Recently, true salsas have been finding their place at the Mexican table in New York. “Now there is a conversation between Mexico and the United States about what is good Mexican food,” said Iris Avelar, who grew up moving between Guadalajara and the San Francisco Bay Area, where her parents had a restaurant. She is an owner of La Superior in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which specializes in carefully made Mexican street food.

Image Irma Verdejo of Tulcingo del Valle presents salsa roja, spiced with cloves and canela. Credit... Rebecca McAlpin for The New York Times

“When my parents opened their restaurant 20 years ago, we had to have a ‘gringo salsa’ with no chilies at all,” Ms. Avelar said. “That would never happen now.”

Brilliantly flavorful salsas, made in the classic way, have become much easier to find here, both at hipster magnets  like La Superior; Cascabel Taqueria on the Upper East Side; Mercadito in the East Village; Barrio Chino on the Lower East Side; and Hecho en Dumbo, which just opened on the Bowery  as well as at traditional places like Tulcingo del Valle, as well as Tortilleria Nixtamal and Tia Julia, both in Queens.

The chefs in these kitchens create salsas that go way past “red or green” and “mild or hot.” They highlight the green, herbaceous flavors of fresh chilies and the raisiny sweetness of dried; they use heat judiciously, to contrast the richness of meats like house-made chorizo or braised veal tongue; they let some salsas rest overnight to soften their flavors and make others to order to emphasize the snappiness of the ingredients.

These places do not serve what chefs call “contemporary Mexican cuisine,” a sophisticated blending of Mexico, Spain, France and the Americas. Instead, they are fashionably glorified taquerias that give respect to Mexico’s most basic and widespread snack.

“A great taco is a perfect food,” said Danny Mena, the chef at Hecho en Dumbo, who is from Mexico City. “A tortilla, a protein and then the salsa is just the genius Mexican way of seasoning every bite with acidity, heat and salt.”

Felipe Mendez, an owner at La Superior, said, “In Mexico, we say that the meat is what makes a taco good, but the salsa is what makes it exceptional.”