The lost meals entries consist of meals that occurred at various times throughout 2012 which, for any number of reasons, escaped my documentation – some due to a cross country move and a new job, some due to the Los Angeles Kings run to the Stanley Cup, and some simply as a result of too much travel. Having enjoyed many of these meals with friends or family and with some of them amongst the year’s very best the reality is that with time my memory has deteriorated and as life moves forward I’ve realized there is little hope to ever “catch up” or document these experiences as well as I’d hope, yet in order to preserve them I present these pictures, notes, and thoughts on the experience.
Unlimited Chips and Salsa Bar (Pineapple Habanero, Tomatillo, Pico De Gallo, Regular, Fire Roasted Tomato Chipotle Salsa, etc)
Cheese Crisp— A giant flour tortilla layered with melted mixed cheeses and grilled to perfection.
Carnitas Combo— Carnitas, cheese enchilada, a chicken tostada, guacamole, and flour tortillas. Served with home-cooked pinto beans and Mexican rice plus flour tortillas
Enchilada Dinner— Corn tortillas filled with mixed cheeses, topped with our enchilada sauce and baked with more cheese.
Mexican Fried Ice Cream with whipped cream and chocolate sauce
My first meal as an Arizonian occurred on our Nation’s birthday…with Mexican food served by a kid named Dutch at a place recommended by Guy Fieri…and in all honesty, Salsa Brava was actually quite good; the sort of place that if you order the signature items you can walk away with a good meal at a good price and the sort of place where both the food and the service are better than they need to be.
Large in size and big in attitude Salsa Brava hails itself as the best Mexican food in town and with everything made in house using largely organic ingredients one would be hard pressed to argue with such an assessment – especially after standing and watching the chefs in the kitchen make nearly a dozen salsas by hand and pouring over the extensive menu, eventually settling on a regional favorite in the cheese crisp, a daily carnitas special with tender pork ample with citrus, and a plate of cheesy enchiladas plus fried ice cream – a truly memory provoking dish for myself dating back to countless trips to Mexican Town in Detroit after games at JLA.
Criticized by some for lacking authenticity it probably goes without saying that there is better regional Mexican cuisine to be found throughout the southwest and all things being equal Salsa Brava probably isn’t going to change the way you feel about Mexican food, but taken for what it is the whole experience was everything I’d expected walking in the door, and in some ways quite a bit better.