# Let Us Speak of Salsa **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113 "2015-07-14T02:56:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/61 "2015-07-16T11:47:11Z")
> [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](#): > > That place is awesome!! The salsa you are referring to? You’re missing the key ingredient: blended avocado. Oh hell yeah, I think El Pollo Regio should take over the world and make us eat chicken. You can get a close approximation of their green sauce at H.E.B… ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/62 "2015-07-16T14:31:53Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > 1. Salsa is not for infants You say that, but my older boy has always loved the stuff- from about 1.5 onward to nearly 4 (where he is now), and my younger boy (14 mos) doesn’t seem bothered by it either, unless he rubs it in his eyes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/63 "2015-07-16T14:33:13Z")
[QUOTE=Bad News Baboon] That place is awesome!! The salsa you are referring to? You’re missing the key ingredient: blended avocado. [/quote] You think so? No online recipe or speculation I’ve ever found mentions avocado, and to me, the consistency is wrong. I’d have guessed some sour cream or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/64 "2015-07-16T14:40:51Z")
Made my best salsa ever a couple weeks ago. The standard old recipe minus cilantro because I forgot to buy any. What took it over the top were the tomatillos I roasted on the grill and then chopped. Try it. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/65 "2015-07-17T01:21:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You think so? No online recipe or speculation I’ve ever found mentions avocado, and to me, the consistency is wrong. I’d have guessed some sour cream or something like that. > **[El Pollo Regio menu - Austin TX 78757 - (877) 585-1085](https://www.allmenus.com/tx/austin/387910-el-pollo-regio/menu/)** > > Restaurant menu, map for El Pollo Regio located in 78757, Austin TX, 1725 Ohlen Road. I always order the asada, the sauce is labeled as avocado. My mom makes one similar: Cook a jalapeño in boiling water until soft. Put in blender with onion, garlic and avocado. Blend it like mad. Add lime juice. Add water from jalapeño to achieve desired consistency. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/66 "2015-07-20T18:05:33Z")
> [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](#): > > [El Pollo Regio menu - Austin TX 78757 - (877) 585-1085](http://www.allmenus.com/tx/austin/387910-el-pollo-regio/menu/) > > I always order the asada, the sauce is labeled as avocado. > My mom makes one similar: > > Cook a jalapeño in boiling water until soft. > Put in blender with onion, garlic and avocado. Blend it like mad. > Add lime juice. Add water from jalapeño to achieve desired consistency. Not so sure about the avocado… > **[Creamy Jalapeño Salsa: Krazy Good Green Sauce](http://usgorikakhana.blogspot.com/2013/07/perfect-green-salsa.html)** > > This is a creamy jalapeño salsa. El Regio and El Pollo Rico in Austin, Texas are two Monterrey (that's Nuevo León, México Monterrey) ... > **[Green (El Pollo Regio) | Austin - Yelp](https://www.yelp.com/topic/austin-green-el-pollo-regio)** > > I was up in the old hood tonight and got El Pollo Regio on Ohlen... OH MY GOD... I had forgotten how good that green sauce is. I mean I've literally been trying to recreate it at home for over a year and thought I was close but after tasting it… [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/891828](http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/891828) [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/762463](http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/762463) ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/67 "2015-07-21T02:51:35Z")
REAL salsa has no added sugar. REAL salsa has a bite. How MUCH of a bite depends on the taste of the maker. Without a bite, without some measure of capsaicin, it is not salsa. It is White People Salsa, which, while it can be tasty, is a pale imitation of REAL salsa. SOME salsa is chunky, with recognizable bits of vegetable in there. OTHER salsa is a sort of slurry, with a consistency similar to applesauce. Both are acceptable, although I tend to prefer the chunky kind, except at Mamacita’s, where the slurry sort is really delicious, and made fresh regularly. Did I mention the thing about the added sugar? Not to belabor the point, but I feel about sugar in salsa the way some people feel about beans in chili… ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/68 "2015-07-21T05:45:57Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Not so sure about the avocado… > > [Lucky Delicious: Creamy Jalapeño Salsa: Krazy Good Green Sauce](http://usgorikakhana.blogspot.com/2013/07/perfect-green-salsa.html) > > [Green (El Pollo Regio) | Austin - Yelp](http://www.yelp.com/topic/austin-green-el-pollo-regio) > > [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/891828](http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/891828) > > [http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/762463](http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/762463) It’s clearly called “salsa de aguacate” on their menu; Avocado salsa. It would seem really off for it not contain any. Really, it’s very well blended. Try it 🙂 Looked at thinks better. The first picture, the color might be off, but it looks nothing like the salsa at Regio. That picture the green is too vivid. As for the other links, the guy says the sauce doesn’t brown (as he assumes it would). The lime juice prevents that. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/69 "2015-07-21T15:24:44Z")
> [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](#): > > It’s clearly called “salsa de aguacate” on their menu; Avocado salsa. > It would seem really off for it not contain any. Really, it’s very well blended. Try it 🙂 > > Looked at thinks better. The first picture, the color might be off, but it looks nothing like the salsa at Regio. That picture the green is too vivid. As for the other links, the guy says the sauce doesn’t brown (as he assumes it would). The lime juice prevents that. I actually had Pollo Regio for dinner last Thursday… with plenty of the green sauce. They don’t say salsa de aguacate on the menu on the website, nor at the drive-through anymore- if they ever did. I sure don’t recall it. Anyway, I don’t taste any avocado in there- it’s more like a really spicy mayonnaise than anything else I can compare it to. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/70 "2015-07-21T17:59:43Z")
I just like typing it. Salsa. Salsa. Salsa. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/71 "2015-07-22T02:12:53Z")
“Mango salsa” is an oxymoron and an abomination and all who trick unsuspecting people by offering them “chips and salsa” and then suprising their taste buds with something more akin to a sweet mango chutney deserve to be publically called out for it (I’m taking to you Mom!). ---
**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:** [July 22, 2015, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/72 "2015-07-22T02:48:36Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > “Mango salsa” is an oxymoron and an abomination and all who trick unsuspecting people by offering them “chips and salsa” and then suprising their taste buds with something more akin to a sweet mango chutney deserve to be publically called out for it (I’m taking to you Mom!). Mango-based salsas are awesome, especially paired with habanero. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/73 "2015-07-22T03:00:33Z")
They may be awesome to you but you must specify when you are offering a sweet condiment disguised as a refreshing spicy one. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/74 "2015-07-22T03:40:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I actually had Pollo Regio for dinner last Thursday… with plenty of the green sauce. They don’t say salsa de aguacate on the menu on the website, nor at the drive-through anymore- if they ever did. I sure don’t recall it. Anyway, I don’t taste any avocado in there- it’s more like a really spicy mayonnaise than anything else I can compare it to. From what I understand, there’s no avocado or mayo in it. From the reports of what they employees say, It’s mostly just jalapeños and oil emulsified. ---
**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:** [July 22, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/75 "2015-07-22T04:23:50Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > They may be awesome to you but you must specify when you are offering a sweet condiment disguised as a refreshing spicy one. The ones I have are fiery spicy, or at least have a decent kick (the really hot ones have habanero). Sounds like yours are doing it wrong. 🙂 They shouldn’t be just sweet and nothing else. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/76 "2015-07-22T05:57:22Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I actually had Pollo Regio for dinner last Thursday… with plenty of the green sauce. They don’t say salsa de aguacate on the menu on the website, nor at the drive-through anymore- if they ever did. I sure don’t recall it. Anyway, I don’t taste any avocado in there- it’s more like a really spicy mayonnaise than anything else I can compare it to. The menu site I listed calls it “salsa de aguacate”. I will go this week (supreme sacrifice) and ask. I haven’t been to Pollo loco in years, but they had a similar one. All their recipes list it using avocado. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/77 "2015-07-22T11:17:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The ones I have are fiery spicy, or at least have a decent kick (the really hot ones have habanero). Sounds like yours are doing it wrong. 🙂 They shouldn’t be just sweet and nothing else. MadMex has a bunch of different salsas, with the pineapple being the hottest. Muy cerveza, porfavor!! ---
**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:** [July 22, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/78 "2015-07-22T15:42:11Z")
I will be making salsa featuring [pápalo](http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2012/07/papalo.html), sometimes described as “cilantro on steroids”. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/79 "2015-07-25T01:30:12Z")
Regarding mango salsa: Made mango peach salsa tonight, and it was freaking amazing. Also added a touch of fresh mint because I had it on hand. I have indeed had mango salsas that were way too sweet; I can only conclude that they have added sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113/80 "2015-08-06T11:47:16Z")
> [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](#): > > The menu site I listed calls it “salsa de aguacate”. I will go this week (supreme sacrifice) and ask. I haven’t been to Pollo loco in years, but they had a similar one. All their recipes list it using avocado. I’m conceding defeat. I went there, at last, yesterday. This time I played the part of “really pay attention to the salsa”. There is no avocado in it. :smack: I used to eat at Regio a lot about 6 years ago as it was near my school. The one I go to now is in a different city. I don’t know if the quality has gone down a bit, or if it’s just me, but it wasn’t as good as I remembered. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-speak-of-salsa/725113.md?page=3)