Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Guacaholics Anonymous 2

Hey - there could be worse things to be addicted to. The Second Annual 'Guacanon' as it is commonly abbreviated, was held at Poe's Kitchen at The Rattlesnake with proceeds to benefit Lovin' Spoonfuls and Community Servings, two local hunger relief organizations.I ended up scoring tickets at the last minute through Urban Daddy but had I known about the event before hand (which apparently sold out in 5 minutes) I'd say it's easily worth shelling out the small price of a ticket ($10) to feast on the avocado in its finest form. I brought my sister along as my plus one; we had a great time sipping margaritas and sampling each and every guacamole offered, starting with the amateur guacmakers, who just so happened to be a trio of friendly faces. Justin prepared an Asian influenced batch, made with ginger, scallions, water chestnuts and sriracha. It proved one of the most original and inspired guacs I tasted all night.The girls of We Are Not Martha prepared an equally fantastic Bacon Guac with grilled corn, onions and queso blanco. Besides Poe's Kitchen, the other Boston based Mexican restaurants shelling out green goodness by the cup or spoon full included local chains Anna's Taqueria and Boloco, tequila havens Temazcal and Papagayo, Brighton and Fenway taquerias, El Pelon and La Verdad; respectively, Back Bay's Zocalo and Inman Square's Ole. A good majority of these restaurants boast award winning versions and justifiably so. I reviewed Zocalo's guac on a recent visit, tonight's batch did not dissapoint. Otherwise - I was sampling all these creations for the first time!Temazcal's guacamole mountains were laced with a serious amount of onions adding a super sharp, pungent zing to their batch. I adored the versions that incorporated summer fruit lending a welcome sweetness and juicy texture. Poe's was defined by huge chunks of peaches, while Ole went the route of adding mangoes. Also in Ole's mango infused version - sliced almonds! Diverse guac at a scene like tonight is easy to love. Smokey bacon, sweet corn and juicy tomato, I tasted all these components incorporated into creamy and luscious, thick and chunky avocado goodness. My sister and I both agreed La Verdads was our absolute favorite. With serrano chiles, charcoled corn, cilantro and salsa roja, it's slow burning spice took the creamy avocados to another level. The event saw a huge turnout. I think it's pretty fantastic that these Boston restaurants along with the guacaholic community came together to raise money for local hunger relief organizations. I'm officially looking forward to Guacanon 3!

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