The Commercial Appeal - Go Memphis
Best bets:
Salsa verde
I tried some salsa verde on a previous visit to Mexican Deli Chivas. The green salsa, which came with their chips, didn’t taste like anything I’d ever eaten. It was very good, but it was more liquid-y than thick.
I returned this week for more salsa and chips. I asked Alfredo Gutierrez, the owner, cook and “dishwasher, too,” he added, about the history of his salsa verde, which is made with avocados, tomatillos, cilantro, pepper and lime juice.
“This is a recipe from my grandmother,” said Gutierrez, who is from Jalisco, Mexico. His grandmother, Maria Romo, made the salsa on festival days, holy days, birthday parties and other special occasions. They used it as a dip for tacos, but they also poured it over carne asada tacos.
It’s one of those dips that are difficult to stop eating.
This time, my chips came with the salsa verde as well as salsa roja, a red salsa. “My recipe,” Gutierrez said.
He recently needed a sauce for a special dinner and concocted the red salsa, which is made of tomatoes, garlic, oregano and salt. It’s delicious. The oregano gives it a spicy bite, but it doesn’t overwhelm. The heat in both salsas is perfect, as far as I’m concerned.
You don’t get hot when you get the check at Mexican Deli Chivas, either. If you just order the two salsas with chips, the price is $2.50, Gutierrez said. And the chips and salsas are free if you order a lunch or dinner.