Avocado toast has been around for awhile, but became a hot food trend sometime in the last decade. There’s been a lot of hating on avocado toast and an unfair association with extravagance, profligate spending and millennials.
I just don’t think that’s fair at all. Not fair to millennials and not fair to avocado toast. While it might be true that this luscious dish is $22 at some fancy restaurant somewhere in the world, it’s not just millennials who enjoy it, and avocado lovers of any age can find a smashingly good version for much less at many a diner. Or make it at home for a couple of bucks per serving.
Some of the hating on avocado toast happened simply because it became so trendy. This makes no sense to me. If it’s good, eat it, whether it’s trendy or not. If it’s not good, don’t eat it, whether it’s trendy or not.
I don’t always pick up on trends when they’re happening, and although I love avocados, I was a latecomer to avocado toast. I’ve only had it a couple of times in restaurants and we never made it here at Glover Gardens—until last week.
Sandwich Wednesday Brought Avocado Toast to Glover Gardens
The Grill-Meister does dinner on Wednesdays, almost always some type of sandwich, most often a panini of some sort. Check out some of his masterpieces here. He’s always asking for requests, so I sent him the link to Bobby Flay’s Avocado Toast Three Ways just after Apple News pushed it to me (I’m pretty sure they were listening in.)
And then, just as planned, avocado toast showed up on the Sandwich Wednesday menu, after the Grill-Meister watched the video below.
The Grill-Meister used Bobby Flay’s recipe for the avocado concoction and put out a selection of toppers for us to assemble our own toasts as desired. I didn’t get a picture of my toasts before cutting them in half and taking a bite, but here’s his. (He let me throw on the dill garnish, but only if I was quick about it.)
The “avocado toast three ways” chosen by the Grill-Meister for his plate that Sandwich Wednesday comprised (clockwise from left):
- Bacon, goat cheese, grape tomatoes and red onion (I had one of the same with arugula added; we both agreed that the goat cheese was superfluous)
- Salmon, creme fraiche and dill (I added egg and capers – yum!)
- Salami and egg (I did a bacon and egg version instead)
What a wonderful meal that was, with a crisp chardonnay. The avocado spread recipe is simple, with only scallions, lime, cilantro, salt and pepper to accentuate the creamy, unctuous avocado. And having an array of toppings to choose from is definitely the way to go, reminiscent of the old Burger King jingle: “have it your way”. 🎶 (I’m really sorry if you can’t get that tune out of your head.)
Speaking of having it your way, avocado toast is vegetarian, even vegan, unless you add proteins like we did. And avocados are really good for you! They have fiber, healthy monounsaturated fat that lowers cholesterol, and lots of vitamins and minerals. So again, no need to be hatin’.
Twice in 3 Days
The Grill-Meister loves avocado even more than I do, and he has a sneaky way to get it onto the menu when I’m doing the cooking. He buys too many when they’re involved in the Sandwich Wednesday menu, and I can’t stand to let them go bad so I devise some way to use them on the weekend. (I don’t really mind, but I want him to know I’m onto his ploy.)
We did a “Chicken Wings Two Ways” experiment that weekend (more on that later), and to use the extra avocados, I figured that avocado toast topped with a simple arugula salad would be the perfect side dish, fresh and light to accompany all that protein on the bone. This time, I took some pictures of the process.
Whoops, I Made Too Much
The Grill-Meister’s method of putting out the ingredients for self-assembly would have been better that night, because we had a few already-topped avocado toasts left over. That’s a yummy jump start for Sunday lunch the next day, or brunch, except, what if the bread is soggy beneath all the goodies?
I decided to go for it. I topped the avocado toast, which was still green and vibrant, with an over-easy fried egg, and to address the soggy factor head-on, I got the skillet really hot and put the avocado toast in for a couple of minutes to crisp up on the bottom, before frying the egg. It worked!
Avocado Toast is a Hit at Glover Gardens
So we had avocado toast not once, not twice, but three times within just a few days. Not because we’re trendy, frivolous or extravagant, but simply because we love fresh food that’s bursting with vibrant flavors – and avocado toast definitely fits that description.
Now I’m off to post my #avocadotoast pics on Instagram! 🤣
© 2020, Glover Gardens
I have good taste. 🙂 So, what am I not supposed to be hating? Bobby Flay is one of the reasons that The Food Channel is so bad these days. Him, and that spikey haired dude who thinks he knows about dives. Or, is it avocado toast? Millennials, indeed. We ate a version of that growing up in the late 1950s or early 60s. Of course, we had an avocado tree in our back yard. Not, Haas, but those big almost round ones. Our six year old expresses it this way. “Yuck. How can you two eat that stuff.” She’d eat all the stuff you put on it. Especially the salmon. Heh, heh.
No hatin’ of any kind, unless it’s beets or jarred garlic, LOL. I can’t imagine how cool it was to have an avocado tree in your own backyard!!!! How did the avocado toast differ from today? I read when I was doing my research that avocado toast was mentioned way back in the 20s and 30s, maybe even as early as the 1880s.
Very cool that your youngun will eat stuff like salmon! Even though she missed the boat on avocado.
Oh, and here’s a link to a story about avocado toast’s early days (in addition to your childhood experience in the 50s/60s). https://sfist.com/2017/07/21/ancient_avocado_toast_recipes_sugge/