The newest business venture in Los Olivos will soon have the town getting spiced up and saucy. (If your train of thought is somewhere around your taste buds, then you’re on the right track.)
Full Steam Ahead is a tomato-less salsa crafted by Los Olivos native Thomas Palmer. Uncle Tom’s Salsa is a simple blend of traditional salsa ingredients, minus the tomato, which is replaced with tomatillos. This addition, according to Palmer, gives his salsas a unique flavor, mixed with a spicy punch. Palmer stumbled across the idea by accident more than 30 years ago—all thanks to a hungry and greedy little animal.
One day, Palmer said, he went out to his garden to check on his tomatoes when he realized that all his plants were destroyed by the nemesis of every gardener: the backyard gopher.
“All that was left were these stupid tomatillos—but it was a day when a star was born,” he said.
Palmer said he has always been the creative type with a passion for salsas, and so he began experimenting with tomatillo-based sauces. His chile verde eventually evolved into the recipe for Uncle Tom’s Salsa and its flavor gained the favor of many who sampled it. Years of compliments and encouragement finally drove Palmer to market his salsa and put it on shelves.
With limited funds and a limited supply of fresh ingredients, Palmer said there’s a line of local businesses asking to sell his product. But he doesn’t want to spread himself too thin just yet.
“I want to keep it small in the beginning while I get my feet wet,” he said. “I can’t really make any more right now. I got about 350 cases. I only have around 1,000 jars of each flavor.”
Uncle Tom’s will offer four different flavors of salsas sold ranging in spice from Mild Tomatillo Sauce, which has no peppers, to the Ghost Pepper Tomatillo Sauce. As the name suggests, it will include one of the hottest peppers in the world. But don’t pull the fire alarm just yet. Palmer wants his sauces to be enjoyed, rather than feared by cool tongues.
“I’m not trying to impress anyone of how hot it is,” Palmer explained. “What’s good about these peppers is they don’t burn for 40 minutes.; you get a good 20-second endorphin rush and you’re fine again. It gives you a little sting and it goes away,”
Palmer takes careful consideration when choosing the tomatillos for his salsa. He’s built relationships with local farmers who know exactly what he’s looking for. The key, he said, is to choose ripe tomatillos, which are the most flavorful. Palmer said he chooses tomatillos for his sauces like winemakers choose grapes. He described the process as “time-consuming, arduous, and risky,” given how quickly a ripe tomatillo can turn bad.
“There’s not that much competition for flavorful salsa,” he said. “You’ve got all these different brands but they all taste the same. That’s my little thing; not everyone does it, most people don’t care as much as I do. It’s a passion for me and I’m really fussy about how it tastes.”
If you’re interested in adding a little spice to your life, Nielsen’s Market in Solvang will be stocking Palmer’s boutique salsas in a couple of weeks, as well as some local markets in Los Olivos.
For more information, go to uncletomssalsa.com.
Highlights
• Guadalupe’s Far Western Tavern announced the restaurant has been selected to serve at two prominent local wine events: the Hospice du Rhône and the Central Coast Wine Classic.
Chef Rick, who joined the Far Western as its chef in 2011, will be crafting a meal at the Hospice du Rhône’s “Lunch and Live Auction” on April 28 at the Paso Robles Event Center. In addition to savoring the fare, attendees will have the chance to bid on rare and one-of-a-kind auction items. Tickets are $100 per person, and must be purchased in advance at hospicedurhone.org.
Next, the Far Western Tavern will create a four-course meal at the Central Coast Wine Classic on July 14 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Avila Beach Golf Resort. Tickets are $125 per person and can be purchased at centralcoastwineclassic.org.
To find out more about Far Western Tavern, visit farwesterntavern.com.
Biz Spotlight was written by Intern Jason Banania. Highlights are written and compiled by Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Apr 26 – May 3, 2012.