Festivals are cool, Port-A-Potties are Not

Well kids, it was that time of year again when boys became men and girls became women. Yes...it was the annual Avocado Festival in Carpinteria. 3 Glorious days of stuffing your face with actually QUALITY festival food. I said it before, but Mexicans can COOK! And the Avocado Festival is their super bowl.

I had to work 2 out of the 3 days this year, so I didn't go balls out like I wanted to. There was so much to taste and I didn't get to sample nearly as much as I wanted. But everything I did eat was amazing to say the least.

I know what you're thinking. "Festival food? Gross." But this isn't actual carnival/festival food. Think of it more as street vendors or the worlds longest taco truck. Everything is made with love and care and with extreme attention to detail. So to start my culinary adventure (at 10 am) I bought some chips and guacamole from the high school cheerleaders, who happen to make the Worlds Largest Bowl of Guacamole. It is an inflatable children's pool loaded with avocado, onions, jalapenos and lime. I'm not really into kitchy hype like that, but seriously its really good guacamole. Also, I was a cheerleader for Carp high and remember waking up at 9am to chop onions and cry. Maybe the secret ingredient is cheerleader tears?

After my guacamole, I went to the old favorite of mine which is the Lions Club's Famous Tri-tip sandwiches. Imagine a french roll loaded with savory, tender tri-tip and smothered in strips of avocado. Oh. My. God. It always hits the spot. I can't even explain it. Its meaty juices soak into the bread and intimately mingle with the avocado just like sluts at a frat party. Did I mention I love avocados?

I also sampled the hand rolled chicken taquitos for the first time this year. VERY good. Probably my new favorite. They used all white meat, which is a little gringo for me, but still good. It was really garlic-y, so of course I liked it. However, I'm still gonna claim that thigh meat with some fat would have been better. The taquito shell was really good. Very crispy and light and perfectly seasoned. It was served with some guacamole that wasn't very good. It was pretty watery and didn't have any kick to it. I think its a crime to make guacamole without any heat. I also had some churros. And well...they were churros. What do you want me to say about it?

One REALLY important part to mention is that Meggy Girl really wanted a funnel cake. I don't blame her. The smell of vanilla funnel cake permeated ever inch of the festival. It smelled so good you could almost see it. Remember in Looney Toons cartoons when someone would put a pie in the window and the scent would slowly drift and then become a hand that beckons people? Ya...the funnel cake was doing that. So we waited about 15 minutes in line to get a funnel cake. It was the only food booth with a line, which I find hilarious. But it was worth the wait. As you can see in the pic, the cashier was almost god-like as he handed the treasure to Megan's humble hands. It was worth the wait.


So to top it all off, of course I ate all of this while downing some Avocado Honey Ale from Island Brew. SO SO SO good. Its like a very light amber ale, but with no hoppy flavor at all. Its very smooth and slightly sweet. As you might have guessed, its made from the honey from avocado blossoms. There isn't any real avocado in it...but I like the avocado creativity.

As for the rest of the evening, the gang and I waited about 45 minutes in line to enter The Palms. If you know the bar I'm talking about, you would laugh. For those of you who do not know what The Palms is, first off, congratulations, you are less white trash than me. Secondly, imagine the dirtiest, dingiest, small town dive bar. Good. Now make it more white trash. That's The Palms. It was fun like always. Its the place where everyone in town flocks to and dances the night away. So all in all, Avocado Fest 2009 was a huge success. Next time, I will have to try the avocado ice cream. Usually McConnels makes it and it tastes like cold, sweet, guacamole. However, this year, Coldstone Creamery made it and apparently it was good. I found this out AFTER the festival was over. Food blogger fail.