Sanguchon: Cheap Peruvian…

What’s to say about the Sanguchon Peruvian food truck that hasn’t already been said? I don’t know. All I can tell you is that the Chicharron sandwich, while being Peruano, tastes like a carnitas burrito, sans tortilla. Or, a torta, sans avocado. Their buns are, where do they have these specially made? It’s driving me crazy. They’re very Vietnamese baguette textured. They’re light, but substantial enough to hold all of that satisfying porky deliciousness. They have enough crevices to let the beautiful Peruvian aji rocoto, resembling a bell pepper, turned into an aioli, seep into them. Let’s not forget the lime marinated onions and cilantro. It just wouldn’t be the same without the onions. However, those fried yams basically could have not been there. They did provide a bit of sweetness, but they were flacid.

Then, they have yucca fries and yucca balls. Look, white people, I love you. But, it’s not pronounced yuh-ka, it’s you-ka. Don’t let Alton Brown and those other babblin’ blanquitos on the food channels make you feel self-conscious about saying it the proper way. I hesitated on the $6 yucca balls special, due to my adversity with olives. But, I got to live vicariously through my dining companion that bought them, and there wasn’t much of an insurance risk. Low and behold, those balls surprised me, which seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life. Anyway, they surprised me for two reasons.

I was surprised that they weren’t as crunchy as I expected them to be, so that satisfying crunch thing wasn’t happening. But, they had that wonderful earthy, nutty flavor that yucca is supposed to have when cooked properly. I was also surprised that the olives are basically non-existent. Instead, you have a well-balanced, hyper-flavorful filling with Spanish chorizo and raisins. Fruity, salty and earthy. If they were only crunchier, these things have the possibility of being extremely addictive. And no one wants to see a gorda pacing on Park Street trying to hook herself out for yucca balls.

No one.

You can find Sanguchon on Saturdays at Off The Grid in Alameda. Otherwise, you can track them down here: http://www.facebook.com/SanguchonSF

Photos of Pan con Chicharron and Yucca Balls courtesy of Sanguchon website.