I decided to check out the Avocado Festival. The first place my friend hit was Sweet Leilani’s, a Hawaiian shave-ice stand. I skipped it since I have had shave ice before. (It’s basically a snow cone.) I actually prefer the Filipino dessert called halo-halo, or even the Korean version called paht-bing-soo, since there is condensed milk, sweet red beans, and fruit added to the ice shavings.
After that, we explored the rest of the festival. Lots of crafts and merchandise were being sold. There were several food stands to choose from. I chose the orange chicken from the Chinese food stand. There was also Mexican food, Japanese food, and avocado-related items. As we walked around, we saw a sign that said "Avocado Ice Cream." Curious, we walked towards the ice-cream shop called Café des Artistes. My friend tasted the avocado ice cream and found it disgusting. I actually liked it. It was similar to pistachio, but slightly different. My friend probably doesn’t like pistachio either.
After that we tried the Bambers’ Holy Guacamole!, which was $5 for a small tray of chips and dip. It was very good, but expensive, so I skipped buying the pint to take home. We then went to the wine tasting of several different Temecula wineries. I sampled those from the Wilson Creek Winery, Temecula Hills Winery, Cougar Vineyard, and Winery, and Fallbrook Winery. Wilson Creek had an almond champagne and a chocolate port. Although I didn’t like the almond champagne, it’s their biggest seller, and my friend enjoyed it. The port was okay. Temecula Hills Winery had a raspberry champagne that my friend enjoyed. I didn’t care for it. I tried Cougar’s Muscat Canelli and their Cabernet Franc, but I didn’t care for either. Neither did my friend. When I tasted Fallbrook Winery’s wines, I was quite pleased. Typically, I find that Temecula wines tend to be on the fruity or sweet side. I’m not a fan of sweet wines, so it was very nice to see that Fallbrook can produce Cabernet Sauvignons, Chardonnays, Merlots, and Fumé Blancs worthy of Napa Valley.
Next, I tried Tempura-Fried Avocados served with salsa and sweet ‘n’ tangy dipping sauce from Cask ‘n’ Cleaver Steakhouse. I had never tried deep-fried avocados before, but I was feeling ill from all the oil. I don’t really eat such deep-fried foods, so I should have taken it easy, but I got carried away from the novelty of it all. My friend bought quesadillas from a nearby stand, and I tried to feel better as she ate her quesadilla. After she was finished, I wobbled back to my car. Luckily, I felt good enough to drive home. I felt nauseous from mixing the different foods, or perhaps it was the oil from the deep-fried avocado, but the good news is that I recovered fairly quickly. All I needed was a nap once I got home. Whew!