Let's Talk About Salsa

[schild]

Oh, ffs. Now we are using race as authority for good salsa?

Well, to be fair, some cultures make certain foods much better than others.

I'm Italian but a coworker who is Mexican did at one point ask for our salsa recipe. Maybe she was just being polite...

Yes, I'm sure it's not hard to find anecdotal evidence pointing to otherwise. Also, I'm sure it's not hard to find mexicans who don't know how to make salsa. I know lots of people from New York who don't know how to make Pizza or even know what good pizza is. It happens. As I said, it's a culture thing.

[Yegolev]

Yeg: No vinegar is put into salsa to retard spoilage.

Did not mean to imply you should put it in salsa, just pointing out why people would pickle peppers.  Anyway, my favorite "salsa" is the cheapest crap you can find.  Seriously.  Yes, I know, but I like it.

I don't know any owners of Mexican restaurants because I don't speak Korean.

[schild]

Did not mean to imply you should put it in salsa, just pointing out why people would pickle peppers.  Anyway, my favorite "salsa" is the cheapest crap you can find.  Seriously.  Yes, I know, but I like it.

I don't know any owners of Mexican restaurants because I don't speak Korean.

Hah. That was pretty funny. I'm surprised you even have koreans where you are.

[Evildrider]

DO NOT USE VINEGAR IN YOUR SALSA

I agree, with the tomatos and lime juice it's definitely acidic enough without adding vinegar. 

I'm not big on pickled jalapenos either myself, I prefer a straight taste of the pepper.  Although my friend's dad grows his own Jalapeno's and puts them fresh into a big jar of vinegar, and he'll sit there and eat them out of the jar while watching football and the like.

[Evildrider]

The capsaicin is concentrated in the seeds, so that could be what is causing the uneven heat from chopped peppers.  Putting peppers in some fluid (vinegar) will distribute the capsaicin.

It's actually not just the seeds.  We'll take jalapeno as an example.  If you cut out the seedy part there maybe some whitish membrane still left on the pepper and that will carry a bit of the "hotness" as well.  You can cut it down by holding the pepper flat against a cutting board and take off a thin layer of the inside of the pepper.  It cuts down on the heat quite a bit but still gives you a nice taste.

[HAMMER FRENZY]

My argument is just against putting vinegar in salsa. The reason I say it is to help you guys out. I know for sure you should not put vinegar in salsa if you want it to taste authentic.

Man you can totally tell you live outside of the southern states cause it is all Mexicans at ALL food establishments here. It is funny, All the Chinese, Japanese restaurants are all full of Mexican employees here in AZ and in TX and NM.

[Evildrider]

Man you can totally tell you live outside of the southern states cause it is all Mexicans at ALL food establishments here. It is funny, All the Chinese, Japanese restaurants are all full of Mexican employees here in AZ and in TX and NM.

It's kind of the same here, most of the restaurants are owned by Greeks with Mexican Workers.  Any Asian restaurant we have is run by Chinese but that also includes our Japanese, Korean, and Thai places.

[schild]

Man you can totally tell you live outside of the southern states cause it is all Mexicans at ALL food establishments here. It is funny, All the Chinese, Japanese restaurants are all full of Mexican employees here in AZ and in TX and NM.

Not ALL OF THEM. You just have to find the ones that aren't. Cyclo, C-Fu, etc. And it's funny, they're the best of the bunch. CULTURE, MOFO. ;)

[Paelos]

My argument is just against putting vinegar in salsa. The reason I say it is to help you guys out. I know for sure you should not put vinegar in salsa if you want it to taste authentic.

Man you can totally tell you live outside of the southern states cause it is all Mexicans at ALL food establishments here. It is funny, All the Chinese, Japanese restaurants are all full of Mexican employees here in AZ and in TX and NM.

Those are southern states?  :-D

Yeah, it's the same in Georgia and Alabama. Mexicans work in every facet of every food type in the restaurants here.

[Yegolev]

Hah. That was pretty funny. I'm surprised you even have koreans where you are.

Are you fucking kidding me?  The only demographic missing from Atlanta in a noticeable quantity is the Japanese, they seem to get stuck in California.  There's a street in Decatur that looks like the Las Vegas Strip of Korean churches.  Yesterday I ate at the American Cafe on Moreland Ave. and everybody working there was (probably) Chinese, except the one Mexican guy on the grill.  There's always at least one Mexican.  Construction crews are mostly Mexican.

Any "asian" restaurant here is likely staffed by Koreans, especially the chinapanese combo places.  You know, the ones with cashew chicken and california roll on the same menu?  My favorite dry cleaner was Korean; she loved me and I had a standing 40% discount.  I suspected that she had a doorway at the back of the drycleaning store that led into the neighboring Chinese restaurant.

[schild]

Man, I bet the food in ATL is good.

[Yegolev]

The gyro I had at the American Grill wasn't, but then I know what a good gyro tastes like.  You have to know where to look but you can get great and authentic stuff with some research, aka friend of the appropriate ethnic group in my case.  The pickled jellyfish?  Atlanta.  Indian food that doesn't all taste like the same curry?  It exists. Against the odds, I have even had strawberry shortcake in a Japanese bookstore here.

To counter all that, I have eaten at The Varsity once.

[Paelos]

Man, I bet the food in ATL is good.

Having lived in Texas, the Mexican food here is extremely sub-par. However, it's made up for by a few establishments here which can literally roll your socks up and down.

http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/ The Flying Biscuit is one of the best places for Breakfast or Brunch in town. Homemade style biscuits with every meal, and a value that's on par to any chain. It's ranked as one of the best value gourmet joints in the city.

http://www.southcitykitchen.com/midtown/index.htm South City Kitchen is a place I went to for a friend's bachelor party, so I wasn't expecting much. However, I had one of the better southern meals I've ever had this side of my Grandmother's house. Fried Green Tomatoes, She-Crab Soup, Chicken and Dumplings, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, Fried Catfish, Collard Greens, Cheese Grits, and even Lemon Chess Pie. It's all here and it's all fantastic, not to mention a kickass wine list.

http://fatmattsribshack.com/ Gotta toss some love to Fat Matt's for great Atlanta BBQ. It's everything a BBQ place should be. It looks low-rent, it's got outdoor picnic tables, the menus is written up on the walls, the beer is cold, and the Ribs are glorious.

[CmdrSlack]

To counter all that, I have eaten at The Varsity once.

I've been the The Varsity twice...but I could have only gone once. It's mostly the novelty factor, IMO. Then again, I'm from a city where we take our hot dogs/sausage pretty damn seriously.

[Yegolev]

You don't go to The Varsity for a good meal, you go to say you've eaten at the world's largest drive-thru.

[schild]

Har.

We just found out that there's a couple Japanese curry places in Phoenix. Needless to say, our weeks are just packed.

[Dren]

If you let it all sit together in a covered container in the fridge overnight, I find that the flavors mix pretty well. We used to have a great mixing bowl with a lid until the kid destroyed it -- I'd just give it a few good shakes every time I hit the fridge for a beer to make sure things were mixing well.

So shake every 10 minutes.  Got it.

[CmdrSlack]

If you let it all sit together in a covered container in the fridge overnight, I find that the flavors mix pretty well. We used to have a great mixing bowl with a lid until the kid destroyed it -- I'd just give it a few good shakes every time I hit the fridge for a beer to make sure things were mixing well.

So shake every 10 minutes.  Got it.

Give or take, depending on size of beer, yep.