The allure of avocado toast has evolved into endlessly customizable combinations. Nut butters, lox, ricotta, and eggs adorn fresh loaves with fervor, and Santa Barbarans are eating it up. Because anyone can make this simple dish at home, it’s all the more important to ensure that it’s extra special if ordered out. Below are the top toasts in town, transforming the once-humble bedrock for butter into an epic work of art.
Helena Avenue Bakery: “Starting with a good base is what’s going to make it unique,” said chef Ken Toledo of his secret. Handmade daily by sous chef Isaac Hernandez, the bread is a wonder on its own but provides a stellar vehicle for the team’s endlessly delicious toppings. Their basic version is heaped with avocados grown nearby, Aleppo salt, and a seven-minute egg. They also offer a peanut- and cashew-butter toast layered with rosemary and banana, and a ricotta toast featuring a cloud-like whipped house-made ricotta and seeded honey. Chef’s tip: Order the burrata, bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich open-faced on sourdough for Toledo’s favorite take on toast. 131 Anacapa St., Ste.C; (805) 880-3383; helenaavenuebakery.com.
Juice Ranch: For one of the healthiest toasts, look no further than Juice Ranch, whose owners, husband-and-wife team Scott and Erin Walker, have taken their green thumbs for juicing and applied them to another green delicacy. Erin Walker uses gluten-free bread from her friends at Oat Bakery, then piles it high with house-made almond cilantro pesto, citrus-smashed avocado, lemon zest, paprika, and flaked sea salt. Top it with raw sauerkraut, and pair it with a fresh juice or smoothie. “A lot of these recipes come from what I have at home and how I can be creative,” she explained. Their Farm-to-Bagel features an Oat Bakery sourdough bagel topped with probiotic cashew cream cheese, tomato, lemon pepper, cucumber, red onion, sprouts, and flaked sea salt — not exactly toast, but too tasty not to note. 33 Parker Wy.; (805) 845-4657; juiceranch.com.