Over the summer, I had my first taste of Aguachile at Mariscos Jalisco in LA. The ceviche-like shrimp preparation was spicy as all hell, but I was still able to enjoy all the intense flavors, and the nuances of the chilies. Who makes a good version locally?
I did a search for Aguachile on Y*lp and it looks like all the hip, expensive Mexican places have it on their menu. Do they make good versions, and do any cheaper places do a good rendition? I found the version at Playa Azul in SF pretty lacking the depth of flavor I encountered at Mariscos Jalisco.
I love aguachile and have tried every version I’ve encountered. At the high end places the “aguachile” is actually more like a ceviche and often don’t have shrimp and aren’t very spicy. Nido’s would fall into this category.
Mariscos la costa in fruitvale also has it but theirs is a little too much like a coctele for my taste. My favorite thus far is one from a now-closed Mexican place on Hayes in SF. It’s been closed for a few years and I’m still searching for one as good as theirs.
There was a brother-sister run company called “Shrimp & Love” that was one of the vendors at the Mission Community Market a couple of years ago. They had a great, spicy aguachile (among other ceviches) that I really liked, but they seem to have disappeared from MCM. I believe they may still be at farmers markets on the Peninsula, however. Try contacting them through this website:
Great, I’ll check out Mariscos La Costa sometime!
One thing I liked about Mariscos Jalisco in LA is that they served the aguachile on a tostada. The tostada itself was nothing special, but it jibed well with the sauce. Is that a common style to serve it in?
