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The Sydney Smashed Avo Index

When you think of iconic Aussie duos there are a few that will make anyone’s list:

Milo x Milk
Kath x Kim
Goon x Juice
Bunnings x Sausage Sizzle

In recent years, though, one duo have smashed through to reach the top of that list.

That is, of course, everybody’s favourite café combo… Avocado & Toast or as we Eastern folk like to call it… Smashed Avo.

The rise of Smashed Avo in our cafés has polarized the nation and the story is fraught with controversy, as Baby Boomers have called the dish as an expensive Millennial obsession and linked it to their inability to afford a house.

Whether the Boomers are right or wrong about the link between avo, toast, income and Sydney house prices, they’re damn right we’re obsessed.

So obsessed that we’ve got our top universities studying the city’s smashed avocado market. Two Sydney University students have set out to settle some of the controversies behind the brekky favourite and its relationship to house prices by writing a paper exploring Sydney’s “avo-economics”. Read the full thing here via the Sydney Morning Herald HERE

Unsurprisingly they’ve found that over here in the Eastern Suburbs, we’re the most fanatical consumers of the dish.

They found that in Edgecliffe 100% of the café’s have avocado toast on the menu and it’s also got the city’s highest average price tag, going for $18 a pop ( a bloody bargain compared to some of the spots in Bondi). The ‘Junction isn’t far behind with 80% of café menus sporting Smashed Avo for an average price of $16, which is news to me… I’ve been forking out $20 every week down here by the beach!

The Smashed Avo Index suggests the price and availability of avocado on toast peaks where house prices and incomes are high compared to most parts of the city and that if you want a low-priced option, head out West – you’ll find a cheap house might even score some avo on sourdough for as little as $9 if you’re willing to trek it to Penrith.

Whilst the debate still rages on, there’s little doubt that for most of us, the humble vegetable, fruit, berry (?) has made its home on our toast and in our hearts.

When I get to Drake, Lock Stock or Brown Sugar for brekky, I don’t care how much it costs, it’s going to be my hangover cure.

words by james phillips


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