Mariscos Chente, Finally

The underground excitement for this inexpensive, low key Sinaloan seafood specialist in Mar Vista all started with this Chowhound post by streetgourmetla. It got nothing but positive feedback from everybody, everywhere and even got a great write-up from expert blogger and Man Bites World regular Exile Kiss (you may remember him/her/it from their appearance on this very website). Anyway, I’d heard enough. So when my mom wanted to take me to lunch, I knew exactly where to go.

The menu alone is a thing of beauty. They serve seafood, and that’s it. There are no chicken tacos or beef enchiladas at this place. But they’ve got giant cups of seafood cocktails, whole grilled fish and shrimp prepared numerous ways. If you don’t speak Spanish, you may want to do some research before you get there. Or just be prepared to close your eyes and point. Either is fine, because I’ve heard that just about everything there is good.

The chips are a little stale and greasy, but the salsa is nice and, quite frankly, you aren’t coming here for the chips. We only ordered two dishes, since the portions here are fairly large. To be honest, this place begs to be enjoyed by a group of at least four people.

My mom tends to be a little on the squeamish side with things like shrimp heads, so I made sure to order one thing that sounded a little on the simpler side, so we opted for the filete a la plancha. Now it’s been said before by many people, but this guy is a master griller. A perfectly cooked piece of fish will always stand out, and this one did the job. At most other restaurants, the flavorful spice rub and proper cooking technique would have made this dish look great. But it crumbled in comparison to:

Camarones al diablo. Shrimp of the devil. If I could make love to this sauce I would. Rich, spicy and filled with layer after layer of flavor. You could take a piss in this sauce and it would still taste better than thirty percent of the Mexican food in Los Angeles. But if you take away the piss and add these beautiful, juicy scrimps, you’re in for a magical ride. Even my mom couldn’t get enough. I highly recommend chewing on the crunchy heads and letting the delicious brain juice explode in your mouth. If you’re a little more squeamish, I’ll offer this technique instead: grab the shrimp by the head, drag the whole thing through the sauce, bite off the body, chew, swallow, then suck out the brain juice.

I suppose you could also leave the heads untouched— but what’s the fun in that?

Mariscos Chente
4532 S Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 391-9881‎

Food Breakdown: 2 sodas, 2 dishes
Price: $27

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