strawberry.black.

After basketball at the Y yesterday, dad and I went into downtown Phoenix for some shopping and to drop in on La Condesa's salsa bar.

I expected counter service only, but there were tables and waitresses and yes all the normal restaurant things, plus one non-normal restaurant thing: at the back of the room to the right of the serious-looking woman there's a salad bar-looking thing that contains 12 or 14 salsas.

Our first trip to the salsa bar yielded (from left): seven chile; salsa roja; pink radish; jicama/scallion; strawberry; chipotle; peanut; pecan. I thought they were all fresh and well-executed, though a couple of them probably stretched the definition of "salsa", notably the very crema-like pecan salsa (far right). Dad was totally smitten by the strawberry salsa, he tried to get some to take home but they don't do that.



If I say that the tacos themselves were my least favorite since I've been here, that's not really a negative review at all, I've just been eating very well. I had the black mole chicken (front) and a beer-battered whitefish with slaw, temporarily vegan dad had a poblano/mushroom thing. Like I said, these were fine by themselves, but they were elevated into the "good" bracket by the salsa overload...but I mean for me eight good salsas could turn a dusty pebble into a satisfying lunch.