Búfalo is a tasty way to go

For years I've been telling anyone who'd listen that Herdez Salsa Casera is the best freakin' salsa on the planet. It's so good, in fact, that I rarely eat it with chips or as a condiment.

What makes Herdez's salsa so good? Well, it is the only store-bought salsa I've ever eaten that actually tastes homemade. Hell, it practically is homemade -- the only ingredients are tomatoes, onions, serrano peppers, cilantro and salt. It sure don't taste like the ketchupy crap you see in large displays at the end of your local supermarket's chips 'n' dip aisle.

When I'm eating Herdez salsa (and all of my co-workers can testify to this), all I do is open the jar and eat it with a spoon. I don't want nothin' interfering with the taste of what is, again, the best freakin' salsa on the planet.

All that said, I received as a gift today a bottle of Búfalo Jalapeño Hot Sauce. I'd seen this particular brand of hot sauce in various grocery stores around town, but I'd never once thought about giving it a whirl, er, taste.

Upon examining the label, I discovered that this particular hot sauce is manufactured by Herdez. If'n I'd known that -- that is, if'n I'd ever taken the time to look at the label to discover that -- I would've tried Búfalo-brand sauce a long damn time ago.

The first thing I noticed about Búfalo Hot Sauce is its incredibly tangy flavor. I think that's probably because the jalapeños that go into it are allowed to fully ripen before they're mushed and bottled. If that is indeed the case, it makes me admire the hell out of the folks who produce the stuff.

Búfalo Jalapeño Hot Sauce is not the hottest hot sauce I've ever eaten; and it's unlikely Búfalo Jalapeño Hot Sauce will ever top Tabasco or Trappey's on my list of favorite hot sauces. It is pretty tasty, however, and I'm pretty sure that I'll be keeping a bottle of it on hand for those times when I want the tangiest hot sauce I've yet consumed.