Nopalito Salsas Gonzalo Guzman Good Eggs Grocery | Tasting Table San Francisco

Heat up your icebox with Nopalito's new line of packaged salsas

Nopalito is expanding to a new Bay Area location: your home kitchen.

Although chef Gonzalo Guzman has recorded 40 different salsas in the restaurants' recipe books, he says he's disheartened by the lack of variety on grocery shelves. "There are so many types of salsas all over Mexico," he says, but when you go into a store here, "there is only a red one and a green one."

So Nopalito has begun selling five of its salsas through its Good Eggs store, changing the lineup with the chef's whims and seasonal ingredients.

Right now, all the salsas are tomatillo-based–but they're not five shades of green. The Salsa Molcajete de Puya ($8.50 for 9 ounces), for instance, offers a tasty mix of garlic and smoke, packing a kick that doesn't linger. We also loved the bright, herbaceous Salsa Cilantro ($8.50 for 9 ounces), which would be good with grilled fish.

If you can take the heat, the Piquín Salsa ($6.50 for 5 ounces) is far more complex than your average hot sauce. Plus, according to Guzman, it's a last-minute flavor saver for soups and stews.

While the salsas, as well as Nopalito's signature fried garbanzos ($4 per bag), are only sold online, the restaurant is hoping to expand into retail stores soon.

Start clearing space in your fridge.