Purists favor the strapping California avocado over its puny Florida cousin.
Dogmatists spurn creamy versions of the dish and endorse chunky ones.
Babalu's, a Caribbean place in the Central West End, has the most glorious guac in town. Then he adds a splash of coconut milk and a pinch of calypso pepper, a house spice mix that includes chipotle and ancho chiles, cayenne, cinnamon and ginger. Instead of tortilla chips, the guacamole is scooped up with mariquitas , vertically sliced plantains that warp into brittle corkscrews when fried into chips. Holland anchors the wavy tendrils here and there in a mound of guacamole so that the striking finished platter resembles undulating fronds of sea kelp or a blond head of Medusa. All rights reserved.