HELP! Chi chi's restaurants..the HOT SALSA. NOT jarred stuff...

[leahannpen]

I know our local Chi chi's shut down. I'm so bummed. I still crave their hot salsa. Not the stuff they sell in the grocery store, but the restaurant hot salsa. Are ALL Chi chi's shut down? Everywhere? I thought I read the HOT salsa had some sort of seasoning packet the restaurant added to the veggies...is there any way to get this stuff? I'd buy it in bulk if I could.

Can anyone help?

 

[monkeyboy]

Does Joanie still love Chi chi

 

[piglet too]

Sorry, but they are all closed now. My local one was one of the last, if not the last, to close back in September. My whole family misses eating there for the chips and salsa, the store stuff is no where as good. I also miss the Fried Ice Cream with honey.

 

[leahannpen]

Does Joanie still love Chi chi

I don't know if Joannie does, but leahannpen does!

 

[Dodie]

I know that all of ours shut down a couple of years ago.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

You can make it yourself! I don't know how accurate it is though...

Chi Chi's Salsa Copycat Recipe
Tomatoes - 1 can
Green onions -- snipped with scissors
Tomato - 1 (core and dice)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Tabasco - add to taste

Cut up stewed tomatoes and combine in saucepan with onions, fresh tomato, salt and pepper.
Bring just to a boil. Boil hard 1 minute and remove at once from heat.
Put half of mixture through blender just to mince fine but not to puree.
Return to remaining half of mixture.
Cool and refrigerate in tightly covered container to use with a few weeks.
Freezes well to use within 6 months.

And here's a website dedicated to the stuff. Seems the jarred salsa, but I haven't perused the site).

http://chichissalsa.com/

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I do not know if you have a Trader Joe's near you but their salsa is even better. Also if you live near Costco they have one that is medium ( i like hot too) San Marco I think it is called. Just add a little tabasco and you will get the kick.

 

[leahannpen]

You can make it yourself! I don't know how accurate it is though...

Chi Chi's Salsa Copycat Recipe
Tomatoes - 1 can
Green onions -- snipped with scissors
Tomato - 1 (core and dice)
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Tabasco - add to taste

Cut up stewed tomatoes and combine in saucepan with onions, fresh tomato, salt and pepper.
Bring just to a boil. Boil hard 1 minute and remove at once from heat.
Put half of mixture through blender just to mince fine but not to puree.
Return to remaining half of mixture.
Cool and refrigerate in tightly covered container to use with a few weeks.
Freezes well to use within 6 months.

And here's a website dedicated to the stuff. Seems the jarred salsa, but I haven't perused the site).

http://chichissalsa.com/

Thanks...I did find that recipe, but that's the "mild" which is WAY different than what I want...I want the "HOT..restaurant..fresh" salsa...which I guess you can make easy, but the hard part is the "seasoning" packet, which I guess is nowhere to be found...if I could just get the recipe for the seasoning packet, I'd make it myself...AHH....help!!!

 

[GoodFairies]

I miss it too. That fresh salsa was the best. Chevy's is pretty good too, but not as good as Chi-Chi's. Who wants nasty jar salsa after eating that?

 

[leahannpen]

I do not know if you have a Trader Joe's near you but their salsa is even better. Also if you live near Costco they have one that is medium ( i like hot too) San Marco I think it is called. Just add a little tabasco and you will get the kick.

Nope, neither.

Any other recommendations that are maybe similar to Chi Chi's?

 

[ChristmasElf]

I can't believe that every Chi Chi's in the US is now gone! Yet there are several in Kuwait?!

For the poster that missed the fried ice cream:

take Kellogs Corn Flakes and place them in a Ziploc bag
smash the flakes until crumbly.
add 1 tsp of cinnamon and 2 Tablespoons sugar- mix up
Take a solid scoop of vanilla ice cream and roll the ball into the cereal and cinnamon sugar mixture.
Place in freezer until rock hard
Deep fry in vegetable oil for 10 seconds
Pour honey on top

this is also good if you don't bother with frying and substitute hersheys sauce in place of the honey!!

Now I just need to find the "green sauce" recipe they used on the soft taco and chimis!!!!

 

[Chipperdini]

Wish I could help. I miss Chi-Chi's too. Enjoyed their hot salsa and especially liked their soft chicken taco diablo. Incidentally, I ate my first married meal at a Chi-Chi's on my way out of OH to WV.

 

[grinningghost]

I worked at Chi-Chi's for years. That was in the 80's and we didn't use any packets for salsa back then. They did start using packets for some things about the time I left, so perhaps the salsa did too.

 

[grinningghost]

Thanks...I did find that recipe, but that's the "mild" which is WAY different than what I want...I want the "HOT..restaurant..fresh" salsa...which I guess you can make easy, but the hard part is the "seasoning" packet, which I guess is nowhere to be found...if I could just get the recipe for the seasoning packet, I'd make it myself...AHH....help!!!

Hate to break it, but that doesn't even sound close to the recipes we used. I worked at Chi-Chi's in the 80's and there was alot more stuff in the mild sauce. For one thing, banana peppers were in there and green chilis.

 

[Southern4sure]

curious...is this hot from peppers or temperature?

Southern4sure

 

[leahannpen]

curious...is this hot from peppers or temperature?

Southern4sure

It's hot from peppers. I tastes so good, but I have no idea what's in it. Tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and it tastes kind of like, maybe vinegar...and then the spices..whatever those maybe...that's what I need!

 

[ckay87]

The closing of Chi Chis is sad - like the end of an era. I remember when (around here at least) we had never even heard of Mexican food (we are hicks.) My high school Spanish class took a FIELD TRIP there when it first opened

I am a salsa FREAK. It was actually when I went to Cancun many years ago that I learned the joys of fresh salsa. Very few jars can capture that, so I make a lot myself. Not that I'm an expert, but it's fun to experiment and it's always better than the jars. Cilantro and lime are the key - and along with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers add a great crunch. Then the real fun comes from experimenting with the hot stuff

As for jars - the only one I found I like is Frontera which I could only find at Zabars in NYC. Chi Chi's ORIGINAL jar (not fiesta) is tolerable.

But I was happy to find this thread with the other recommendations. I'm going to look for those.

 

[Southern4sure]

I never eat jar salsa...nasty!

It probably had some balsamic vinegar, I use a dash. Here is a tip...use can tomatoes. After I process the tomatoes in a food processer, I add some water to "thin" it out...you want believe the difference..makes the tomatoes taste fresh. I do not use cilantro. I use 1 habanero pepper for the entire bowl. Its HOT!

Southern4sure

 

[leahannpen]

I never eat jar salsa...nasty!

I totally agree! Ugh! Fresh is best!!

It probably had some balsamic vinegar

Hmm, that does sound good...I'll have to try that.

We are going to experiment tomorrow night and see if we can get it close. We are so desperate!