Tabasco: There is No Substitute

I have a question: Whatever happened to Tabasco? It used to be that everybody had Tabasco at their restaurants and bars. Nobody serves it anymore. You actually have to ask for it. Hot sauce is always on the table, just never Tabasco. It’s like Maria’s Oven-Roasted Garlic Hot Sauce something or the other. But while Maria’s might have a good flavor, it’s in no way comparable to the kick you find in Tabasco -- red or green.

It’s as though Tabasco has become too corporate for our tastes. Tabasco has become the Wal-Mart of hot sauces. Every restaurant has it’s “own” hot sauce, as if to tell us they’re willing to step outside the box and evolve with the times.

Don’t get me wrong, sauces like Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (aka, “Rooster Sauce” as a friend of mine calls it) is one of those hot sauces that really knows how to work up one’s juices, but Tabasco is a part of our American heritage. Like Coke and Jell-O, Tabasco isn’t even a name -- it is its own being.

Ultimately it’s up to us to save Tabasco from being forgotten. The next time you go out to eat, and Tabasco isn’t a the table, ask for it. Let them know there’s no substitute for Tabasco. The others can try all they want, but still there’s no better sauce to throw atop my Sunday morning eggs -- sunny side up -- than good old-fashioned Tabasco.