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
It was too delicate; a bit over baked, the laminated exterior just falling off. You know what was going to happen when I actually bit into it, right? A certain song by the Rolling Stones came to mind:
First thing I noticed was how "clear" the broth was. Second thing was how the basil was starting to brown. Well, at least there was some ngo gai, a rarity these days it seems. I enjoy the more intense the peppery-cilantro-ish-slightly bitter flavor it provides. Even this leaf was starting to go south as well; I could use most of it. 
As for the broth…can you say MSG water? With a dose of that sweetness that has been pervading pho in San Diego over the last decade or so. The soup was quite thirst inducing; or perhaps I'm just more sensitive to the stuff as I get older?
There was a good amount of meat in this "small bowl". So perhaps that's the calling card?
The soup, while being a bit overly defatted had some beefiness, mild anise-oniony tones, while it still had that "San Diego" sweet flavor. It wasn't overly salty. This was better than I recall having on previous visits.
The proteins, while not as well prepared as "da cow" were fine, though there was no tendon to be found! The flank and brisket were cut a bit on thicker side, but the beefiness came through. The tripe was a bit more "hard" than crunchy.
The texture of the baozi dough was not as fluffy as I enjoy; but it had a hint of sweetness and was not bad. We enjoyed the pork version more….pork here is mighty tasty. There were hints of sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce….not sure how easy it is to get it in Genoa, but this was pretty good overall.
The portion of rice was quite large there was corn and edamame scattered about the hot plate. The beef, supposedly four ounces was topped with a small scoop of butter, which I thought wasn’t necessary.
This was interesting. The katsu had been sliced lengthwise and were as long as my fork. Rather unwieldy to eat.
The katsu sauce was very "local", being ketchup based, tangy and perhaps on the sweeter side of the scale. The mac salad was quite "local" tasting as well, having a touch of vinegar and some shredded carrots. The macaroni was nicely cooked, but unevenly coated. This was probably my favorite item on the plate.
One big minus was no mac salad, which I kinda liked on my previous visit. One big plus; they have Tabasco! Tabasco sauce has been the condiment I've used for loco mocos since small kid time!
First thing I noticed was how foamy the broth was, like it was kept at a rolling boil instead of a simmer. It was also on the thin side and seemed more like a thickened, slightly bitter, shoyu based broth. Like the tonkotsu I had here before, it also had a slight "metallic" tinge to it.
The chashu was a bit on the chewy side and lightly flavored, but not bad. The noodles were actually cooked decently and had a nice "springy pull" to them.
The pseudo tonkotsu bowl arrived seaming hot. There were some…well, interesting things about this bowl. My least favorite was the "impossible chicken karaage". It seemed to be sort of soybean based; but the texture was not to my liking; it was spongy and super chewy…think thick nylon sponge and had no flavor.
Not quite sure what to do with the slice of tomato? How much acidity, sweetness, will one slice of tomato provide for a bowl of ramen? The cabbage added a slight sweet-bitterness and was blanched. The corn also added some nice textural contrast and sweetness to the bowl.
