Okay, plug time. Stumbling out of the El Cortez last Friday, I caught the tail end of the Fremont Street Farmer’s Market just as dusk was retaking the street. Everyone was packing up and my inner don’t-bother-the-people guy said let these farmy, markety folks go home. But my oh my oh my whazzis? Local dude’s selling salsa made from homegrown ingredients?

Had to waylay. See, I’m a dirty whore for salsa. I’d gay-marry salsa if it was legal. When I run out of chips, I resort to drinking it. (On a related note, I bleed gazpacho and pee strawberry lemonade.) After doing a few on-the-spot diagnostic tests courtesy of the patient guy at the booth, I took home a jar of the Mikey’s Mild Salsa and Mikey’s Salsa Verde ($6 each), and went to work on these bad boys with a bag of tortilla chips.

This self-appointed salsa connoisseur hereby declares that Mikey’s Salsa is mouth-rocking. My favorite is the salsa verde, which sports a rich, pleasantly intense smokiness. But the mild is surprisingly formidable, too. I usually find that when it comes to salsa, “mild” is a code word for “bland,” but in this case, Mikey’s mild has its own slight kick that gives it a sort of polite, measured edge without making your inner wuss call the fire department.

Salsa hounds: dip, dish and drink this stuff — tonight! (The Fremont Street Farmer’s Market operates Fridays 4-8 p.m. through October.)