Neto's - Santa Clara (currently closed)

5/5 stars

I HEART: My friend Jim who brought over a mountain of their sausages to one of our BBQs and thus began my infatuation with Neto's linguica!!

THE ATMOSPHERE: Neto's exudes old-fashioned butcher shop. Well-stocked with their drool-worthy sausages and other goodies such as wine and gourmet items. Friendly and family-owned. However, parking is cramped and the sausages are pricer than Safeway-bought (but it makes sense because they're not Safeway-bought).

THE FOOD: Their linguica is the best sausage I've ever had. It's a smoked Portuguese sausage that's perfectly spiced, has a great outer casing that really makes you sink your teeth into it, and so juicy when grilled. It's got a kick, but only a small one... I don't like spicy and this sausage was not. If you like spicy, these babies also come in hot! I've also tried their smoked chicken sausage with herbs and it was good and non-artificial tasting, but a little too herb-y for me. All my friends loved the strong flavors though. Today, I was like a kid in a candy store at Neto's. We had to stop ourselves from overbuying. For a BBQ tomorrow, we got the linguica (mild and hot), the smoked chicken apple sausage (one of my favorites, I can't wait to try their recipe!), and the Italian sausage. They've got so many fantastic choices to please any sausage palette.

(2007)