FreeP vs. Food: Avocado Toast

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It’s a brunch staple. It’s an Instagram essential. And, according to Australian millionaire Tim Gurner, it’s the reason millennials can’t afford to buy a home.

It’s avocado toast, and that classic smear of mashed green on toast is all over Boston. For this edition of FreeP vs. Food, we set out to find the best in all of Beantown on a whirlwind sampling of bread, eggs and everyone’s favorite green fruit.

The FreeP vs. Food team took on four locations in this super smackdown: by CHLOE, in Fenway; Tatte Bakery and Café, in Brookline; Sonsie, on Newbury Street; and Trident Booksellers and Café, also on Newbury. Bon appétit!

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A hipster’s paradise, the popular vegan restaurant by CHLOE is conveniently located in the Fenway area, with another Boston location in the Seaport district.

The decor is eclectic and bright, making it by far the most “Instagrammable” of the four locations we visited. While by CHLOE is perhaps best known for their lunch and grab and go options, they provide a large quantity of brunch-time options as well.

By CHLOE’s smashed avocado toast is one of their most raved about options on the list of specials. In addition to avocado, their toast also featured arugula, walnuts, red pepper flakes and apple slices — a rather unique approach to the dish.

A major plus of by CHLOE’s avocado toast is that they actually offered a generous portion of the avocado, although the bread itself was not very filling.

This coupled with the fact that there was no egg or any kind of protein made the meal a little drab and unsatisfying.

For a vegan fast food chain whose interior and decor seem to imply quality, the food that comes from ordering off of a stylish menu board is disappointingly small and tasteless.

If you’re looking for an avocado toast that is worth the $10 cost and you don’t care too much about the aesthetic of where you go out to eat, by CHLOE is probably not your best bet.

Alex: B-

Kaya: C-

Antonia: C

Sara: B+

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Sonsie, a classic Newbury Street bistro and brunch venue, produced a rather disappointing take on avocado toast. Although they are known for their breakfast and brunch, their specialty is their classic egg breakfasts — home fries, toast, the whole ordeal.

The charm and comfort of their open-air Newbury location was lost when the toast was ordered for take-out.

Sonsie’s avocado toast left an immediate and lasting impression: simply underwhelming. The portion size was small, with a single piece of toast covered in a thin layer of avocado with two simple poached eggs.

Our photographer, Jackie O’Brien, who tagged along with us said she was  “surprised that Sonsie’s toast didn’t have more of a visual impact. In a foodie city like Boston the photogenic quality is expected to be part of the experience.”

After the first bite, assumptions of lackluster flavor were confirmed. The avocado had a vinegar taste, presumably due to an intended — and unfortunate — choice or an under-ripe avocado. However, the perfect crunch to the bread brought a bit of a saving grace to the dish.

The quality and portion size of such an expensive dish — coming in at $13 — was nothing more than disappointing.

Alex: C-
Kaya: B+
Antonia: B
Sara: C

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With its daisy-yellow facade and always-bustling radius of eager brunchers, Tatte’s Brookline location seems to maintain something of a gravitational pull, luring customers back time and again for its pastries, coffee and hearty menu items.

Among them is the avocado tartine, their flavorful and photogenic rendition on the standard avocado toast.

The tartine features homemade sourdough bread covered in an evenly-spread layer of avocado and loaded to the brim with heaping piles of arugula, radishes, dill and two perfectly poached eggs. It’s easy to see the appeal — and even easier to Instagram it.

Those hoping to indulge in this sunny Sunday-morning staple should arrive hungry and ready to dig in; served on a plate the size of a rugby ball, there’s more than enough food to gorge on.

With a delightful balance between the crisp veggies, smooth — albeit thinly smeared — avocado and just shy of heavenly eggs, this is a clear winner on an already stellar menu, especially at $10 for a hefty portion.

And, with the Brookline location only a hop, skip and a jump from central campus, Tatte is just right.
Alex: A
Kaya: A+
Antonia: A
Sara: A

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For an already unique cafe-bookstore hybrid, Trident Booksellers and Café easily snagged the prize for most original avocado toast.

Trident, located on the brownstone-clad, shopping-heavy Newbury Street, is not your typical cafe. The eatery bookstore is a hotspot where ardent bibliophiles come to get coffee with a side of Freud and polish off their avocado toast with a HarperCollins’ paperback of “Pride and Prejudice.”

Our rating of Trident’s take on avocado toast perfectly and evenly averaged out to a solid A- for one reason: it was different. Common avocado toast staples include eggs and arugula — Trident throws these ingredients off the cutting board, trading in the prototypical brunch food for a plate more reminiscent of lunch.

An open-faced havarti cheese and avocado melt, Trident’s avocado toast was enough to please the taste buds, refreshingly veering away from a brunch taste. The cheese acted as the perfect safety pouch, covering the entirety of the two slices of bread that snugly kept a generous spread of avocado in tact and inside.

Totaling to $12, Trident’s take on millennial’s favorite treat is pricy, but worth it — especially if you arrive at the cafe hungry for something more than books. The avocado toast was simple in taste and presentation, but flavorful.

Mustard was the perfect complement to the two staple ingredients, while a side of chips and veggies gave it the extra kick it needed to pass our avocado toast quest, rounding out to both a hardy and tasty dish.

Alex: A-

Kaya: A-
Antonia: A-
Sara: A-

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