KANSAS CITY — The mention of seasonal summer fruits often conjures images of bright berries and sweet citrus. But the fruit of summer 2019 might just be the avocado.

The green stone fruit is featured in a smattering of new restaurant offerings ranging from sandwiches to salads and burgers to bowls.

At Wendy’s, avocado adds a twist to the classic BLT sandwich with the new Made to Crave Avocado BLT. It features a grilled chicken fillet topped with muenster cheese, three strips of applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and buttermilk ranch sauce.

Johnny Rockets is celebrating the seasonal fruit with a whole new avocado-centric menu, including the new Avocado Bacon Ranch Burger, Avocado Bacon Ranch Chicken Sandwich, Avocado Chicken Salad and Avocado Totchos.

The new offerings are part of a cross promotional partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” movie. While the movie celebrates the green monster, the new menu items celebrate the green fruit.

 “With the rise of the avocado — the undisputed king of food trends — comes an opportunity to incorporate Godzilla fans’ epic taste of adventure into a variety of mouth-watering dishes, from loaded salads to starters to our beloved burgers,” said Linda Sangiacomo, senior vice president of marketing for Johnny Rockets. “We pride ourselves in entertaining our guests every day, whether it’s through our iconic dancing servers, timeless upbeat music, creative ketchup art, or blockbuster partnerships such as this one.”

Avocado offers an element of cooling relief on Bruegger’s Bagels spicy new sandwich. The Chorizo Jalapeño Egg Sandwich features two cracked eggs, chorizo sausage, cheddar cheese, avocado and jalapeño cream cheese on a jalapeño bagel. 

“Consumer research shows that interest in bold flavors continues to grow, so we're really bringing on the heat with the Chorizo Jalapeño Egg Sandwich,” said Chad Thompson, executive chef at Bruegger’s Bagels. "The Jalapeño Bagel incorporates peppers within the dough. Then it's kettle-boiled and baked to perfection, creating an eggshell crust and chewy interior – it's the perfect bagel to pair with spicy Mexican chorizo sausage and our 100 percent made-in-Vermont Jalapeño Cream Cheese. Avocado also adds a cool contrast."

TGI Fridays’ new Charbroiled Fajita Salad features pineapple-soy marinated steak, mixed greens, sliced carrots, red cabbage, fajita rice, mixed cheese, onions, red and green bell peppers, avocado, tomatoes and chile lime sauce served in a taco bowl with sides of sour cream and fire-roasted salsa.

El Pollo Loco is introducing the Chicken & Avocado Tostada, filled with rice, pinto beans, lettuce, pico de gallo salsa, sliced avocado, queso fresco and grilled chicken.

The new Savory Power Bowl at Mimi’s also includes avocado, along with a poached egg, kale, grape tomatoes and garlic butter on a bed of brown rice, farro and quinoa.

At Corner Bakery Cafe, the new Turkey Avocado Cobb Salad features mixed greens topped with oven-roasted turkey, bacon, hard-boiled egg, avocado, tomatoes and crumbled blue cheese with avocado ranch dressing.

“We are always looking for new ingredients to use that are in peak-season in order to offer our guests a variety of fresh and naturally delicious dishes,” said Donna Josephson, senior vice-president and chief marketing officer of Corner Bakery. “The ingredients that we use to craft these dishes are straightforward and bright — the perfect combination to brighten any day.”

View a slideshow of new menu items.