1. the uglier the better. Not sure where I first heard this, but it’s true.
2. the softer/mushier it is, the faster you need to use it. But too soft and mushy and it could be bad inside. The harder ones that have no give will need to spend some quality time on your countertop before they can be cut and used.
3. check under the stem (the little brown nub at the top) and if it’s green, it should be green and ripe inside. If it’s brown, no go.
4. to prolong the life of an avocado/slow the ripening process, put it in the fridge once it feels soft enough to use. I’ve eaten ones that have spent a few days in the fridge.

Once you’ve found some good ones, make yourself some guacamole, avocado toast, or whip it up with some fruit into a smoothie bowl.

Especially not today, either. It’s Cinco de Mayo! I usually prefer my tequila on the rocks with a splash of fresh lime juice and agave… but if you want to spruce it up a bit or are looking for a last minute concoction for a fiesta tonight, you should try my Spicy Mamita or Sweet Mexican Sangria.

You’ll need some food, too.

Start with guacamole or perhaps some scorching scallop ceviche, which takes about 3 minutes of prep and is always sure to please.

Follow that up with my favorite Mexican corn salad (add shrimp and avocado if you like) or go the fish taco route: with simple slaw avocado cream, ceviche, or roasted shrimp. The possibilities are endless… and hopefully (at least for tonight) the tequila is too.

So after we danced off some calories at the foursquare party, we strolled over to the Chilantro BBQ truck and dove into two orders of Korean BBQ tofu tacos (for me), one order of beef tacos (for him), and super special spicy fries (to share).

Unfortunately B lost his phone Friday night — that’s a story for another time — so I don’t have photos from our first dinner at Torchy’s Tacos, which is a MUST if you ever get to Austin — but here are some other food highlights from the weekend.

I am going to try and recreate this shrimp salad with avocado cream dressing from Manuel’s for my girlfriends when I’m away with them this weekend. Simple, healthy, delicious. Also need to investigate what kind of salsa they brought to the table when we sat down, cause it was phenomenal.

When I asked our waiter at Iron Cactus about making our guacamole by mashing all the ingredients with two forks — no spoon, no mortar, no pestle — his response was: “Why? Why not?” B says this place is an institution — I say go for the fork-made guac and shrimp tacos.

The best party (and food) of the weekend was at David Carr and his wife Jill’s hotel room. She waited in line for three hours at Franklin, a world famous spot, to create this smorgasbord for us. When I told Jill Abramson that, her response was: “We should all be married to a woman like that.” (I couldn’t agree more.) Anyway I plan on finding out what kind of mustard they put in their potato salad, because it melted in my mouth. I had two, maybe three plates of that and the coleslaw, since I don’t eat meat — but man, did that brisket look delicious.

It even impressed my friends from Immaculate Infatuation, who stopped by for some good eats. And these guys know good food!

And look who else showed up — none other than the hilarious, delightful Jeffrey Tambor! B recently wrote a fascinating Page One story about TV being made for the Internet (as opposed to traditional TV networks) and he talked to him about shooting the Onion News pilot for Amazon. [Fun fact: they shot it at my office, inside NY1!]

* Promised book diet update: I’m down 4 pounds, with 4 more to go. B’s down 15 pounds, with 20 more to go. And we actually got some news last week: his book is now being published 2 weeks earlier than planned! Mark your calendars: Top of the Morning comes out Tuesday, April 23rd. *

There were plenty of other exciting flavors in the meal — starting with the chile-lime cashews — and followed by the delicious mango, cucumber, jicama salad, which I’m going to post tomorrow. Stay tuned for that recipe — and others! — there are still 3 more parts to this Mexican fiesta dinner party extravaganza.

PS: another reason to make your own guac at home — Grub Street says you’re shelling out big $$$ for it at your fave Mexican joint.