Impulse Bite: Gabriel’s

Bio: Candace Walsh is a writer, editor, and shameless foodie living in Santa Fe. She is currently writing a food memoir, Licking the Spoon, which will be released by Seal Press in 2012.

Keep up with her edible adventures at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Licking-the-Spoon/192254897483347

After dropping our daughter off at a friend’s in Pojoaque, we Impulse-Bit, deciding to stop off at Gabriel’s on the way back into town. Gabriel’s…reliably slutty-delicious, as in big, hot platters loaded with yielding Southwestern fare done up to the local nines. No frills, no silly Asian Fusion influences…just the the facts, the tasty, tasty facts.

Our son was having the kind of grumpy attack that a kid only gets when not only is his sibling having a fun sleepover while he’s stuck with the ‘rents, but he is out a live-in playmate as well.

We decided to cheer him up by ordering table-side guacamole.

He was transfixed.

“I can’t believe she just made it in front of us!”

As if the guacamole we eat comes from some subterranean plant, cut off entirely from human touch. Well, it generally does, considering that the last few times, we bought the vacuum-sealed bags that come in the green cardboard box. Shame! I know. The comparison between that fresh-made savory divinity and the leaden globs that glarbed from the plastic pouch…something akin to comparing Kobe beef to my slipper’s leather upper. Why even bother eating this also-ran at all? It would be more satisfying to eat a plain chip while reminiscing about Gabriel’s fresh guacamole than to have a chip with the store-bought stuff.

Within seconds of watching our server whip up fresh avocado delight and having his first mouthful, our little guy’s internal weather turned from “storm clouds” to “happy day at the beach.”

So check it out: we took notes, and we’re going to make guacamole from scratch from now on. I know, I’m acting like we are on to something really big: making guacamole from scratch. Don’t hate—you might like this recipe more than your old reliable. Or maybe you’ve been relying on the pouch guacamole too? Here’s your portal back to paradise.

Tableside Guacamole

2.5 medium sized avocados
¼ cup diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons diced fresh onion
1-2 tablespoons diced jalapeno pepper
cilantro to taste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
juice of ½ lime

Tools: 1 large metal mixing spoon, 1 whisk, 1 bowl

Scoop avocados into bowl. Mash them by whipping them around with the whisk while pressing the spoon against the side of the whisk. It’s a bit of a dance. Add tomatoes, onion, cilantro and jalapeno pepper. Mash it again, until bits are uniformly distributed. Throw in the third round of ingredients: salt, garlic, and lime, then give it a final blend and cavalierly present it…knowing that four chips will be scooping up the goodness before the bowl hits the table.