More than 300 revelers stormed The Bell House on Cinco de Mayo for the second-annual Guactacular. Clutching cans of free beer, would-be chip-dippers waited in lines that snaked around, and then around again, to sample 20 guacamoles competing for avocado accolades. Even co-founder Lee Frank, of NachosNY, a nacho reviews Web site, admitted things were un poco off-the-hook. “It’s a little bit crazy, but that’s to be expected,” he conceded. When Alex Meixner got onstage with his accordion and proceeded to churn out out Tejano sounds, things only got wilder.

The guac monikers turned out to be as fun as the flavors, which ranged from a BLT mash-up to a mango dip with some bite. We were tempted to vote for Tu-Guac Shakur or @Awesomeguac (which has its own Twitter account) just for the names, and literary dips like a Guac to Remember and the Hunt for Red Guactober also tickled our punny bones. Speaking of Twitter, a large screen scrolled tweets with the #Guactacular hashtag, including a plea from cupcake peddler Allison Robicelli, who’d been stuck in the lobby pushing her $3 cakes, to pretty please bring her a plate of the green stuff.

Ultimately, Peter Borenstein’s Tu-Guac Shakur (can we pick ‘em?), Chris Willets’ (of Skint fame) Johnny 5, and Marcia Bunda‘s Cumin at Ya took home top honors. Afterward, partygoers filed into the front bar for free tequila shots. It was quite a night…and let’s just say we have no desire to encounter another avocado any time soon. …

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Photos by Sam Horine.

Richard Sandoval’s first New York restauarant in seven years, Zengo (622 Third Ave., 212-808-8110)—which opens Tuesday in Midtown—may finally redeem fusion cooking from its trendy pitfalls. On the Latin-Asian menu, dishes like charred tuna tacos with a crispy wonton shell and halibut ceviche garnished with shiso leaf challenge even the most jaded palates. Sandoval grew up in Mexico, while chef de cuisine Ahktar Nawab, formerly of Elettaria, knows a few things about Asian flavors and a fusion approach. (Need more star power? Placido Domingo is a partner.)

“All of these dishes were developed for my first Zengo restaurant,” says Sandoval, who also has locations in Denver and D.C. “I sat down with [Nawab] and had him put in a little tweak from his side.”

The tri-level former Wild Salmon space has been decked out by the design wizards at AvroKO (Double Crown), and includes a mezzanine sake lounge as well as a subterranean tequila library called La Biblioteca. It’s a splashy return for Sandoval, who launched his career in NYC with Maya and Pampano but has since opened restaurants as far away as Dubai. Here, he gives us a tour of both the menu and the stunning space.

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