On the most recent episode of Breaking Bad, Walter White confirmed he’d finally lost touch with all vestige of his humanity by coldly refusing an order of table-side guacamole, soullessly turning his back on the appetizer without a second thought as to how it might affect his family. And yet, while Breaking Bad has proven to be a negative influence on its audience, inspiring copycat drug dealers to murderers, in this case it’s having the opposite effect. Garduno’s, the real-life Mexican restaurant seen at that tense family dinner, has noticed an uptick in sales of table-side guacamole since the episode aired, with its general manager Warren Gaustad reporting a “surge” from 30 percent of customers ordering it to 35 percent.
Leaving aside for the moment that “5 percent” is hardly a “surge,” it’s still enough to be indicative of Breaking Bad’s incredible power of suggestion, as well as the incredible deliciousness of guacamole. Gaustad says he’s seen plenty of visitors coming in and asking to sit at the now-famous awkwardness table, then specifically referencing the show when asking that their guacamole be made next to it. “It’s been pretty funny,” Gaustad said—indeed, no doubt while chuckling smugly. You asked if Gaustad is in the Tex or the Mex business. Neither. He’s in the guacamole empire business. And business is marginally better this week than it was last week.
Anyway, as an interesting side note, that same article reveals that both Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston’s Malcolm In The Middle co-star Jane Kaczmarek watched the filming of that scene from just off-camera. So, that’s something to think about the next time you see it, in between thinking about where your next table-side guacamole is coming from.