Like all obsessions, this one started quietly, and then quickly snowballed.
Earlier this year, I was reading "On Vegetables" (Phaidon, $49.95), the fascinating garden-to-kitchen tour guide written by Los Angeles chef Jeremy Fox, and the recipe on page 55 struck a chord.
"Avocado toast is ubiquitous on Southern California menus, and as a result, people like to make fun of it," he wrote. "But it's ubiquitous for a reason — California grows a lot of avocados, and also avocado toast can taste really good."
Yes, it can. Which explains why, when I found myself at the Salty Tart in St. Paul the following morning, I skipped my usual breakfast sandwich and opted for avocado toast, which is exactly what it sounds like: toasted bread spread with freshly mashed avocado.
"And then all the things," explained chef/owner Michelle Gayer, which, in her kitchen, translates into pickled onions, two varieties of radishes, pea shoots, a squeeze of lime and a splash of chile oil.
"And an egg," she said. "I like an egg on mine because I like an egg on everything. I could eat breakfast for every meal, but that's just me. Breakfast at dinner, that's my favorite."
Same here. Approaching this green tartine as her canvas, Gayer's lively, open-faced inspiration tasted as good as it looked, and it launched a new habit: seeking out avocado toast, and documenting my findings on Instagram.
Finding examples wasn't difficult. Suddenly, it seems, avocado toast is everywhere.