Sides & Snacks

They say that Californians add avocado to everything. Now, true to my contrarian soul, I vehemently denied this observation the first time it was shared with me. As a California native, I had never heard this stereotype until I moved outside of the bear Republic. Avocado on everything? Surely, that’s the extreme, not the norm. But as I continued to live further away from the State, I noticed that avocado became decreasingly prevalent in the Sides or Add Ons sections of various menus. And the quality of avocados seemed to be sorely lacking the further you purchased them from a coastline. 

My time living in Wisconsin was especially painful, and I learned very quickly that avocados aren’t in abundance in every state. (Yes, Corinne, you were and are a spoiled foodie brat. Sorry, readers, for my entitled inner child. Her hanger can border the offensive.) And I very quickly learned just how much I fall into that add avocado to everything category. I can deny that label about as much as I can deny that I’m a redhead.

Yes, avocado is the perfect add on for almost any dish. But what about them as a standalone item? And that brings us to avocado fries. With flour and a sprinkle of panko bread crumbs or shredded coconut flakes, these babies can be transformed into an absolutely scrumptious meal. 

I’m sure I was exposed to avocado fries at some point in my youth, but the most memorable experience was at Bru’s Wiffle in Los Angeles. At the time, I was living in Westwood while suffering in grad school at UCLA, so this had to have been 2012 or 2013. Matt was finishing up his undergrad degree at Marquette in Milwaukee, and we would rotate who flew out to see whom every three to four months. On one of his trips out west, we stumbled upon this restaurant, and lo and behold, there were avocado fries on the menu. Being the avid avocado lover that I am, I ordered a plate of these breaded, green treats and was astonished at how good they tasted. How could something — with the most basic of ingredients — taste SO DIVINE?!? 

The dish was so remarkable that it’s stuck with both of us years, and we had to recreate something inspired by our LA discovery. If memory serves me correctly, Bru’s Wiffle used Panko bread crumbs for the outside of their fries, but we opted to use shredded coconut as the base of our crunchy coating.