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K1X0G8
K1X0G8 Traditional famous mexican sauces chocolate chili mole poblano, avocado guacamole and salsa pico del gallo on slate gray background.
By Annelise Kelly
Salsa may be a critical component of Mexican cuisine, but it doesn’t have to conform to traditional recipes and styles. While familiar versions such as pico de gallo, salsa rojo and salsa verde are the bulk of salsas Mexican restaurants serve, creative chefs are innovating with imaginative versions spiked with unexpected ingredients.
“Over the last five years, salsa trends have skewed to include more creamy, fruity flavors with a more savory, creamy, multinational salsa emerging, while the fresh, saucy, spiciness of classic red salsa seems to still be a staple on many menus,” says “What’s Trending in Salsa,” a 2020 report from In-Sight, an information platform operated by flavor and fragrance producer Symrise.
While salsa frequently takes center stage beside baskets of chips — commonly sharing the appetizer role with guacamole — salsa and guacamole both have important roles to play beyond the appetizer menu. They can take tacos, burritos, bowls and other dishes to a whole new level when crafted to complement the main event.
As In-Sight says, “…it’s up to operators to drive excitement with menu innovations that appeal to both consumers seeking comfort in the familiar and those who are looking for a twist on the classics.”
Which is just what creative chefs at Mexican restaurants are doing.
ELIZABETH DAVIS, XICO
Elizabeth Davis is the owner and founder of Xico, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Asked whether a good salsa program is critical to Latin restaurants, she replies, “I’d say it’s pretty important. Customers want a range of heat levels, and you have to have those on deck in case a request for very hot salsa hits the kitchen!
Always have some habanero, and a solid medium-spicy red salsa in good supply.”
For a winning salsa game, she advises, “Go basic. Come up with three to five salsas, at least one green and one red, with varying heat levels. Cooked salsas last longer, so try using dried chiles and canned tomatoes.”
Xico definitely goes beyond the basics.
“We have always used locally grown ingredients here. Seasonal ingredients from our farmers push us into creativity,” says Davis. “We use fruit, like husk cherries in the winter. And our most popular appetizer is a chips and dips platter, where we feature three salsas including sikil p’ak made with toasted pumpkin seeds, tomato, habanero and cilantro to give our guests a sense of the wide range of salsas out there.” The platter also includes salsa verde, salsa de muchos chiles served over crema Oaxaquena, and molcajete guacamole.
While some of those salsas appear with other dishes, most menu items are paired with a customized salsa. Davis explains that not every salsa pairs well with chips.
“Toasted chipotle salsa, which tastes a little like barbecue sauce, is really good with pork, but too thick and strong to eat with chips. Salsa verde cruda is great as a sauce, but too thin for a chip dip – the acid and color are great on a plate of tamales, or in ceviche.”
Salsa albaniles, a chunky tomatillo-based salsa, shines in Xico’s signature flaming queso. Fish tacos are topped with apple and radish salsa fresco, and whole trout pozole is paired with tomatillo avocado salsa. And the bar even relies on two salsas to amp up cocktails.
“Our spicy green margarita contains our salsa verde for an herbaceous kick, and the spicy red contains our habanero salsa for a fruity, hot kick!” says Davis. “The salsas are added before the drink is shaken. These are super popular…We use high-quality canned tomatoes in some of our salsas, and canned chiles in adobo. I’m intrigued by the bulk mashed avocados I’ve seen in your magazine!”
TODD CAMBURN, BARRIO STAR
“We are sauce and salsa people, period.” With that, Todd Camburn, chef and owner of Barrio Star in S an Diego, California, sums up the restaurant’s salsa selection.
“Every entree comes with some sort of sauce or salsa. Each different salsa/sauce is unique to the dish we pair it with. All the flavor profiles shine with each dish!” Camburn says. “Salsa is a huge Latin staple—it’s always important to have different kinds of fresh salsas for everyone’s palate. Our salsas and sauces haven’t varied much since conception.”
Those salsas range from the familiar, such as the fresh pico de gallo served with the Tamal de Pollo and the Barrio Bowl, and the roasted tomatillo salsa spiked with smoky crunchy corn salsa topping the Tamal de Maiz. Bright, fruity mango salsa tops the Brazil Bowl, and pineapple jicama salsa — “our most creative one, so much flavor and balance” — garnishes the Salmon Tacos and panko-fried catch of the day. Committed condiment lovers might choose Barrio Star’s Surf and Turf bowl complemented by cilantro lime salsa, coconut chili sauce, and diablo sauce.
GREAT GUACAMOLES
Te Amo Tequila Bar in New Haven, Connecticut, is not shy about elevating its guacamole menu with high-flavor, high-profile proteins. Purists can order traditional guacamole, but the restaurant also offers four deluxe options: pork belly; spicy shrimp and corn; blackened jumbo shrimp; and lobster guacamole. A guacamole trio featuring traditional, pork belly, and shrimp and corn offers a flight of flavors to curious customers.
At Xico, Davis has given up on fancy guacamoles because they didn’t sell well.
“People just want traditional guacamole,” she says of her customers in Portland. “We tried adding toppings like chicharron, toasted pepitas, and cherry tomato salsa, but no one ever ordered them, and they led to food waste.”
Barrio Star’s Camburn concurs.
“I personally believe in leaving such a beautiful fruit as the avocado alone. Let the fruit speak for itself,” he says. “For the most part, at Barrio Star we see people not veering off the path of an excellent simple guacamole recipe. We’ve done the numbers and nine out of ten tables order our delicious guacamole. I feel like so many restaurants out there in today’s world try to be just too creative — and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just not my style. Stick to the basics, add your own flair and I’m certain it will be delicious.”
Annelise Kelly is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to el Restaurante.