The Dish: The perfect avocado toast from Maria's Bread Sandwiches in Collingswood

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- This week, we're tackling something that's super popular and seems simple to make: avocado toast. But we've got the secrets to making a perfect one from a chef at popular brekfast and lunch spot Maria's Bread Sandwiches in Collingswood, New Jersey.

"People are like, 'What's a bread sandwich?'," laughs Maria Beddia, the namesake behind Maria's Bread Sandwiches. "It's a sandwich made with bread. Don't overthink it!"

Maria thought it was becoming extinct in the big hoagie universe.

"At lunchtime, I don't want a five pound hoagie or a cheesesteak where I feel like I need to go lay down and take a nap afterwards," she says. "My whole thing was I just want a bread sandwich. I want an old fashioned lunchbox sandwich."

So, two years ago, Maria teamed up with her chef/husband Scott Schroeder to open the shop on Haddon Avenue in Collingswood.

The Dish: The perfect avocado toast from Maria's Bread Sandwiches in Collingswood

The duo started with a classic breakfast sandwich.

"It's just egg, cheese, and Scott makes a really good sausage patty," says Maria.

Next, they added the Lebanon bologna sandwich, which Maria says is a nod to her Lancaster roots.

"That's the bologna I grew up eating," she says.

Together, they hit a sweet spot with a sandwich shop that's really become a destination.

"He makes things taste good. I make things look good," says Maria.

They also make biscuits to bagels, rolls and wraps and it's all homemade. Monday night is pizza night!

But they say the most ordered item on the menu by far is their avocado toast.

"Who would have thought of all the things on our menu, that avocado toast would be the number one?" Maria says.

Scott says he had his first good avocado toast in California.

"I took all my angsty East Coast attitude and decided I was going to hate it," Scott says. "I went out there and fell in love with Los Angeles and fell in love with avocado toast."

Scott says the magic happens with simple, really solid ingredients. Don't over complicate it!

Ingredients:

• Sourdough bread, sliced

• 1 "just ripe" avocado

• 1 lemon

• Extra virgin olive oil

• 1 egg, boiled for 7 minutes

• Salt

• Chili Oil

• Fresh Herbs: dill, scallions and parsley

"We start with a slice of sourdough bread from Mighty Bread Company in South Philadelphia," says Scott. "Throw it in the toaster."

Now, get a "just ripe" avocado. It should have a little squeeze, a little bounce to it. Cut in in half, and remove the pit.

Score the avocado and scoop it out. Put it in a bowl and add a little lemon juice, salt and olive oil. And use the good stuff!

"It ends up looking a little more like marinated avocado versus like guacamole," Scott explains.

Spoon the mixture onto the toasted sourdough bread.

"We top ours with a seven minute egg," he says. "A perfectly jammy egg."

Now, sprinkle some fresh herbs.

"We do a mixture of dill, scallions and parsley and then we squeeze a little fresh lemon on top. We make a chili oil, and we drizzle some of that," says Scott.

You can buy their chili oil or find one at the local market.

"I thought the oil kind of made it a little more luscious," Scott says. "We just do a little of that, and then a little bit more olive oil."

Finally - slice and enjoy!

Maria's many talents

If the name Beddia sounds familiar, Maria's brother Joe is behind the popular Pizzeria Beddia in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood. Or perhaps you've noticed her name on the front cover of the New York Times Bestselling children's book: "P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever."

"That was like a childhood dream of mine, to illustrate a children's book," Maria says. "Never in my life did I think it would actually happen!"

Maria moved to Philadelphia for an internship with the city's Mural Arts Program. She's painted murals across the city and even worked on some art that's very close to our hearts here at 6abc.

"I actually did all of the vehicles for you guys," she explains. "I did the vinyl wrapping."

Now, she's hand painting the special touches in her sandwich shop, which is takeout on one side, and sit-down on the other.

"I really wanted it to just kind of have that feel of funkiness and playfulness and homey," she says. "Collingswood is a very special town. We have so many regulars that come here on the daily, which I'm so honored by!"