Chili's? Trudy's? Trudy's salsa is terrible. Food there is terrible. Mexi Marts are the only thing going on there. Best mexican food and salsa is Taqueria Arranda's # 3 on North Burnett.
Everyone adores Trudy's because it is "so Austin". Most of the mexican food is ****** though, unless you've thrown down a few mexican martinis first.
Chuy;s is still the so austin joint or whatever the fuk u want to call it. Circa '80, it was a decent eat. Now, it's a tourist trap w/ marginal food and drink. Trudy's mgmt actually gives a rat's *** about food and drink quality, and customer service. Damn good stuff.
I think Trudy's salsa is great. Unfortunately, I can't stand the rest of their food or their typical clientele, so I never go there. There's a reason they clean up in the Chronicle's salsa contest every year.
What clientele are you speaking of? At the Brodie Oaks location, you get a cross-section of yups and necks, plus all else in between. Makes no difference to me. As long as the food plus the salsa, queso and chips remain the same, I'll patronize frequently.
Stabone -- good to see that at least we agree on the suckage of Trudy's, and that we both regularly frequent the Arrandas on Burnet. I am big fan of their tortas de lengua y de barbacoa, and the FRESH salsa is a thing of beauty. That said, Chilis has damn good chain salsa. It's mild as hell, and I can eat it like soup, but it's good. El Azteca salsa is also really good -- has a little comino in it. Manuel's salsa sucks -- it is watery as hell.
orngbld, i'm not sure I have ever disagreed with anything you have posted. we should be friends. love chili's salsa. dario's i crave
JM, I was thinking of the campus Trudy's (too many Greeks) and the north Trudy's (too many admin assistants from "Office Space") when I made that comment about their clientele. I just prefer the mom'n'pop Mex/TexMex joints like those that are littered all over 78704 and the near east side. (I have to admit, I've had some gnarly food at a couple of those places, though.)
I don't like Trudy's salsa very much, nor do I like any of their food very much. You have to know what to get, you can't just randomly get anything and expect it to be good. Antonio's has pretty good salsa, so does El Arroyo. And why is Antonio's never crowded? It's pretty cheap, food is good and it gets to you in like 3 minutes, seriously.
Back to the top...I ate at Ninfa's on Navigation (in Houston's 2nd Ward, just East of Minute Maid Park) the other weekend. Their chips and salsa was absolutely amazing. It's been a year or so since I had the pleasure of eating there last, and man did I miss out. The chips are freshly made everytime you get a new basket, just extemely hot and crispy. The salsa is mind blowing. Although the food is among the best Mexican food I ever get the chance to eat, the chips and salsa alone are worth the trip. Did I mention that Ninfa's on Navigation was worth the trip. It's the orginal one and everyone should def. go.
I've always liked Ninfa's salsa as well, though I've never been to that particular location. The Chuy's creamy jalapeno is a very good salsa alternative. A great, though not particularly hot salsa can be had at The Gristmill in Gruene. It's hard to pick a favorite. Too many good ones out there.
Anyone else like Casa Garcia's? I had never been until last week, but I came away fairly impressed after arriving with limited expectations. I went to the one on Manchaca and William Cannon...apparently there are others.
Garcia's in Round Rock, hole in the wall just off I-35, best salsa EVER. 2nd would be Ninfa's, it's great here for dinner time. Never a crowd, hell hardly anyone there. Just walk in, down a bunch of salsa and eat. But hands down, Garcia's in Round Rock, UNBELIEVEABLE
without a doubt it would have to be Abuelos. they are located in dallas, lubbock, abilene, and soon to be by barton creek mall. salsa is a bit spicy. i just dump a bowl full of salsa on my enchiladas. f-ing awesome! Garcia's in RR is pretty good. Chili's is very good as well. La Margarita in RR is a little mild but tastes great.
ttt I've heard good things about Evita's Botinitas recently, think I'm heading there with my dad tonight and trying it out, will report back.
I am the opposite. Generally warm salsa is not so good. I like it cold or room temperature and hot (spicy).
Ok, I went to Evita's Botanitas tonight. First of all, the chips and salsa were a little differnt, they bring out not one, not two, but 5 differnt kinds of salsa, and they put it on this little botana tray. I couldn't tell exactly what each salsa was but I can try: -roasted pepper- really bitter, but it grew on me -verde- was pretty weak, honestly -black bean salsa?- I don't know, it was like a black bean soup that was spicy and really good -standard red salsa- this stuff was good, and had some nice kick -red, but different- the peppers were more overpowering, and not neccesarilly in a good way While it was differnt, it was pretty good, and the food after the chips was awesome.
I second (or third) the motion: Chuy's spicy jalapeno sauce kicks all kinds of ***. As another alternative, me likey Ninfa's green sauce. To steer this in another direction, let's talk salsas to enjoy at home. I really like the "Texas-Texas" salsas. Can be bought at most H-E-B stores. But to get really happy, go to Central Market and get the one with pecans and Fredericksburg peaches. I usually don't dig salsa with fruit, but this one is the shiznit.
