SEQUIM, Wash. — Jose Cedeno of "Evening" traveled to Sequim to check out ‘Jose’s Famous Salsa’ — where he met Jose Garcia, the mystery man behind the legendary salsa.
Evening’s Jose: "Why's your salsa so famous?"
Jose Garcia: “I just started making it for friends, and people gave it the name, I’d go to barbecues or whatever and people would say ‘Oh, there’s the Famous Salsa!’.
Jose Garcia started selling his fresh salsa at farmer’s markets, and that eventually led him to opening a taqueria, Jose's Famous Salsa House, in 2012. He hand makes all of the pico de gallo, sauces and salsas at his restaurant’s fresh salsa bar, and sells his salsas in local stores as well — in fact, he just landed a deal with Olympic Peninsula Safeways to sell Jose’s Famous Salsa.
“We have the mild, medium, hot, and crazy hot,” Jose Garcia explained.
At his Sequim restaurant, Jose also makes all kinds of tacos, tamales and other things that go perfectly with salsa. It’s a casual place with a full bar in addition to that salsa bar, and outdoor seating.
Evening’s Jose tried Jose Garcia’s salsa, but it was an extreme challenge because Jose Cedeno cannot handle spicy food. Even mildly spicy salsa makes him break into a sweat. So Jose Garcia came up with a special salsa just for him: He put a Jose’s Famous Salsa sticker on a ketchup bottle.
When asked about the ingredients in his famous salsa, Jose Garcia is a man of few words.
“It’s fresh, and people like it,” he shrugs.
He just lets his salsa do the talking.
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