We scored El Cholo restaurant’s guacamole recipe to share with our Public Storage family. This stuff is so good, it’s guaranteed to make you want to celebrate National Guacamole Day every day!

If you are from Southern California, like us, chances are you too have a favorite Mexican restaurant. Maybe it’s not 100% authentic. It’s probably not too fancy. But it is just the spot for birthdays, happy hours and some pretty great food. For many, El Cholo Café is that spot, a small local chain founded as a single restaurant in 1923 in Los Angeles. Gary Cooper used to go here. Rachel Ray says their tacos are the best in Los Angeles; and it is such an institution that Gourmet Magazine editor Caroline Bates declared, “I can’t imagine Los Angeles without El Cholo.”;

Special thanks to the team at El Cholo Pasadena, just around the corner from several of our facilities, for their time and advice, and for years of hospitality. Yes, they will be serving up special Super Bowl pulled pork, and their guac, of course, on Sunday!

Do you have a better recipe or a different favorite Super Bowl snack? We’re game! Please share it below.

El Cholo Guacamole Recipe

This is tableside preparation, with each bowlful varying depending on customer feedback and the preparer’s interpretation. You should feel free to adjust the ingredients below to your own preferences.

Salt and pepper
2 ripe avocados
Juice of half a lemon
1-2 tbsp. chopped tomatoes
1-2 tbsp. diced red onion
1-2 tbsp. salsa, preferably fresh (El Cholo’s is made from green and white onions, diced tomatoes, jalapeno peppers (seeds removed), cilantro, tomato juice)
1-3 tsp. cilantro
1-2 tbsp. minced yellow pepper or other mild pepper
Habanero sauce (optional) to taste

Scoop the avocado into a medium bowl. Add lemon juice and a few shakes each of salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a fork but stop while still chunky.

Mix in the remaining ingredients except for the habanero sauce. Taste and decide if you would prefer to add more of anything. Decide if you want to add habanero sauce. Add slowly. This is hot sauce!

Enjoy!

Let us know what you think of the recipe or what you’d change. What restaurants or institutions should we profile in your community on our blog? Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter!

El Cholo sells tamales and its cookbook A Taste of History on its website.

The decor at El Cholo is charming, with tiles, wrought iron and fountains.

by Ann Griffith