The West Wing
Object

Guacamole (Playa Cantina — Zoey's Lunch)

A shallow ceramic bowl of freshly mashed guacamole — pale green avocado whipped with lime, cilantro flecks, diced tomato and red onion — rimmed by a scatter of tortilla chips. It sits on the Playa Cantina table during an over‑protected father‑daughter lunch; characters reach for chips, share bites, and the dip becomes a small, tactile focus amid political pressure.
5 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments
S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.
Bartlet Insists on Lunch with Kiefer — Joins Zoey at Playa Cantina

The guacamole is referenced by Sam as an L.A. detail ('they make guacamole right in front of you') and functions as a small, sensual lure that helps justify the President's desire to join Zoey — turning culinary detail into a narrative reason to accept exposure.

Before: Located at the Playa Cantina, prepared at tableside when guests sit; physically present there but not within the conference area.
After: Remains at the Playa Cantina, potentially to be prepared when the party arrives; unchanged physically but newly inflected with presidential significance.
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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.
Deferring Marcus — Bartlet Protects Zoey's Lunch

The guacamole is referenced as a concrete, domestic lure that Bartlet uses to justify joining Zoey for lunch; it functions narratively as a small pleasure that rebukes urgency and humanizes the President's priority choices.

Before: Located at the Playa Cantina, prepared tableside when ordered; not in the President's immediate possession.
After: Remains at the Playa Cantina, implied to be consumed during the lunch Bartlet decides to join.
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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.
Lunch with Zoey — Bartlet Draws a Line

The guacamole is not present visually in this exterior beat but is invoked by Bartlet as a conversational touchstone and gentle pretext to exclude Toby from the car. It operates as a small, humanizing prop that Bartlet uses to tease and reassert control—turning the trivial into a disciplining social tool.

Before: Located at the planned lunch (Playa Cantina) table, freshly prepared and available for diners.
After: Still at the lunch table; its role as a conversational hook remains intact and it continues to exist as part of the lunch setting.
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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.
Guacamole, Guard Detail and a Flag Joke

A bowl of freshly made guacamole is prepared tableside and becomes a small, tactile touchstone that Bartlet uses to deflect Zoey’s complaint and anchor the lunch in ordinary pleasures despite the overbearing security.

Before: On the table being prepared/served by restaurant staff, fresh and warm.
After: Left on the table as the lunch winds down; remains the mundane counterpoint to political tension.
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S1E16 · 20 Hours in L.A.
Kiefer's Numbers-Driven Sell: Burn the Flag, Save the White House

A bowl of freshly made guacamole is prepared and served at Bartlet and Zoey's table in full view, a small, sensory detail that underscores the performative 'L.A. atmosphere' and the artifice of a staged political lunch.

Before: Bowl freshly prepared on the table in front of Bartlet and Zoey; chips available.
After: Still on the table, half‑served and unchanged by the political argument; remains a quiet, human counterpoint to the policy debate.
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