🥒 German Cucumber Salad: The BBQ Cool-Down 🧊

When the grill smoke has you sweating and you’re wondering why you wore black to a daytime event, this salad swoops in like a cucumber superhero. Thin-slice cucumbers, toss with dill, sugar, and vinegar, and let it chill. It’s crisp, tangy, and makes potato salad look like the sad bowl of carbed-up mayo it is.

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✨ Fun Fact: In Germany, this salad is called Gurkensalat, which literally just means “cucumber salad.” Germans don’t mess around with names. It’s like if Silicon Valley startups were named “App” instead of “Kwikly” or “Florp.”

🍜 Cold Udon Salad: The Noodle Nap You Deserve

Hot dogs are great, but let’s be real: a cold, sesame-soy noodle salad next to the grill is how you win hearts. Cook (or buy pre-cooked) udon, rinse cold, toss with sesame oil, soy sauce, cucumber, and green onion. Done. People will ask if you went to culinary school. Just look off into the distance, nodding mysteriously.

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✨ Fun Fact: In Japan, cold udon is a summer tradition because it’s light, refreshing, and doesn’t leave you sweating buckets in August humidity. There’s even a “slippery noodle race” tradition called nagashi somen, where cold noodles (like udon or somen) slide down a bamboo water slide and diners have to catch them with chopsticks. Basically, the Mario Kart of lunch.

🥚 Kimchi Deviled Eggs: The Rebel Side Dish 🇰🇷

Every BBQ has that one rebel dish—the one that struts onto the picnic table and makes the potato salad look like it showed up in sweatpants. Enter: Kimchi Deviled Eggs. Boil some of Ava’s beautiful organic eggs, slice them in half, mash the yolks with mayo, fold in a bit of chopped kimchi, then pipe (or spoon, if you nasty) the mixture back into the whites. Sprinkle paprika on top like you’re a magician finishing a trick. 🪄✨

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What you’ve just made is a fusion masterpiece that says: Yes, I brought something familiar, but also no, I am not boring like your third plate of hot dogs.

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✨ Fun Fact: Kimchi is packed with probiotics, meaning your deviled eggs aren’t just tasty—they’re also a tiny gift to everyone’s gut health. (And honestly, Labor Day BBQs need all the digestive help they can get.)

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🥣 Sour Cream Onion Dip: The Dish for People Who Can’t Even 🧅

We see you. You signed up to “bring something” and now you're reading this on the way to the BBQ. For you, we have this gift: Stop by Ava's. Buy a tub of sour cream. Buy a packet of onion dip mix. Stir. That’s it. You’ve contributed to society.
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✨ Fun Fact: French onion dip was invented in Los Angeles in the 1950s by an anonymous genius who, like you, was too tired to actually cook. This may be the most relatable culinary invention in history.

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Upcoming Events​
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• Every Wednesday, 5-7pm — 🎵 Music on Castro​
  ​Enjoy live performances right in Downtown Mountain View! Come for the tunes, stay for the vibes, and don’t forget to swing by Ava’s to grab dinner from Poké Bowl or Simply Sabor, or just pick up a box of cookies to munch on while you vibe to the music like a very classy raccoon. 🎶🍪🦝
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• Every Friday, 6-7:30pm — 🎵 Concerts on the Plaza​
  ​Didn’t get your full music fix on Wednesday? Perfect—because Friday night, Concerts on the Plaza is bringing the beats that make lawn chairs bounce and dads attempt the moonwalk. 💃🕺 Stop by Ava’s first for a snack, a chilled drink, or a quick wine tasting to fuel your feet and unlock those secret dance moves.
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• Fri, Aug 29, 5-7pm — 🧀 Charcuterie Night! 🍷✨​
  ​You, a cheese knife, and a glass of wine—what could go wrong? This is your chance to build a board so beautiful it could get its own LinkedIn profile. Get your tickets here—before the brie runs out: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/craft-your-own-charcuterie-board-wine-tasting-tickets-1554690524209​
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• Labor Day Weekend — 🧑‍🎨 Art Show on Castro 🎨​
  ​At Villa & Castro, the Odd Fellows Lodge transforms into an art bazaar raising money for downtown murals. Acquire something wildly creative, then stop by Ava’s, because nothing pairs with fine art like a bag of fancy, imported chips.
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• Sep 6-7 — 🍷 MV Art & Wine Festival 🎨​
  ​Sip, stroll, repeat — the Art & Wine Festival is back! Swing by Ava’s for free tasty samples, then leave with some snacks cheaper than an $8 bottle of water (seriously, who’s buying those?)
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• Fri, Sep 12, 5-7pm (ish) — 🍺 Beer Tasting​
  ​Free beer tasting with the legendary Anderson Valley Brewing—because nothing says “community bonding” like sipping craft brews near the kale. 🍻 Come for the beer, stay for the awkward eye contact with your neighbors over a crisp IPA.