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