Avocado Game: Strong

On the Central Coast, avocado toast is (still) what's for breakfast.

WORDS Ninette Paloma

When a host of Aussie cafés started popping up around the country, it seemed no one could get enough of flat whites and long blacks and smashed avocado on toast. Our East Coast friends wondered aloud how they had ever done without. But as the craze hit its peak and the world began to turn its attention to other breakfast crazes (overnight oats, anyone?) those of us on the Central Coast simply shrugged our shoulders and went about our mornings spreading potassium-rich, vitamin K-packed, oleic acid-laden goodness onto our sourdough.

We eat avocado toast every day because we can. Because back in the 1800’s, Santa Barbara became the first U.S. city to bear fruit from a wondrous tree transplanted from our neighbors in Mexico. Because we now produce 25 varieties on a nearly year-round basis, making us the third largest avocado producers in the entire nation. And because anyone who has ever eaten a Santa Barbara County avocado knows it is second to none in flavor and texture.  

Up and down the Central Coast, these are a few of our favorites. 

Cajé
416 E. Haley Street Santa Barbara

At their Laguna District outpost, a slab of soft and chewy focaccia balances a kicky avocado spread drizzled with a sweet and tangy balsamic reduction.
 
Bob's Well Bread
550 Bell Street Los Alamos

Dense and earthy sourdough sits beneath chunky avocado, toasted pepitas, and perfectly dressed greens.
 
Dean: A Coffee Shop
6100 Hollister Avenue Goleta 
 
Bright cherry tomatoes, crunchy micro sprouts, and seasoned pumpkin seeds drive this lemon-forward menu favorite on the quiet edges of Goleta.
 
Helena Avenue Bakery
131 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara

A Mediterranean spin on house made wedges of sourdough with crumbled feta and Persian cucumbers. 
 
The Nest
401 E. Ojai Avenue Ojai

Replacing bread with a pan-fried polenta base before topping it with spicy avocado, crispy chickpeas, and tangy pomegranate seeds is the toast that will change your mornings forever.

Field + Fort
2580 Lillie Avenue Summerland

If texture is what you seek, look no further than this juxtaposition of soft and tangy sourdough, julienned radishes, creamy avocado, and a chiffonade of greens.