# Do you know what Pico De Gallo means? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 2, 2019, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043 "2019-08-02T03:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/21 "2019-08-02T09:22:40Z")
I looked at the thread title, and my first thought was, “There’s a Doper who posts under that name”; found, though, that I was thinking of **Aji de Gallina** , from Peru. (I’m not from the south-west, and didn’t know what P De G was.) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/22 "2019-08-02T12:35:04Z")
I never looked up that actual translation - I just know it’s something I don’t want on my plate. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/23 "2019-08-02T12:42:39Z")
The real answer is that it’s [a song by Trout Fishing in America](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfFo4dJG6Bs) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/24 "2019-08-02T12:47:08Z")
Ohioan here. Like pretty much everyone else, I’m familiar with the variety of salsa. As for the literal translation, I have enough Latin to guess that it’s something to do with chickens, but I had no clue what the “pico” part was (I was pretty sure that it didn’t mean 10^-12 chickens). ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/25 "2019-08-02T12:48:08Z")
Traditionally I believe it’s like a very chunky salsa, with much less of a liquid component, and it’s always fresh vegetables, never cooked, whereas salsa is very much a liquidy “sauce” that can have cooked or fresh ingredients. Sometimes something that is clearly salsa is labeled “pico de gallo,” (I’m looking at you, Pace), but I’m certain that’s just because certain companies are marketing to customers who don’t know the difference. I’m in the DC metro area, Maryland side. I live and have lived in a heavily hispanic area for quite some time now. . ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/26 "2019-08-02T12:57:11Z")
It means a fucking salad, you pretentious bastard. Just ask for a salad ! 🙂 (I actually had to look it up - I know \*gallo \*is chicken, so my first assumption was “Mexican chicken dish marinated in something or other”) ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/27 "2019-08-02T14:19:02Z")
It means lots of different things, even within just the context of Mexican food. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/28 "2019-08-02T14:20:24Z")
Live in Ohio, order an extra side of pico de gallo routinely to pep up the house salsa. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/29 "2019-08-02T14:38:59Z")
I’m from everywhere else and yes, I know what it means. But I also drank a lot of Gallo beer in Guatemala. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/30 "2019-08-02T14:48:20Z")
Never heard of the sauce, don’t know what it means. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/31 "2019-08-02T14:53:08Z")
I live in Ohio and know what it means but only because I google stuff like that from time to time. More people probably know pollo than gallo and almost nobody would know pico, and the actual food item has nothing to do with rooster beaks, so I wouldn’t fault anyone for not knowing. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/32 "2019-08-02T15:00:06Z")
I know what I’ll get if I order some, but until this thread I never thought about what the name translates to. Now I know, it’s like a hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/33 "2019-08-02T15:30:37Z")
No, hot dogs are _actually_ made from chicken lips. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/34 "2019-08-02T15:51:22Z")
I wonder if a combo of pico de gallo and a hot dog will annihilate? (Eat it quick, then, because that sounds like a good combo!.) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/35 "2019-08-02T15:57:19Z")
It comes standard with just about every entree at our favorite Mexican places. Since the wife has a thing about raw onions, I always get hers scooped onto my plate. Score! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/36 "2019-08-02T16:45:56Z")
I’m a native Spanish speaker so yeah. I’m surprised you couldn’t find a single Spanish speaker. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/37 "2019-08-02T16:46:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I wonder if a combo of pico de gallo and a hot dog will annihilate? (Eat it quick, then, because that sounds like a good combo!.) That would be excellent, and far better than ketchup. Not to hijack this into a condiment fight. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/38 "2019-08-02T17:38:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > That would be excellent, and far better than ketchup. Not to hijack this into a condiment fight. Move to Phoenix or Tuscon. Pico de gallo is standard on a Sonoran hot dog. Along with a ton of other stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/39 "2019-08-02T17:56:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Move to Phoenix or Tuscon. Pico de gallo is standard on a Sonoran hot dog. Along with a ton of other stuff. I’ve had Sonoran dogs in Phoenix and Tucson – I don’t think any of them had straight-up pico de gallo on them, though. Maybe in a deconstructed, individual ingredient sense. The main thing is it’s a bacon-wrapped dog topped with pinto beans with a lot of stuff you can put on it. I’m sure some places do pico de gallo, but I haven’t noticed it being a requirement or even standard. [See here](https://tucsonfoodie.com/2018/12/02/top-4-sonoran-hot-dogs-in-tucson/): > [@](#): > > The Sonoran hot dog originates from Hermosillo, Mexico and features a slightly sweet bun, bacon-wrapped wiener, pinto beans, onions, tomato, salsa verde, mustard, and mayonnaise. Or [here](https://tucson.com/business/tucson-hot-dog-joint-el-guero-canelo-wins-a-james/article_74527f5b-89db-5722-848b-54e1be7ca0c9.html): > [@](#): > > “Daniel Contreras is the leading hotdoguero,” it goes on. “The original stand is now a destination restaurant, outfitted with picnic tables and serviced by a walk-up order window. Fans converge for bacon-wrapped franks, stuffed into stubby bolillos, smothered with beans, onion, mustard, jalapeño sauce, and a squiggle of mayonnaise.” ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043/40 "2019-08-02T18:56:23Z")
I’m a lifelong California native and I didn’t know what it meant without looking it up. Every time I hear it, I always think it should be a city in the Los Angeles area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-what-pico-de-gallo-means/838043.md?page=3)