As Hispanic Heritage Month wraps up, we wanted to highlight a creator that honors his Mexican heritage through his cuisine while incorporating a twist of California flavors. Sergio Albornoz and Karen Gonzalez started Cochinita as a food truck in 2007. They wanted to share the food of Yucatán with the Bay Area. The business was named after one of the region’s most popular dishes, cochinita pibil, which is slathered with an achiote and sour orange marinade before being wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit. In 2023, they opened their brick-and-mortar in South SF where they expanded their menu and serve dishes with fancier plating than you would find at a food truck.
Cochinita serves standard Mexican fare like tacos and burritos, but they specialize in panuchos (fried stuffed tortillas) and salbutes (puffed fried tortillas with toppings). If you’re lucky, you can catch them serving tater tots loaded like an elote with mayo, salsa, cotija, and lime. The brick-and-mortar menu includes breakfast huevos con platano, a full bar, and chilaquiles topped with cochinita pibil.
The couple behind cochinita are representing a regional Mexican cuisine that’s often overlooked in the Bay Area. Sergio is from Mérida, Yucatán and his recipes have been passed down in his family through generations. He uses ingredients that remind him of home like annatto and naranja agria. The food from Yucatán is rooted in Mayan culture. They’re credited with being one of the first businesses in the Bay Area serving food from this region.
Sergio and Karen continue to cook up exciting new dishes. There’s an ensalada xec that features jicama, mandarin, and grapefruit tossed in a habanero vinaigrette. There’s also a creamy poblano pasta and fried fish tacos. If you’re looking to try a bit of everything, swing by with a couple of friend for the merida & te amo platter loaded with cochinita, picadillo, poc-chuc, pollo, a salbute, a panucho, rice, beans, potato salad, cabbage, pickled onions, and tortillas.
