Field Notes From a Fishy Fortnight: Rocking the Ceviche from Sanguchon and Shrimp & Love, and More

Peruvian Leche de Tigre Cebiche from the Sanguchon Truck

I last left you, dear reader, with the taste of Shrimp & Love's Shrimp-aguachile ceviche still on my lips and a desire for more in my gut. I didn't wait long, for the next night I found the Sanguchon truck serving ceviche alongside their Peruvian sanguches at Off the Grid: Fort Mason Center.  The Sanguchon truck is a side venture of the owner of a Michelin-starred Peruvian restaurant, and as might be expected, its ceviche comes exquisitely plated, er, styrofoamed. Sanguchon's ceviche is a classic Peruvian ceviche with the catch of the day (in this case red snapper) marinated in leche de tigre ("tiger's milk").  There are many recipes for leche de tigre; The Sanguchon truck's uses lemon juice, rocoto (a form of pepper) and ginger. It came accompanied by cancha (roasted corn kernels), choclo (fresh corn kernels) and camote (sweet potato). It is served "dry," i.e. with excess marinade drained off. In restaurants, the excess marinade is sometimes served in a small glass as an aperitif, "spiked" or not.

A few days later, I hit the SoMa StrEat Food Park for lunch, and the most attractive option at the time seemed to be Icelandic Cod Fish & Chips from Chef Pelle Nillson (he of the tunnsbrödsrulle) and his Nordic Truck. The nicely-breaded and perfectly-cooked cod came with French fries of just the right size (to my taste) though not quite as browned as I like; the latter didn't stop me from eating them all (which for me is a rare occurrence). The F&C was accompanied by a watercress remoulade (by way of a tartar sauce) and some fresh pickles.

The following Thursday I returned to Mission Mercado, drawn as if by a magnet by Orlando and Monica's Shrimp & Love Ceviches, electing this time to try Orlando's version of Peruvian ceviche.  His is a much wetter version, with the fish (cubes of tilapia here) and accompaniments luxuriating in a well-drawn bath of leche de tigre. This version would hit the spot on a very hot day, thanks to the chilled "tiger's milk," though I preferred the spicier aguachile version I had the previous week.

Thursday ceviche seems to be turning into a habit which I'll gladly submit to, at least until I've tried each of Shrimp & Love's ceviches, and it was no surprise to me that my feet found their way to the 22nd and Bartlett Mercado again yesterday. This time I gave the traditional Mexican ceviche a whirl.  Whole and cut shrimp were bathed in a tomato-ey, mildly spicy broth.  Like the other two Shrimp & Love ceviches I've tried to date, it's something I'll gladly return for.


As if the above weren't enough fish for a two week period, I also enjoyed a salt cod (among others, they're small) Sonora-style burrito from the Burr-eatery truck at SoMa StrEat Food Park, and some excellent takoyaki from a popup that only seems to appear on Post Street during Cherry Blossom Festival.