Guacamole and Grandma

When my Grandmother first visited Santa Fe, she stayed with me and Andy in our little compound. Our house was old and you could tell the original home versus the additions based on the construction of the walls. The older portion had thicker adobe walls, almost a foot in width. The floors were different in each room, but almost every window in the house overlooked the patio which had a cute little tree, Russian Olive Tree, and some wild flowers from the seeds I scattered when I moved in. When I woke up in the morning, Grandma was usually found out on the patio tending to the weeds or enjoying a book she grabbed from my countless bookcases. Waiting for me to wake up introduced Grandma to the magazine Saveur. I had a subscription to the magazine and stacks of back issues floating around the house. I think she read every issue while she was there because I slept so late compared to her early-bird schedule due to the time change.

When I woke up, I would grab my coffee and meet her out on the patio. She, of course would offer to fix me breakfast, even though she was a guest. I never took her up on the offer, but instead we would discuss places we could go for an early lunch. I would give her the options and she would choose. As soon as I could get dressed, we would be in the car and on our way for another day in Santa Fe. We would get to our destination and then place our order. Honestly, before the food even arrived at the table, we would start discussing what we could do for dinner and also, the next day.

I remember us sitting at the Zia Diner for lunch where Grandma ordered the Green Chile Meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I ordered the Caesar Salad. I told her that in the morning, I would wake up early and we would go to the plaza. I promised her that we would go to Gabriel's for dinner because they had the best guacamole. We headed out early, although not as early as Grandma would have liked. Later, Andy agreed to join us and we had to go back to the house to pick him up. Gabriel's is out of town a little ways and takes some time to get there. All of the travel time made us very hungry by the time we arrived.

When we walked in, Grandma's eyes lit up, as the hustle and bustle of this place probably brought back many of her restaurant days. Our waiter was dressed fairly casually, but had his crisp, white linen apron and treated Grandma with respect. She told him she was from New York. He listened to her tell the story how she was a waitress at the Skytop and knew that his job was a tough one and that he was doing a terrific job. We ordered our margaritas and they were brought quickly. Grandma did not forget to add guacamole to the order and I'm sure she was expecting a small bowl to appear with a basket of chips. Not at Gabriel's.

After delivering the drinks, the waiter disappeared for a few moments. He appeared again before us with a cart and giant bowl. He peeled a couple of cloves of garlic, avocados and limes and began to make guacamole right in front of us. He was obviously experienced and not just out of the guacamole training class. We were so entranced by his guacamole-making skills, that we ended up ordering another batch even after our dinner was served. It is the most delicious guacamole I have ever had and it doesn't hurt that the margaritas were perfect too. It was so nice to sit down after a long day on the Santa Fe plaza.

Believe it or not, I have not been to Gabriel's since then. I have driven past the restaurant dozens of times since then. Not a time goes by when I'm passing Gabriel's where I don't think about that night where we sat there for hours eating guacamole and sipping our drinks. I think I will save the table side guacamole again for the next time Grandma visits. It just wouldn't be the same without her.