Best of Tucson 1996: Best Locally Made Salsa

Best Locally Made Salsa

STAFF PICK: Oscar Segura has been the sauce meister for more than a decade, making all four types of Poblano Hot Sauce, Inc.'s spicy salsas, from the factory at 648 W Lester St. The secret family recipe for the green jalapeño salsa was finally passed on to Segura by his father only days before the elder Segura's passing. Don Nicolas C. Segura started the business in the 1940s, putting his early sauces into Miller Beer bottles with the help of his five sons. Now the building's for sale and the business is ready to move to bigger quarters. The saucería is still a family- run enterprise, though, with grandchildren helping answer phones and mail from all around the globe. A bottle returned full of sand from Saudi Arabia confirms it really does help spice up your MRE.

The jalapeños are brought up from Mexico and it's this crop's growing season that accounts for the unusual Christmas rush on the product. Stock up now, because by December the shelves will be as bare as Demi Moore on a press junket.