Toastique Arrives in Addison: Trendy, Healthy and Accessible, but for Whom?

Addison is now home to a fast-casual restaurant specializing in what it calls gourmet toasts. Recently opened, Toastique has a menu filled with cold-pressed juices, smoothies, smoothie bowls and, of course, its signature toast.

There are also espresso drinks and collagen-infused “lattes” (made without coffee) in flavors like matcha, golden milk and blueberry lavender. A cooler holds glass bottles of colorful juices along with grab-and-go options, including chia pudding, cold soba noodle bowls and more.

Toastique positioned itself as the pinnacle of the YouTube and TikTok “that girl” trend, and on a weekday at lunchtime, we ignored our problems and set off to cosplay as a healthy, put-together person on a weekend trip for groceries at an Erewhon. This is the perfect place to do that.
A press release referred to its menu as “vibrant,” and we’d say that’s certainly true. Everything was beautiful — the interior was bright and clean, and all the ingredients were fresh and colorful. Alas, we had a qualm or two.

We walked up to the counter to order and thought we’d give one of the most popular toasts a try: the Avocado Smash on sourdough bread. Priced at $14, it’s topped with mashed avocado, thin slices of watermelon radishes (which were gorgeous), marinated tomatoes, a drizzle of chili oil and microgreens. Other options for toast include one with smoked pastrami salmon, and another topped with peanut butter, strawberries, banana and honey, plus a few others.

Our toast arrived on a cute wooden cutting board and the chili oil was our favorite part of this dish. The watermelon radishes were nearly fluorescent, though they added little in terms of flavor. They were so pretty, and the taste was not Toastique’s fault. That's just the nature of radishes. You can, however, give us a good smattering of microgreens anytime. We're not sure what the marinade for the tomatoes was, but they had a very herbaceous flavor, and we discovered a small sprig of thyme mixed in.
The toppings on the toast were plentiful but didn’t quite make a meal, so we thought we’d grab a smoothie or bowl too. The Iced Brew smoothie has coffee, banana, dates and almond milk. Priced at $9.75 for the smallest size, it was just OK. The Green Machine smoothie, the associate said, is the chain’s most popular (banana, pineapple, mango, spinach, kale, coconut water, lime, and both hemp and flax seeds). If given a second chance, we’d order that one instead.

As we gathered our belongings, we emotionally prepared to leave "that girl" dreams behind for the day. We felt a pang of existential dread as we folded up our receipt and glanced at the total. We kind of felt like we committed a crime by spending so much on a lunch with portion sizes we're not entirely sure were worth it.

On its website, Toastique says that its mission is to “make eating healthy accessible,” but at nearly $30 after tax and a tip, for only one order of toast and a small smoothie, we can’t help but wonder: for whom?

Toastique, 5467 Belt Line Road, Addison. Daily, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.