Osorio Tacos y Salsas is a must for Mexican food in the Traverse City area. Tamales, flautas, quesadillas, torta and homemade salsa—buen provecho!
OSORIO TACOS Y SALSAS
6037 US 31 N, Williamsburg | 231.938.9144
When your server asks if you want chips and salsa, you say, without hesitation, “Yes, please.” Bowls of red and green glory aren’t merely an appetizer here, they’re the stars of the show.
Owners Karla and Miguel Osorio keep their salsa recipes close—as in they’re the only two people in the world privy to the top-secret ingredient lists. The couple started making salsa nine years ago and always have at least eight to try at their restaurant, 12 during the summer. The corn tortilla chips are homemade too, but Karla says that recipe isn’t a secret—you just have to know the perfect temperature and time (and no, she’s not sharing).
Karla keeps the top-shelf of the restaurant’s cooler stocked with 8- and 16-ounce tubs of fresh salsa, but the most popular flavors, salsa cremosa (a creamy, tangy blend of avocado, jalapeno, tomatillo) and salsa primitiva (a roasty, red-hot family recipe), go quickly. A rack to the left holds filled-to-the-brim bags of thick and crunchy tortilla chips. Some days, if you’re lucky, you can snag homemade tres leches, too.
These revered recipes have been handed down through the generations. Miguel was raised in southern Mexico in Oaxaca and Karla grew up in Baja, California. They still make salsa as their grandparents did, grinding ingredients in a molcajete.
TIP: There’s a salsa bar at the counter so you can try all the flavors before picking a tub.
