With so many restaurants and cafés opening around the Little City in recent months, one familiar menu item seems to be turning up just about everywhere: avocado toast. What was once considered a trendy breakfast choice has become a staple at everything from neighborhood coffee shops to national chains. And here in Falls Church, there seems to be no shortage of places putting their own spin on it.

For good reason, too. Avocados provide heart-healthy fats, and when served on a good piece of toasted bread with the right accompaniments, they can be downright delicious. A veritable plethora of spots in Falls Church now offer their own versions, ranging from small, intimate cafés to national chains that don’t want their customers left out.

Of course, avocado toast is nothing new to those already familiar with its charms. But for the likes of this writer, who grew up in Southern California, the avocado itself has always been something of an old friend.

In that part of the country, avocados literally grow on trees. The preferred Hass variety was everywhere, and many of us thought nothing of eating one whole with just a knife and spoon, removing the large seed and settling onto a park bench or a spot by the seaside to enjoy the rich, creamy fruit. A ripe avocado needed little else, perhaps a pinch of salt or a bit of salad dressing.

What I never imagined was that this humble fruit would eventually become a political and generational controversy.

For years, avocado toast has been held up by critics of younger generations as a symbol of extravagant spending and questionable financial priorities. In 2017, an Australian millionaire famously suggested that millennials might have an easier time buying homes if they stopped spending money on smashed avocados and expensive coffee.

Apparently, the great obstacle to homeownership wasn’t the rising price of real estate, but breakfast.

The criticism became a favorite talking point in the endless generational debate over whether younger Americans simply spend too much money on life’s little pleasures. Never mind that the same avocado toast has now found its way onto menus frequented by baby boomers, retirees and just about everyone else.

Here in Falls Church, where the price of a home can easily climb into seven figures, I suspect giving up avocado toast won’t make much difference in anyone’s mortgage application.

But these days, the preferred way of introducing an avocado to the human mouth may well be atop a slice of toasted sourdough bread, mashed and seasoned with any number of accompanying ingredients. A little lemon, some olive oil, perhaps an egg or a sprinkling of red pepper flakes, and suddenly an ordinary piece of toast becomes something worth getting excited about.

The quality runs the gamut, from the more standardized offerings at Starbucks and Dunkin’ to the elaborate creations served at independent cafés and restaurants.

I haven’t documented the complete array of offerings even in a cozy place like Falls Church, because there are simply too many now. The best I’ve managed is to sample a few and compile what I hope is a reasonably complete list.

Of the places I’ve had the pleasure of trying personally, my top ranking goes to the new Rashfa Cafe on S. Washington Street (see photo this edition), a Yemeni coffee and tea shop bringing distinctive flavors and traditions to the Little City. Its Rashfa Chai, made with black tea, spices and evaporated milk, is another reason to stop by.

I’ve also spent considerable time at the newly opened Shotted Coffee drive-through, next to Wendy’s on Route 29, just outside the City. The location formerly housed Compass Coffee, but Shotted has brought a different character to the space, with coffee, tea and specialty offerings inspired by Middle Eastern café traditions. Shotted also offers avocado toast, with the added convenience of being able to pick it up through the drive-through without ever leaving your car. Its growing presence in the Washington region is another example of how much the local coffee scene has changed.

Rashfa, Best Buns, Godfrey’s, Shotted Coffee, The Falls, Northside Social and Cafe Kindred are among the establishments in and around the Little City offering their own versions of avocado toast. The choices range from simple preparations to elaborate combinations of eggs, tomatoes, seasonings and specialty breads. If I’ve missed anyone, I’ll be happy to stand corrected. A sampling of the food might help, too.

And while avocado toast may seem like a thoroughly modern invention, its history reaches back much further than Instagram and fashionable brunch menus.

Avocados have been cultivated and enjoyed in Mexico and Central America for thousands of years. Pairing them with bread eventually became commonplace in parts of Latin America, including Chile, where pan con palta, bread topped with mashed avocado, remains a familiar favorite.

In the United States, references to avocado served on toast appeared in California more than a century ago. Australian chef Bill Granger helped popularize the modern café version in Sydney during the 1990s, and by the following decade it was finding its way onto fashionable menus in New York and elsewhere.

Social media helped turn the dish into an international sensation, but the basic idea has never been complicated. Take a ripe avocado, put it on good bread and enjoy.

Perhaps that’s what makes the whole controversy so amusing. Somewhere along the way, a perfectly ordinary breakfast became a symbol of everything supposedly wrong with an entire generation. Now it’s being enjoyed by people of all ages, including those who may once have wondered what all the fuss was about.

As for me, I’m happy to sit in the shade with my avocado, whether it’s served with a spoon, on a piece of sourdough or alongside a good cup of coffee. The world has enough serious problems without turning breakfast into another battlefield.