What makes a great salsa?
You have an opinion. I know you do. So share it by commenting on this blog. But in case you're too shy, I'll give you some options to choose from. Is the thicker the better with salsa? Or does it need to be a little runny, and perhaps even slightly creamy in order to be dipped better? Does it need to be very spicy? Does it even need to be tomato based? Dictionary.com doesn't mention tomatoes, though it does suggest "especially a hot sauce containing chilies."
I can think of one ingredient that separates proper salsa from glorified tomato sauce. Cilantro.
Someone — I'm not sure who other than KCEN's Nick Piesco — judged Waco's margarita and salsa offerings during the Margarita & Salsa Festival on Saturday. I didn't attend, but I was interested to find out who won the contests.
Congratulations to the various winners. From what I've heard, the Margarita & Salsa Festival, which was held on Saturday at the Heart of Texas Coliseum to benefit the Arthritis Foundation, was a big hit as usual.
Here's who won:
Best salsa: El Chico
Best margarita: Don Carlos
Best queso (restaurant/individual combined category): Salsa with SAS (we're not sure what this is)
Best guacamole: Don Carlos
Best margarita (individual): Margarita Texas (if that's someone's name, it's the coolest name ever)
Best salsa (individual): Mandy Brannen
Additionally, the good folks at El Chico informed me their margarita won "People's Choice" best margarita.
I learned that by lunching at El Chico today. In doing so, I came to another realization about salsa.
Perhaps average salsa makes a person say "You know what? I'm not going to fill up on chips and salsa."
Conversely, I couldn't stay out of my salsa cup at lunch today. It's hard to say there's anything about El Chico's salsa that's transcendent, but it's extremely dip-able and difficult to ignore. Every time the waitress came around to ask if we would like more salsa, the answer was "Yes!"
So I filled up on chips and salsa. And I severely enjoyed a frozen margarita. It's a wonder I was able to write this blog.
