Since opening in The Woodlands area in June 2016, Red Salsa Tacos & More has crafted a menu of strictly authentic Mexican dishes.
“We wanted to offer something new to The Woodlands—something that we didn’t see around in any other restaurant,” said Enrique Sanchez, restaurant co-owner and resident of The Woodlands.
Steering away from Tex-Mex-style food, the restaurant offers tacos with 11 different meat options, such as barbacoa and carnitas, as well as fresh ceviche and flautas, said Sheyla Sanchez, Enrique’s daughter and Red Salsa Tacos & More waitress.
“Slowly, we introduced [the meats] to the people and let them taste it for free,” Sheyla said. “We wanted to tell them what it was [and] what it has in it. They’re liking the new stuff.”
The recipes for each menu item are inspired by what the owners—Enrique, and Armando and Lupita Ynostroza—ate growing up in Mexico, Sheyla said.
“We go to infinity and beyond to look for the spices [and] seasonings they grew up with,” she said. “They don’t use anything preserved. Everything is fresh.”
Only Enrique makes certain dishes like ceviche because it is his own special recipe, Sheyla said.
“All the recipes and the meat marinating—he’s done it, and he checks everything to make sure everything is the same,” Sheyla said.
The Mexican restaurant experienced such a high volume of customers at its original location, the owners decided to expand and opened a second location on Borough Park Drive on July 1, Sheyla said.
“During rush hour, this place gets so packed,” she said. “It kind of makes us feel like we’re not giving the best service when [customers] can’t eat in here because it’s so packed, so we wanted to open a second location. People asked for it.”
Most dishes at Red Salsa Tacos & More, like the guacamole, are made to order to ensure freshness, Enrique said. Flour and corn tortillas, desserts and various salsas are also made in-house daily.
“When we make the guacamole, ours is made kind of differently from other places,” he said. “We have it more in chunks, so [customers] know that it’s fresh.”
Beef fajita tacos are the restaurant’s No. 1 seller, and ceviche and flautas have become popular even though they are relatively new to the menu, Sheyla said.
The restaurant also offers catering services for birthday parties, weddings and baby showers, which helps get word out about the eatery, Enrique said.
Some other traditional Mexican menu items—offered on weekends only—include menudo, a dish made with cow stomach in seasoned broth, and pozole, a stew made with pork and dried corn, said Mariel Gomez, a baker at the restaurant. Customers are encouraged to try unfamiliar menu items.
“They trust us,” she said. “Even if it’s not [something] they are used to, they try it. We’re trying to do our best making real Mexican food.”
