Guac-off for Cancer

Recently, the Feisty Foodie family received an invitation to the Guac-Off for Cancer at the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge. Laurie’s Buffalo Gourmet, a small producer of tortilla chips and salsas was hosting this event with 100% of all proceeds supporting Hope Lodge.

The American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge NYC is the only facility in Manhattan that provides free temporary housing and care to patients and their families whose lives are impacted by cancer while they are undergoing treatment.

It turns out the Hope Lodge was across the street from my office. Not only convenient, but a really great cause!

Three local chefs prepared their own version of guacamole for all of the attendees to vote on.

What would guacamole be without margaritas? Unfortunately, the super sugary electric green mix was used to make them. This was a charity event, so rant over. Luckily, Brooklyn Brewery donated some of their signature lager as a nice alternative for me.

Here are the chefs preparing their guacamoles on-site. I am glad they didn’t make it ahead of time. The shelf life of fresh guacamole is incredibly short.

Mmm, bowl full of fresh avocados.

Will “The Spicy Sauce” be very spicy???

While the chefs, continued their preparations, CT and I sampled some of the offerings from Laurie’s. They make six different flavors of tortilla chips and four different salsas. We were both quite satisfied with the level of heat coming off the Chipotle White Corn chips with the Hot salsa. Muy Caliente!

There was another table setup selling bags of chips and jars of salsa with 100% of the proceeds going to the Hope Lodge. They also had t-shirts for sale. I really liked the logo. The simplicity said a lot.

Two bands provided some music. Here was one of them.

Before we were released onto the guac, Laurie and her son Daniel made speeches about their company and the charity. The company was started twelve years ago in a hamburger stand with all the family members chipping in. Although they have grown considerably, it is still a family affair.

Onto the competition.

First up, Chef Raffaele Ronca of Palma Restaurant. He is from Italy originally, so he came up with an Italian Guacamole. This was the most unique guacamole I ever had. It contained fresh mozzarella, basil, cherry tomatoes and topped with some truffle oil. I commend Chef Ronca for his creativity, but I was not a fan. I would have preferred it much more without the truffle oil. I believe truffle oil is very similar to cilantro in that you either love it or hate it. I am definitely in the latter group since just a little completely overwhelms the other flavors of any dish it is used on.

CT says: While I don’t mind a little truffle oil on top of a dish, this had too much for my preference. However, I really liked the idea of an “Italian guacamole” and may be stealing his idea at my next dinner party. I would probably also add a little crushed red pepper, since I like a kick of heat.

Chef Ronca also served some veal chili later on after everyone had a chance to taste each guacamole. This was delicious and filling. I just wish the veal wasn’t ground so finely, so the flavor meat would have shined a little brighter. Since the food was donated, I am sure the veal was leftover from the restaurant so they ground it finer than usual to stretch out the number of portions.

CT says: I really liked the chili – it had great flavors and was kept very hot. After a few bites, I added some of the (non-Italian) guacamole on top and it was just sublime!

Next was Chef Lucas Billheimer of Parlor Steakhouse. He made a guacamole with cumin. Unfortunately, I did not detect much of the spice in it. I thought it tasted like generic guacamole. “The Spicy Sauce” was a necessary addition and brought some good heat.

CT says: It had an almost smokey flavor from the cumin, but definitely not enough of the spicy sauce in the first tasting. I was happy to discover in my next go-around that he was added extra “spicy sauce” on top. With this addition, it really liked his guacamole as it reminded me most of what I like to eat at home.

Finally, Executive Chef Armando Monterroso of Times Square Marriott Marquis with his mango chipotle guacamole. This was by far my favorite of the night. I have had a similar preparation before, but as the saying goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The sweetness of the mango with the creaminess of the avocado along with the spice of the chipotle was the perfect combination. I also appreciated the chunkiness of the avocado to give the guacamole more texture. Where’s the fun in puréed guac?

CT says: (My) Winner of the night. All the flavors were perfectly balanced. I may have to start adding mango to my guacamoles in the future.

Chef Monterroso also brought a huge container of shrimp ceviche. He suggested we eat it with the guacamole. He didn’t have to tell me twice! Really tasty with the sweet shrimp, tangy juice, tomato, onion and peppers. Yes, I did go back for seconds of the ceviche and possibly thirds.

CT says: Ditto. A great second course from Chef Armando. By far my overall favorite.

We were each given a chip to place into a bowl with the Chef’s picture on to vote.

The announcement of the winner which went to Chef Billheimer. Although, he definitely deserved to win the Mr. Congeniality award since he was the chattiest of all the chefs. Chef Monterroso was robbed.

Throughout the night, raffle tickets were being sold for a variety of prizes including restaurant gift certificates, tickets to Broadway shows, etc. CT & I both bought a handful of tickets and she ended up winning a $100 gift certificate to Water Taxi Beach. SWEET!

CT says: If TT is extra nice to me, he might get to benefit from the winnings too!

We ended the night with some mini cheesecake cookie-bottom cupcakes. I never heard of cupcakes with cookies on the bottom before. Quite interesting with the creamy top and crunchy bottom. One little bite was more than enough to satisfy my tiny sweet tooth.

CT says: What a fantastic idea!! I need to find these cookie-bottom cupcakes and buy more of them. I loved the 2-bite size and the flavors were great. I always enjoy a graham cracker crusted-anything, and this was similar albeit even better! I’ll definitely be stealing this idea for my home-made treats. I’ve made cookie-dough stuffed cupcakes, but now I’m envisioning a delicious cookie-bottomed brownie being baked in the near future.

All in all, it was a very nice evening to support a great cause. Who hasn’t been affected by cancer in some form? Thank you to Laurie’s Buffalo Gourmet and the other sponsors for hosting such a worthy event. Be on the lookout for Laurie’s Buffalo Gourmet chips and salsas at a food store near you. I am sure the American Cancer Society would also be very appreciative for any donation large or small you can make here.

Note: I was provided a free t-shirt at the end of the night. We were given no monetary compensation for writing this post, nor were we obligated to post anything about it all, positive or negative. The opinions contained herein are our own.