106 Seafood Underground
🇲🇽 SINALOA, MÉXICO / FREE FRIDAY FAVORITES: Los Angeles's mariscos legend has settled into cooking all your favorites in his backyard paradise.
🇲🇽 MÉXICO (Sinaloa)
📍 4302 W. 106th Street,
Lennox, South Bay.
🅿️ Street parking
💲 Cash/Zelle Only
🥤 Beer and micheladas
EDITOR'S NOTE: At the time of this update (end of 2023), the dine-in hours have been reduced to Sundays only. Takeout available other days, but please check with the chef on his Instagram.FREE FRIDAY FAVORITES is a series of articles that revisit choice restaurants featured on eattheworldla.com over the years. These will never be behind the paywall, but will update information as necessary and always be about meals that are worth returning for again.
📆 Original Article 16 September 2019On Instagram, the grand opening of 106 Seafood Underground was announced over a year ago in June of 2018. Shortly after the small hut was built to act as the kitchen and this Lennox backyard was opened to the public, people started trickling in. On reputation alone, the place was getting good crowds by the end of the month, with massive influxes coming after watching México in the World Cup and on weekends.
That reputation belongs to Sergio Peñuelas of course, a native of Sinaloa and beloved chef formerly of Coni'Seafood and other restaurants where crowds of happy customers followed him around the city. After a quick stint at a joint in Long Beach, Chef Peñuelas has returned to his home in Lennox to wow the area with his creations. With roaring planes on their descent to LAX constantly overhead, all of his most popular items are now here on West 106th Street, open from 11:00-18:00 Wednesday through Sunday.
You will notice other tables carrying in their own tall boys, but if you come empty handed they can also be purchased. Comfortable under the shade of their trees and canopies, it really begs the question: Is there anything better than mariscos and beer in a Lennox backyard prepared by Sinaloa's most talented export?
Arriving completely stuffed from another backyard mariscos lunch in Watts, this first occasion was only able to take in the ceviche marinero ($20, above and below), which has always been delicious and mysterious on menus, referring only to a "black sauce" that provides the strongest visual intrigue. Along with the sauce, it is lemon that does the marinating for this ceviche, the shrimp are joined by cucumber, onion, and tomato before what seems to be an entire diced mango is dropped on top.
The sweet, sour, and slightly spicy bites are best loaded onto a salty chip for enjoyment in every part of the mouth. Chef Peñuelas also offers many of his classic and more unique takes, including the popular green apple ceviche ($20, below).
This has the perfect balance of fruit sweetness and citrus acidity, and pairs well with a sunny day, the crunch of their tortillas, and a few beers.
Other tables seemed to be enjoying the langostinos ($40, above) in high quantity, plates of giant prawn-like crustaceans they call "baby lobsters". He also does many different styles of shrimp dishes as previously seen on the hand-written sandwich board but now in laminated menu form.
An order of marlin tacos ($12 for 3, below) comes with three crispy toasted flour tortillas wrapped around generous hunks of smoky meat, melted cheese, and avocado. Having visited somewhere near 20 times over the years, these more than anything else have become a must order. Recommended.
More than any other order, plates of camarones en salsa langostinos ($22, above) might be seen most frequently amongst Chef Sergio's guests. These massive shrimp are doused by his deep red-orange and citric acid-heavy salsa. Use the rice to cut this down a bit and focus on the sharp, fresh, and spicy pepper used in there.
Hidden down there at the bottom is the dish that possibly launched the chef's massive following in the first place: Pescado zarandeado (Market price, below), the split grilled (and "shaken") fish so popular in Nayarit but mastered by so few here in Los Angeles. Bring a group of at least six to enjoy this dish, another not-to-miss experience.
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