And the Best Salsa in Prospect Heights Is ...

It’s a topping, it’s a condiment, and for Mexicans it’s a general label for a saucy combination of chopped, pureed, cooked or raw ingredients such as tomatoes, tomatillos and chilies. Some salsa aficionados prefer pico de gallo, others color-code their salsa as roja or verde, but most New Yorkers know it as plain old salsa. Ranging from mild to wildly peppy and packing heat, every mouthful of salsa is an adventure. 

After trying the salsa offerings at , , , ,  and (one block over in Crown Heights), I found Piquant's to be the best. But this unscientific, incomprehensive survey also reveals how varied salsa can be.  

Here are our picks in order of preference:

259 Flatbush Ave. at Sixth Ave. (718) 484-4114.

Modern, bi-level Piquant seems poised for the gregarious game crowd Barclays Center will surely attract. The brick-walled bar offers creative cocktails and $5-bites; and the menu (Southwestern not Mexican) is big and bold with interesting sides like yucca fries and polenta sticks. The best news is that colorful house-made chips come to your table gratis, along with excellent red salsa. Chef Jhonathan Rupchand said when he arrived at Piquant nine months ago he tried to reinvent the restaurant's salsa but regular diners would not let him. No wonder: The roja is so thick yet not at all piquant – you just want to drink it up like gazpacho.

Rupchand, who hails from Suriname, the former Dutch Colony in South America, would only say ingredients include raw, pureed tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and jalapenos for hotness. The rest is a secret. The verdant downstairs garden should not be a secret – a leafy oasis along trafficky Flatbush.

732 Classon Avenue bet. Prospect and Park (but and Sterling soon). (718) 622-3100.

Arturo Leonar, chef-owner at Chavella’s, is from Mexico City so don’t ask him to make you a gringo burrito. His platos fuertes feature tilapia baked in banana leaves, queso fresco-stuffed peppers and (on Thursdays) bistec with grilled cactus.  Street sandwiches, or tortas; tacos made with fish, grilled pork or chorizo, and quesadillas are all gentle on the wallet. Hungry, happy-hour drinkers know to start with the $3-trio of salsas, beautifully presented with a neat little stack of round chips. The verde salsa and pico de gallo are fabulous and well seasoned, but Leonar’s smoky chipotle is most memorable. Chavela’s, currently ., is dropping one “L” because people kept mispronouncing the name which translates to little child. Also coming to new address: full bar, almost 100 tequilas and margaritas on tap!

To replicate Leonar’s chipotle salsa, he recommends roasting a pound of morita chilies for about five minutes, roasting a half pound of tomatillos in a pan until black; puree both together with some water; add salt, pepper and garlic to taste and you have enough for a party of 10.

601 Vanderbilt Ave. at Bergen. 718-230-5170

The folks behind Pequena (celebrating their one-year anniversary on Vanderbilt Ave. this week) are experienced restaurateurs who also own Olea and another, smaller Pequena in Fort Greene, and Maggie Brown on Myrtle Ave. The cheerful, kid-friendly corner eatery boasts plenty of sidewalk tables and the interior is festooned with garlands of bright paper flowers, ornate chandeliers and little figurines. Food is filling and carefully prepared, running the gamut from cheesy quesadillas to tortilla soup to rotisserie chicken marinated in Mexican spices. Pico de gallo should taste like it was made minutes ago, and here it arrives table side fresh, fragrant and loaded with red onions, green peppers and ripe tomatoes (free with lunch specials and $4 a la carte). Pequena’s salsas will surely benefit as New York digs deeper into tomato season.

At Pequena you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner and count on specials such as a tomatillo-lime salsa recently created for fried chicken tacos. The only burrito on the current menu is the breakfast kind but that may change in the future. Also In the works, frozen pina coladas to complement frozen margaritas.

307 Flatbush Ave. at Prospect Place. (718) 230-8646.

Burrito Bar and Kitchen is a Tribeca transplant. Sidewalk tables make for good car-watching, sports fans have a tv behind the high-ceiling bar and the soundtrack is groovy for both hippie parents and their kids.  Burritos have catchy names: "For the Byrds," "Okie from Muskogee" and the meatless "All Wheat Are Saying."

The lively salsa, made with raw tomatoes, was not bad – better, when paired with a pitcher of sangria or margarita. Besides ceviche and sizzling fajitas, there are Tiny Tim Tacos and a starter simply called Fire: bacon-wrapped, grilled jalapenos that are shrimp- and cheese-stuffed.

663 Washington Ave. bet. Prospect and St. Mark's. (718) 484-0310.

At Los Muertos, chips and pico de gallo are nothing to write home about on a steamy day. But with a burrito (carne or pollo asada, or cabbage-topped "desnudo-style"), you get to dip into this taqueria's delectable array of serve-yourself salsas.  Grab a street-facing seat and watch Washington Avenue ebb and flow. Weekend brunch boasts huevos rancheros or ahogados, Mexican French toast with caramelized bananas or pan dulce toast with dulce de leche and mango jam.

673 Vanderbilt Ave. bet. Sterling and Park. (718) 638-6292.

The best part of this casual spot on Vanderbilt Ave. is you can BYOB and there is a sliver of fresh air out back. Maya Taqueria’s menu is pretty basic, and while a guy at the next table raved: “Best Mexican-American food in the United States,” I give them fair marks for the $4.50 order of chips and generous amount of pico de gallo.

To perk up platters, tacos and quesadillas, help yourself to hot, mild, red and green salsas. Besides the long list of burritos, including prawn, steak or chicken fajita, there is a chimichanga (that is a fried burrito for the uninitiated). Dieters can get a burrito bowl: meat, rice and beans without tortilla. A vegetarian salad called the Shy Mayan has sautéed tofu, spinach and roasted corn. A whole rotisserie chicken is only $11, in case you want to picnic at home.