Tuesday, July 30, 2013

La Sangucheria

(UPDATE: Maribel closed the cart in early 2014, but she still does catering. Check her Facebook page for details.)

La Sangucheria is a Peruvian sandwich food cart located at the corner of SW 3rd and Ash in downtown Portland, Oregon. Maribel Castaman, the owner, won the 2013 Eat Mobile Judges' Choice award for Best Overall Food.



Maribel went to Le Cordon Bleu in Peru, so she's been formally trained. Maribel had dreams of opening her own restaurant. She and her mother came to Portland to open La Sangucheria in December 2012.

Judges' Choice Award Winner at Eat Mobile 2013!
After learning La Sangucheria won the Judges' Choice award at Eat Mobile earlier this year, I put it on my list of places to try. All sandwiches here are $8, and as I found out, well worth the price.

Menu
(July 2013)
The bread of choice is sourced from Portland's Best Baguette, a Vietnamese sandwich shop. It's a baguette that one would use for banh mi. Banh mi baguettes are in a league of their own and is the one type of bread I'd want for my sandwich. Flaky and crisp on the outside, sturdy to hold a lot of filling, but so soft when you bite into it.

One of the sandwiches to get here is the Chicharron sandwich. Fried pork, people! Maribel starts with pork tenderloin poached in a flavorful stock. Slices are cut and deep fried in lard. The result: amazing fried pork, juicy and seasoned nicely. The exterior crisps up slightly and just leaves you wanting more.

Chicharron Sandwich
(La Sangucheria)

Maribel slices sweet potatoes and also deep fries those in lard. Double win! Apparently, it's a must in a true Peruvian street sandwich. I love Peru already and I haven't physically been there yet.

I had no clue what "sarza" was until reading a description taped to the cart. The "sarza criolla" Maribel uses is a South American spicy salsa with sliced red onions and cilantro. Oh, and there's habaneros in there. Yes! I made mine extra spicy. Might as well keep adding more heat.




Delicious sarza, just mind-blown. Citrus-y, spicy, refreshing. I seriously would love to eat that sandwich every day. After one visit, I can see why this cart has the Judges' Choice award.

A great article in Eat Beat!


There are also some other sandwiches on the menu not to be overlooked. The "Saltado" has sauteed beef tenderloin and fries in the sandwich. A grilled chicken sandwich there also has thin fries. "Pachamama" contained smoked ham, bacon, chicken, and fries. So basically, there are a bunch of fries, meat, and bread coming out of this cart. Love it.


This is an elite cart in Portland that can bring some delicious heat! Check it out! 9.25/10

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