The Salsa Red Flag To Look Out For When Dining At A Mexican Restaurant

Whether it's salsa verde or salsa roja — both of which can be used to make a delicious salsa baja sauce at home — few things beat the taste of freshly made salsa at your favorite Mexican restaurant. However, not all restaurants serve the high-quality salsa that you're hoping for, and there are a handful of clues that may tell you that the restaurant you're dining at isn't up to snuff. The Takeout reached out to Mexican food blogger and cookbook author Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack to get the lowdown on exactly what to look out for when trying to avoid low-quality restaurant salsa. Marquez-Sharpnack says noticing the temperature of the salsa you're served offers your first insight into the way it was made.

"For me, a big red flag is cold salsa — I can't stand it," Marquez-Sharpnack revealed. "Salsa should taste fresh, vibrant, and like it was just made, not like it was scooped out of a refrigerated tub. ... Salsa should be served at room temperature, especially if it's just been made. That's when the flavors shine the most."

The main reason why temperature reveals so much about salsa's quality is it can signal how long it's been since it was made. In fact, cold salsa could even indicate that a restaurant is getting it from the store. While not all store-bought salsa is bad — Trader Joe's has a great salsa verde — it will never compare to a fresh-made batch. "If a restaurant serves salsa straight from the fridge, it often means they're making it in bulk, storing it for days, or — worse — using a store-bought jar," Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack explained. "The only exception would be something like a fresh pico de gallo, which might be slightly chilled, but even then, it should still taste freshly made."

Alternatively, Marquez-Sharpnack noted that the ingredients and spices you taste in your salsa can also give insight into its quality. While we're fans of adding chiles to homemade salsa to enhance its flavor, Marquez-Sharpnack advises that we watch out for other noticeable flavors that could be present in restaurant salsa. "Jarred salsas often have a slightly sour or metallic aftertaste from preservatives," she adds. "If a salsa has an overwhelming cumin taste, chances are it's store-bought. Many mass-produced salsas use cumin heavily for a 'Tex-Mex' profile."