Should’ve leaned into the Mexican more: put taco seasoning in the meatloaf, add some lime or chipotle to the mayo, etc.

The only real problem here is that a good meatloaf is going to end up with its taste and texture covered up by this.

Like, eat how it makes you happy, I’m not saying anyone shouldn’t do that they like. Follow your gustatory joy, you dig?

But from the perspective of combining things to get the most bang for your buck flavor wise, beef is a very deep flavor, and meatloaf is kinda good at enhancing it by evening it out. But, in doing so, most recipes are also going to end up muting it in a way because it’s now a “flat” flavor profile.

When you take that, and cover it with another even, flat flavor like mayo, then avocado too, you end up with the beef no longer being a star, it’s just part of an ensemble.

Now, you can do meatloaf that is much more beef forward, with less evenness. But at that point, you run into a similar issue where the mayo and avocado flatten the end result.

The cheese? Works well with beef almost always. Even here, you’d still have that taste rising up from the even profile.

It comes down to how many fats are in your mouth at once. With all the fats here, the umami, and the beefiness that goes with it, never get a good chance to hit your tongue.

This is a case where having a side that incorporates the avocado, mayo, and cheese as a separate flavor base that you switch between would make the same ingredients so much better. A nice avocado salad would work very well. Cube the avocado, mince some garlic and/or onion. Gently fold the mayo and cheese in. Salt, pepper to taste. Top with something like some parsley just for a visual pop and a bit of brightness to play off of the heavy fats when you’re chewing.

Obviously, you’re minimizing carbs here, or you could do a nice pasta as a bed for the salad, or maybe serve it over a crusty bit of sourdough.

Also, if you’ve never had avocado salad, it’s great. But you gotta be very gentle with the mixing. You do want the avocado to get a little mushed in on the edges, but you need the cubes to be intact for the texture and flavor output to work right. It’s about how each flavor proceeds across the tongue as you chew, otherwise it’s just kind of a waste.