From the first edition of my guidebook Houston Dining on the Cheap that was published in 2001 about the green salsa at Taqueria Arandas:
Not insignificantly, the green salsa, offered complimentary with chips, is quite possibly the best salsa in town. A purée of chiles of a thick consistency, it is both very spicy while remaining very tangy and savory. It seems to complement every dish offered. Unfortunately, not all of the locations have this salsa. The Highway 6 and N. Gessner locations do.
That green salsa eventually spread to the other locations of Taqueria Arandas where it have been a tabletop staple for years. It’s also been copied or attempted to have been copied at a number of other Mexican restaurants in town though never with quite the result.
I love that viscous green stuff in a squeeze bottle at Taqueria Arandas, on chips, on almost anything I order there, though it’s been sometimes hotter, sometimes tastier; if not entirely consistently made, I find it always at least enjoyable, and it’s a significant part of the attraction of the restaurants. Certainly rooted in Mexico, I don’t know if it comes from the town of Arandas in Jalisco, at least I didn’t notice it at the restaurant we ate there many years ago. It doesn’t really matter; it’s here, thankfully.
Given my infatuation with it, I’ve tried to make it at home a couple of times, from a couple of different recipes cajoled on a couple of different occasions from waitresses there. Briefly sauteed serranos, whole except for the stems, garlic, and some white onion that is then pureed with lime juice is the closest I’ve come.
It’s yet another example of my palate being more demanding than my cooking skills and I likely have to be satisfied with trip to the restaurants.
Taqueria Arandas
Multiple locations throughout the Houston area
taqueriasarandas.com
Some truth in advertising: mural at Taqueria Arandas on N. Shepherd
Not insignificantly, the green salsa, offered complimentary with chips, is quite possibly the best salsa in town. A purée of chiles of a thick consistency, it is both very spicy while remaining very tangy and savory. It seems to complement every dish offered. Unfortunately, not all of the locations have this salsa. The Highway 6 and N. Gessner locations do.
That green salsa eventually spread to the other locations of Taqueria Arandas where it have been a tabletop staple for years. It’s also been copied or attempted to have been copied at a number of other Mexican restaurants in town though never with quite the result.
I love that viscous green stuff in a squeeze bottle at Taqueria Arandas, on chips, on almost anything I order there, though it’s been sometimes hotter, sometimes tastier; if not entirely consistently made, I find it always at least enjoyable, and it’s a significant part of the attraction of the restaurants. Certainly rooted in Mexico, I don’t know if it comes from the town of Arandas in Jalisco, at least I didn’t notice it at the restaurant we ate there many years ago. It doesn’t really matter; it’s here, thankfully.
Given my infatuation with it, I’ve tried to make it at home a couple of times, from a couple of different recipes cajoled on a couple of different occasions from waitresses there. Briefly sauteed serranos, whole except for the stems, garlic, and some white onion that is then pureed with lime juice is the closest I’ve come.
It’s yet another example of my palate being more demanding than my cooking skills and I likely have to be satisfied with trip to the restaurants.
Taqueria Arandas
Multiple locations throughout the Houston area
taqueriasarandas.com
Some truth in advertising: mural at Taqueria Arandas on N. Shepherd
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