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community weblog
"Oh! There is bread! What a fun surprise."
Here is the promise you and I must cling to across the thousands of words that follow: At some point within this text, I will reveal to you what—after 555 responses, 13,000 miles of travel, and months of monomaniacal research—I have determined to be the best free restaurant bread in America. [The Atlantic; ungated]
posted by chavenet on Apr 16, 2026 at 3:19 AM
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I saw that this was written by Caity Weaver (of TGI Friday's endless apps fame) and I knew I was in excellent hands.
posted by merriment at 4:04 AM
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Road trip.
posted by Melismata at 4:35 AM
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Sixteen splendorous bread varieties are yours for claiming off the three-tiered lacquered rolling cart at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas. You can have as many as you want, all for free, with your meal. My meal was the Degustation Menu, which costs $525 per guest.
I'm not sure you can count the bread as "free" when the meal costs $525.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:43 AM
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I loved this -- thank you! It reminded me of the joy of reading Steve Almond's Candyfreak more than 20 years ago.
posted by cider at 5:04 AM
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I think that's the point of the whole article! Free bread is never really free, as it is really just part of the overall bill of your meal. Truly free bread might be if you can go to a restaurant just to eat the bread, free of charge.
posted by Kitteh at 5:04 AM
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Truly free bread might be if you can go to a restaurant just to eat the bread, free of charge.
Back in the day (in Korea at least) Krispy Kreme would just hand you a donut as you entered the shop, which always made me feel so awkward because like yo I literally just want a donut but you gave me a free one and so I don't want a donut anymore but I feel obligated to get something and now this is turning into a very weird transaction. Sorry for the derail.
posted by Literaryhero at 5:21 AM
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Truly free bread might be if you can go to a restaurant just to eat the bread, free of charge.
IIRC, Panera used to run at least once place like that in St. Louis, back before they were Panera
posted by jordemort at 5:38 AM
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I will say, my knee jerk reaction was "obviously Cheesecake Factory" but TBH I'm the freak who prefers their baguette to the brown bread.
posted by potrzebie at 5:46 AM
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Free bread is never really free
Like how "free gifts" are the only gifts you have to pay to get.
posted by an octopus IRL at 6:22 AM
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That was long. And fun!
My husband mentioned this article to me at dinner last night, but I hadn't read it until it was linked on the Blue. Living a few blocks from Le Diplomate and having been to Parc a couple of times, we both already knew the correct answer to the query.
That said, I really can't take anything the author says seriously, given her purported obsession with Diet Coke. According to Lambert's Cafe, they serve Pepsi products.
posted by jburka at 7:09 AM
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I'm not a foodie, but I do enjoy a restaurant meal. I've had awesome bread in restaurants, and will admit that there has been a decline in the "free" aspect in my lifetime. I can't however, ever say that a bread experience has been so memorable as to leave a lasting enough impression that I could confidently answer the question if polled. I did frequent a place in Everett Wa. solely for their sopapillas (served with honeyed butter) , but I don't recall if they were complimentary.
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:25 AM
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Caity Weaver's talent is ridiculous. Here's a longform investigation into a fluffy question that is at turns hilarious, informative, insightful, and at the end, deeply-felt and personal. From the approach (asking everyone she could and then classifying results into groups! visiting many of the restaurants including one of the few single-response ones!) to the tone, this is magisterial.
posted by sgranade at 7:35 AM
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This is a very, very nice read.
I will share that I too almost noped out around the Diet Coke part. I don't think it was an objection to the Diet Coke's inclusion but that the pacing of the PR bits, as much as I love gonzo as a format, made me think the piece wasn't going to come home. Luckily the ode to Dancing Bear got me through, because I would have missed the dad going to Four Seasons tapping back at the end in a way that's got me in tears. So stick with it.
posted by warriorqueen at 7:56 AM
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Literaryhero: "Back in the day (in Korea at least) Krispy Kreme would just hand you a donut as you entered the shop"
Yup, they did that in the US too. I haven't been to a Krispy Kreme in like 20 years so I don't know if they still do, but I highly doubt it.
posted by pdb at 8:03 AM
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I read this a couple of days ago and was hoping it would make it here. I'm not particularly familiar with Ms. Weaver's work (but will work on changing that; the TGIF piece merriment linked is wonderful) and actually scrolled up to the top about halfway through to see if it was by Alexandra Petri. They both have a tone that is both snarky and self-deprecating that I really like. I have never eaten at a Cheesecake Factory so don't have an opinion on their bread, but early on I wondered how Red Lobster would do, given the quality of their bread compared to the quality of the rest of their food. I was surprised to learn they were introduced in 1992, which is likely about the last time I ate at one (despite driving right past a Red Lobster every day going to and from work). And I have eaten at Bones (also in the 1990s); I don't remember the bread but the steak was amazing. I also don't remember what they charged for Cokes, but given what everything else on the menu costs one would think they can afford to be more generous with their soft drinks. I was glad to see that the winner wasn't a national chain, given the advantage mentioned in the article that many more people have had their bread. I definitely need to start paying more attention to my free bread.
posted by TedW at 8:16 AM
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I thought the author's love of Diet Coke was charming.
The best free restaurant bread in my America was served at a local restaurant that went out of business a long time ago. I still miss it sometimes.
Sadly, I have a health history that means I suffer from her father's affliction—food no longer tastes good to me, most of the time. Favorite meals just taste flat. Every now and then I get to eat something that really hits the spot, that tastes just right, but I think the last time that fully happened was nine months ago. I miss a lot of things, even if they are still readily available.
posted by Well I never at 9:03 AM
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IMO; any place that gives you 20 different breads is hiding quality in quantity.
However I'd love to take on this challenge. There's a BBQ restaurant my family goes to just for the free bread. It tastes better than the sides, at least.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:14 AM
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Literaryhero: "Back in the day (in Korea at least) Krispy Kreme would just hand you a donut as you entered the shop"
Yup, they did that in the US too.
My memory in the US is that it wasn't all the time. It was when they had the "fresh" sign lit up to show they'd just made a new batch, and they were giving you one of those. An incentive to draw you in when you wouldn't have gone otherwise.
Also no idea if it's still a thing.
posted by solotoro at 10:49 AM
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I'm breaking all the rules but it's the tortillas at Casablanca in LA.
posted by atomicstone at 12:14 PM
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Like the earlier free apps article, this was an amazing read. However, I hate walnuts so I must respectfully disagree with the author's conclusion. So many great breads out there, 99% of which are blissfully free of disgusting chunks of walnuts, pecans, and other cursed nuggets, and she chose the one with the gimmick. Boo!
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:44 PM
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I read this for a while and realized that every memory I have of bread at a restaurant is of bread I went there specifically to buy. Then she started going on and on about Diet Coke, which I drank entirely too much of for several years until suddenly it all started tasting horribly chemical to me, and I just noped out and spent a little while reminiscing about the fabulous biscuits at Morsel in Seattle, and the sandwiches at Bellegarde in New Orleans, both of which had their bread baked on premise, in your view as you ordered. Also the bagels at Flour Moon in New Orleans, which aren't baked in view of the counter, but are baked in the same building.
I dunno if either was the BEST BREAD EVER but they both sure were tasty and nicely textured, and had local, fresh ingredients on them, and were pretty wonderful.
posted by egypturnash at 8:05 PM
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I enjoyed this article and am glad to see it here. After reading it, I happened to be browsing Mollie Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. I found a recipe for Cranberry Brown Bread with walnuts. Definitely going to try it!
1 1/2 c whole raw cranberries
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 c walnuts
1 c whole wheat flour
1 c unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c molasses
2 lg eggs
1/3 c brown sugar
1. In a large skillet, cook the cranberries and walnuts with cinnamon in melted butter over medium heat, stirring, for 8-10 min. Remove from heat.
2. Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, beat together vanilla, molasses, eggs, and brown sugar until well-blended and frothy.
4. Add flour mixture and cooked cranberry mixture alternatly to egg/molasses mixture, stirring after each addition. Be sure to scrape in all butter from cranberries.
5. Spread into a buttered, medium-sized loaf pan. Bake 45-50 min at 350F. Cool in pan for 10 min before removing. Rap pan sharply to remove.
posted by acridrabbit at 9:07 PM
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As a diabetic on Ozempic, I am required to eschew (no, not chew, eschew) all forms of restaurant bread, lest I get full before the main course arrives, so I have no dog in this fight. However I do feel compelled to point out that in this description from the article:
In fact, the bread has an Everlasting Gobstopper–ish ability to harmoniously convey the sensation of eating an entire meal, with dessert, in every bite.
the author is conflating the Everlasting Gobstopper (which lasts forever and changes color once a week, but always tastes like hard candy) with the Chewing Gum Meal (downfall of Violet Beauregarde.)
posted by Daily Alice at 6:05 AM
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America's celebrities are not your friends. There is only one good celebrity in this world: the author Stephen King. According to Mr. King, the best free bread in America is "crusty and warm" and served at Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse in Sarasota, Florida. Given the fact that no other star, out of the scores I contact via their representatives, successfully manages to answer this question, I can conclude only that America's celebrities consider it their unholy mission to ensure that her masses—their fans—die ignorant of the identity of her best free restaurant bread.
A little disappointed that she didn't go to the place Stephen King recommended. Can anyone near Sarasota give a field report?
posted by rollick at 8:24 AM
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I gasped at the end of her story about her father being unable to taste the Red Lobster cheddar bay biscuits. Caity Weaver is the best of the web.
posted by infinitewindow at 8:43 AM
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“That's how they get ya!”
posted by ob1quixote at 8:49 AM
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This was a sweet essay that made me miss my dad too. But it also made me think of my personal evolution concerning restaurant bread. When I was young and always hungry, the bread basket made a solid bottom in my stomach so I could enjoy the meal more. I'd butter the bread and eat it while I tried to decide what to eat. In that case, the bread she chose would be perfect.
Now, I use the bread for scraping up a delicious sauce, or for the cheese course. And in those cases, I wouldn't even mind a baguette from the freezer, though I would prefer one from a good baker. How could you scrape up your sauce with a cranberry walnut sourdough thingy? It's impossible.
I also don't really care if the bread is free or not. I was at a restaurant last night, and their price for bread was pretty outrageous, so we didn't get any. But those restaurants that do bread-worthy things usually just provide the bread for free or at a fair price.
posted by mumimor at 10:21 AM
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I don't know if I can trust someone who drinks so much diet coke. Bleh.
posted by Catblack at 10:52 AM
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