Avocados at Abacus

Avocados are a pretty sexy vegetable fruit. They have a lovely creaminess, a rich mouthfeel, a delicate flavor—all due to their natural fattiness. A large part of their allure also comes from their versatility. Avocados have an excellent imagination. To chop for a salad or tuck into a sushi roll? With all the possible combinations, they come with a spark of culinary inspiration (unlike say, a brussels sprout.)

Avocados are about possibilities, and in a roundabout way they’re what landed me three seats away from Kent Rathbun for a private dinner at Abacus. (I know! I admit I was pretty star-struck.) There he was, in all his full Iron Chef glory talking about the night he created his legendary lobster shooter while cooking at the James Beard House and the time he prepared dinner for over 27,000 people at George W’s inaugural ball. Pretty amazing, especially for someone like me who almost jumped out of my seat seeing Tom Colicchio and Wylie Dufresne on the last episode of HBO’s Treme.

So what does all that have to do with an avocado? Hosted by the California Avocado Commission, the night was a celebration toasting of all its lovely possibilities.

The first course featured diced avocados atop a king crab salad in a sea of chilled lemongrass gazpacho. A light dish with a nice balance between the richness of the king crab and sweetness of the soup. It’s a great starter for Summer, especially because that’s the peak of the avocado growing season.

Second course was a twist on the traditional shrimp and veggie tempura. Thick spears of avocado and rock shrimp rested in a creamy tofu-based yuzu sauce. Excellent flavor, but a little overwhelming. Fried avocado? You can imagine how just a little is more than enough.

The dinner went from asian inspirations to the Southwest with a chipotle bacon-wrapped duck roulade. In the center? A slice of apricot and avocado, of course. A spicy maple & black pepper glaze was spread across the plate. While it was delicious, I was most intrigued with the side of spring pea & pearl couscous. It was so creamy, it was almost a risotto. Divine!

Moving along with more of the Southwestern flavors, the fourth course featured the lightest and best sope I’ve ever had. Smothered with a smoky, roasted guacamole it was topped with fresh pico de gallo, green chili gravy, and cumin-cured hanger steak medallions cooked rare. It was the highlight of the dinner for me. I was convinced that it couldn’t get better… until dessert arrived.

I guessed that the avocado dessert would be an ice cream because of its nice fat content (and the fact that I’ve seen it several times on Food Network.) I was only half right. Dessert did feature a very subtle meyer lemon and avocado ice cream. Underneath it was the best blackberry sage tart. Probably of all time. Ever. Call it dramatics; that’s ok. But trust me, the crust was applaudable.

The night left us with more than just fond memories and an increased knowledge of the Persea americana. I left with three of the prettiest avocados to take home. Right now they’re waiting on my counter while I make plans for them. Of course after last night, I’m feeling pretty inspired…

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