the Asado (beef) Sandwich.

Which came with two "aji"....a nice Aji Verde, a spicy-creamy green sauce and a sorta-kinda Aji Amarillo kind of thing which seemed more like a spicy salad dressing???

The sandwich was served in a Ciabatta Roll, which is typical for Sanguche Asado.

I recall a conversation with Benjamin, who was our driver for our flight over the Nazca Lines regarding Sanguches....yes, you know me......He is the one that recommended Dona Paulina over La Lucha in Lima...it's where he takes his family. He told me that often times folks make Sanguche de Asado with leftover beef, so it can be tough and dry. Which is kind of what the beef in this sandwich was.

It could have used more of the nice, pungent-sweet carmelized onions....though I'm glad I had the Aji Verde. Still, I'll pass on this one in the future.

The folks working at Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food are amazingly warm, friendly, and gracious. And that point alone means I'll return again soon....when I'm thinking and dreaming about wonderful Peru.

Food has that wonderful affect; it will sometimes take me back to people, places, and various moments......and that is priceless.

Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food
5950 Santo Rd.
San Diego, CA 92124
Current Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 4pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 6pm
Closed Sundays

Travelling With My TasteBuds, Thinking of Peru - Lomo Saltado From Latin Chef

A few weeks ago; I was looking thru some of my old photos and came across our Peru folders which brought back some great memories of not only places we've visited, but also of memorable meals we've had during our visits. It goes without saying that I really love Peruvian cuisine. From a wonderful Cebiche or Tiradito, to Anticuchos, and of course, Lomo Saltado….to the point that I've even done a comparison post in the past. I of course instantly needed some lomo saltado. I had visited Latin Chef after the change of ownership and move to Liberty Station. I hadn't been to this part of town since before the pandemic started, so I called and placed a takeout order and headed down to Liberty Station. This being early January, San Diego was still in the "purple tier" with only takeout service. I was a bit taken aback with all the folks walking around Liberty Station. Perhaps I should have chosen a non-weekend day for my fix.

Anyway; I took the side entrance and waltzed right to the Latin Chef Counter.

My order wasn't ready, so I walked to the far corner and waited. Unlike my previous visits, the new owner, Tony Kaneshiro wasn't working....just two young men. A few minutes later my Lomo Saltado ($14.50) was ready. I had thought of checking out the rest of the stands a bit; especially Chris' Ono Grinds, but the place was just too crowded for me, so I headed home.

Perhaps I should have ordered from Eli's, because this was quite disappointing. The meat was really tough, dry, with a metallic tinge. I appreciated the tomato in the dish because it really helped to cut the salty and greasiness of the dish. The papas fritas were fine; but also on the dry side. The rice was hard and dry. I was thankful for the Aji Verde....which while very straight forward, also helped to get past the salty-greasiness.

Kind of sad overall.

Maybe it was because Tony wasn't on hand and not to beat a dead horse, but I couldn't help but lament how far Latin Chef has fallen. It was, once upon a time our favorite Peruvian Restaurant in San Diego. We used to visit 2-3 times a week! LC was the place that inspired us to travel to Peru; as much as Machu Picchu amazed us; it was the cuisine that always seemed to be progressing that we loved.

My hope is to find a Peruvian restaurant in San Diego that will take my tastebuds back to Peru......until we can once again travel and visit Peru.

The Latin Chef (Liberty Station)
820 Historic Decatur Rd.
San Diego, CA 92106
(619) 269-3360
Current Hours:
Sun - Wed   11am - 7pm
Thurs - Sat 11am - 8pm

El Huerco Food Truck

While walking to my car to grab lunch a few weeks ago I saw this food truck.

I really didn't pay attention to the menu, or much else....it was the company Mira Flores LLC that caught my eye. I looked up at the menu and noticed it was a Peruvian food truck! Well I'll be damned! I suddenly knew what I'd be having for lunch. I really don't eat much at food trucks these days as it seems most do not make particularly good food, nor are they a good value. But heck, even if I wasn't transported back to Miraflores, just having a decent Lomo Saltado would make me happy.

The young lady working was very ncie and cheerful and really helped folks out when explaining the different dishes.

So, I got the Lomo Saltado ($12) and a side of Yuca Frita ($5).

The Lomo Saltado was served like a rice bowl. The rice was nice, fluffy and moist. The papas fritas were typical, though fairly dry. Which would have been too bad if there were enough sauce from the Lomo Saltado to coat them, which wasn't the case. The beef was dry, the onions over-cooked, though the tomatoes, which were diced...I prefer larger slices, were fine. The sauce was heavy soy thus salty, and needed more acidity.

The Yuca Frita on the other hand was quite good. Crisp outside, fluffy, yet substantial inside.

It was quite nice and well done. Though I wasn't a fan of the Aji Amarillo as it had too much mayo (true versions don't use mayo) and was more spicy than the usual Aji Amarillo would be. Still, those were some good Yuca Frita.

A couple of weeks later, I saw the truck again and decided to give them another try.

Same nice young lady.

I decided to go with the Anticucho Sliders ($8) and of course, more of those Yuca Frita.

This version of Anticuchos was braised shredded beef, sort of like Cuban Ropa Vieja. I enjoyed the roll which had been slightly toasted and held up well. I tasted the Salza Criolla (something easy to make at home) and it needed more time for the flavors to meld. The flavor of the beef was heavy handed with citrus, making it quite tannic, it was also on the dry side.

While this was better than the Lomo Saltado; it still fell short of expectations. I don't expect anything like Peru, but this just didn't do it for me.

While the Yuca Frita was perhaps even better this time around.

Though it's tempting, I don't think I could make a meal out of Yuca Frita.

Nice folks, the food is pseudo Peruvian in my mind and while I say that the great thing about Peruvian food is that it's always evolving; this isn't that evolution.

Perhaps it's worth a try and I'll definitely get that Yuca Frita again....but perhaps go somewhere else to get my main course. 

Lima Restaurant

**** Lima Restaurant has closed

Back in June, one of the folks in my office was headed to Jury Duty and asked me where to eat; of course I recommended Sultan. Which he really enjoyed. Though when he returned he asked me what I thought of the "new" Peruvian Restaurant which was across the street from Sultan. New Peruvian? Across the street from Sultan? So on the following weekend, I decided to head on down to see what he was referring to. And there on the corner of F and Fourth, with a rather discreet sign was "Lima Restaurant".

The fairly large, high ceiling restaurant was quite empty. Looking more like a sports bar than a restaurant.

The woman who waited on me was very friendly and warm. Turned out she was one of the owners.

I started with a Chicha Morada; which was perfect.

Very balanced sweet - cinnamon tones; quite refreshing.

And a little bowl of plantain chips and canchita, nice and warm arrived at the table.

I had ordered the Lomo Saltado, which arrived looking wonderfully vibrant. In a rather different presentation; the fries were served to the side. The nice lady told me that these days folks in Lima prefer Lomo Saltado served this way and I could mix it in as I desired.....or keep it separate to extend the crispness. Like I always say about Peru......the cuisine is always evolving.

The beef was surprisingly tender; there was a good ratio of tomato to onion.....providing a nice balance of acidity to pungency.  I of course, like my papas fritas saturated in the sauce and my only complaint was that there wasn't enough of it. The sauce was more soy sauce forward; with less vinegar, but wasn't overly salty.

This was a nice version. Because the restaurant was fairly quiet; I had a nice conversation with the woman; who was indeed from Lima. We spoke about how the cuisine was ever changing, with everything from the new style "Leche de Tigre"; a creamy, cold soup like dish and how Tacu Tacu con Lomo Saltado has gotten popular. She also told me that Lima Restaurant was having a formal grand opening at the end of July. They were working on the installation and all of the licensing and approvals for a Pollo ala Brassa rostisserie.

I left quite satisfied. And waited to see if I'd hear anything about Lima Restaurant, but the only thing I saw was this; which, by the way, incorrectly attributes Lomo Saltado to the Japanese Diaspora. Being a Sansei myself; I'd love if that were true. The truth of the matter is; and this is from all of my Peruvian food books, and also everywhere online, Lomo Saltado is a Tusan (Chifa) dish. Sigh....

So finally, after not hearing anything for a while, I decided to head back down to the Gaslamp to see what was going on at Lima Restaurant.

The place was very quiet on this visit as well. The gentleman working was quite nice. Though the cancha this time around was cold and dry......not a good start in my book.

I started with the Causa. Which actually had real crab in it! It was perhaps a bit heavy handed in terms of mayo, though the potato was very moist and the seasoning spot on. The very gracious Server asked me if I wanted some "hot sauce" and I responded "some aji?" Which totally changed his friendly but reserved demeanor....."yes, we have four different aji!" So, I selected the Aji Rocoto and the nice Server actually brought me two. The Aji Rocoto and the Aji Panca. "The rocoto is very spicy, so I brought you the panca as well; which you might enjoy more." Great service. The Aji Rocoto was quite spicy, while the Panca had some heat and helped to cut the richness.

I also ordered the Cebiche Pescado, first asking what type of fish was being used.

I was quite thrilled to find out it was sole....making this truly a Cebiche Lenguado! Which was quite nice. The fish was nicely "marinated/cooked" in the Leche de Tigre, as it was still firm, but yielding and not mushy at all. The Leche de Tigre was surprisingly "picante"; quite spicy, but still refreshing. It was also ginger forward; not quite sure if I enjoyed that. At first I didn't think there was very much Leche de Tigre, but it was hidden underneath all that fish; along with quite a bit, perhaps too much, red onion.

I had actually saved my canchita not being sure they would serve more with the cebiche, but they did. It was on the dry side. The chocolo (corn) was too hard and tasteless; the camote had no flavor and was quite hard.

Still, I enjoyed the quality of the fish. I'd have this again just to see if the addition of all that chili was a mistake.

I had a nice conversation with the Server and mentioned the Pollo ala Brassa. He told me they were still working on completing all the inspections and will (hopefully) have it in by the end of August.

I enjoyed the quality of the main ingredients used and the folks working here. I wish it was in a more convenient location for me; though at least I now have another option when I get called for Jury Duty.

Lima Restaurant
409 F St.
San Diego, CA 92101
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 11am - 9pm
Fri - Sat 11am - 10pm
Sunday 11am - 8pm