Hello!

At Papalote you get to enjoy one salsa. The house salsa. The salsa that represents us and represents our menu. Our salsa.

That salsa, Papalote Salsa, was created mainly and primarily so we could offer our customers some chips and salsa while they waited for their burrito. The salsa was meant to be a simple appetizer, the classic quintessential Mexican hors d’ouvres. And then we discovered something…

When we opened Papalote Mexican Grill in 1999 we had burritos in mind. Back then there were no restaurants that specialized in burritos specifically. We based the whole concept on two things: Carne asada (grilled steak) burritos and pollo asado (grilled chicken) burritos. And we focused on making the best burritos with the best, freshest ingredients possible.

The carne asada at Papalote Mexican Grill is based on the carne asada you’d expect to get, well, at a carne asada… let me explain. Carne asada is grilled steak, right? It’s literally what it means in Spanish. However, carne asada is also what you call an event where the main course is the carne asada itself. Think of it this way, in the US, for instance, the event is a barbecue, in Argentina it’s an asado, and in Mexico it’s a carne asada. To me a carne asada (the event) usually takes place outdoors. There are balloons tied to a few strings to make the event more festive and to claim the spot you’ve selected at the park, the beach, the empty lot, whatever. There are always a couple of piñatas on deck at a carne asada. There are coolers full of drinks for everybody, either under one of the folding tables, or in the back of someone’s pickup truck. 

¿Se va a hacer o no se va a hacer? (Is it going to happen or is it not going to happen?) is what people ask in anticipation as a carne asada is being planned, because everybody knows it’s going to be a good time shared with loved ones. It could be in someone’s backyard with a few friends, or it could be a gathering of dozens of friends and family at a local park. 

Ok, back to the grilled steak. I’m not sure everybody understands what carne asada (grilled steak) is. It’s important to note there’s a big difference between carne asada and marinated steak. Carne asada has always been thinly sliced grilled steak, usually flap or skirt steak (arrachera is what you typically order at your local carnicería). Salt, maybe pepper, thinly sliced grilled steak…that’s it. It bums me out when people leave angry or disappointed reviews for our carne asada at Papalote Mexican Grill because “it’s not flavorful enough”. What makes me sad is that they’re comparing carne asada to carne marinada (marinated meat).

Let me ask you this: Do you like the taste of grilled meat? If so, why mask it with marinades? That’s it, that’s the question. Why bury the flavor of freshly grilled meats with overpowering marinades. That’s the magic of carne asada. It celebrates the true, natural flavor of steak. Plain and simple. And that’s what I offer at Papalote. You need two things for a true carne asada. High quality steak, and an open flame. At Papalote you get a four-ounce steak, grilled when you order it, prepared directly from grill to tortilla. We cut it into bite size pieces so you can get the mouthfeel of freshly grilled steak. And since we cut it without letting it rest, all the juices burst out and permeate the rice and the beans, creating delicious umami alchemy.

The alternative is putting 30 lbs. of cheap meat on the flat top, cooking it with fat (grease is flavor), juices, marinades, sauces, whatever’s needed to make some crappy meat taste good. Then chopping it into tiny little pieces so nobody can detect the gristle, the nerves, and who knows what else. This mountain of minced meat is put in vats, cooled off, and stored in the fridge. As the day goes it’s scooped as needed and reheated on the flat top again with even more mystery liquids to try to revive the sloppy mess. That’s not carne asada. It’s not.

So, if traditional carne asada is so simple to make, if it’s such a minimalistic cooking process with very few ingredients: steak, salt, fire… what differentiates a Papalote Carne Asada Burrito from any other carne asada burrito? What makes a Papalote Burrito special?

The salsa. It’s…the salsa.

Papalote seals the deal bringing umami goodness to the table with our roasted tomato house salsa. We roast our tomatoes every day and cook our salsa with fresh garlic, fresh onions, and red dry chili peppers. Yes, it’s the perfect concoction for our guests to dip their chips in while they patiently wait for us to grill the meats. And then… as we were testing our menu we put our salsa on our steak. The combined tastes of an excellent expression of carne asada plus our roasted tomato house salsa, separate, but together, bring the senses to life and hit your tastebuds with deep, complex flavors that totally make sense. As soon as you taste it you know this combination was meant to be. This is something special

It was serendipity at its finest when we discovered that this little savory pre-meal snack would also be the ultimate way to accompany the classic carne asada we so lovingly and meticulously decided to prepare: one of the principal elements on which we had based the whole Papalote Mexican Grill concept had found its undeniably perfect complement. Carne asada and Papalote Salsa. Beautiful.We knew we had something special when we opened our doors in 1999, and in the end, it was corroborated by none other than Bobby Flay when in 2010 he challenged Papalote on Food Network’s Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, to see who could make the best burrito. During the battle, as we were tasting each other’s creations, Chef Flay took a bite and savored the Papalote Burrito. After finishing his first bite he turned to the audience and, with a firm, decisive voice, declared that the salsa was the secret weapon. That moment. That affirmation. That endorsement lit a fire in me and, in that precise moment, 15 years ago, I knew that Papalote Salsa was destined to be in stores.

And here we are, 15 years later, with four varieties of retail Papalote Salsa, featuring four different varieties of chili peppers: Dry chili peppers in our Original House Salsa, Serrano-Tomatillo, Habanero, and Chipotle. Papalote Salsa is available at fine stores throughout California and various other regions in the Western United States, including Texas, Arizona, and Hawaii. It is also available online by visiting our website, www.papalotesalsa.com, and you can also order Papalote Salsa through amazon.com.

With no added water, no added sugar, and with no vinegar, locally sourced with the best produce California has to offer: Garlic from Gilroy, onions from Oxnard, and tomatoes from the California Central Valley, Papalote Salsas are great for dipping, and ideal for cooking!

September 15, 2010. Fifteen years in stores.

Happy Quiniceañera, Papalote Salsa!