<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted in The Santa Maria Sun:
Best Salsa
Jocko’s Steak House
125 N. Thompson Ave., Nipomo
Although Jocko’s is mostly known for its Santa Maria-style barbecue (which it also won first place kudos for in our poll), its salsa is just as popular–maybe partly because it is so difficult to reproduce. The owner and employees at Jocko’s won’t reveal their secret for the tangy and slightly spicy, yet not piquant, sauce. They won’t give out their recipe, nor give out the exact ingredients.
But they will let you know the best way to eat the salsa–on steaks or on their famous beans.
As chef Eddie Plemmons explains: "Jocko's was the first to use ‘pinquitos’, when a Nipomo farmer sold the ones he produced to the restaurant. They became known as Jocko beans." The small pink beans are prepared according to the same family recipe Jocko's sons, Fred and George, used when they founded the current Jocko's restaurant in 1962.
Even without the "pinquitos," Jocko’s salsa will wake up your tastebuds, without overwhelming them.</font>