And the winner was: Rosa Mexicano. (I keep meaning to ask why it's not "Mexicana." Anybody know?)

Jim and Joyce had been to Grillfish the night before, and I thought a little trip off the Beach would do them good. We arrived at 7:30 and were told there would be a 30 minute wait, so we walked over to Perricone's and had a drink at the outside bar. (It's like sitting on the shaded Southern porch of an Italian restaurant in a Latin city.)

Once seated at Rosa, we ordered margaritas and guacamole. After it arrived, they said, as people tend to do there, "This is the best guacamole I've ever had."

Since they make it at your table, there's no secret to it. You can watch carefully and then repeat the process in your own kitchen. But then you miss out on the wall studded with tiny white statues of men in mid-swan dive.