Chain Leader

Lane Cardwell

Bread on the Waters
May 9, 2008

"How can a nation be great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?" said Julia Child.

I am sure that she had eaten at many of the restaurants that I have when she made that statement. Not many restaurants serve bread as part of the meal. Some serve it in a perfunctory manner that lets them do the expected, without incurring much effort or cost on their part. Others want it to be good, but keep an eye on the cost and labor line. A rare few have decided that bread will become a point of difference, and their bread becomes a memorable part of their experience. Another quote by an unnamed person that seems to apply, "Good restaurants may have bad bread, but bad restaurants will not have good bread."

Even very good restaurants can have some pretty average bread. Others choose not to serve bread at all. Houston's does not serve bread. They began carrying bread, that they would offer for a charge if asked, when they opened in Los Angeles. There was an uproar among their L.A. customers that they would actually charge for bread. In true Houston's style, they responded with a notice in gold letters on their front door, "Famous for Charging for Bread". It became popular immediately. To their credit it is a tasty bread and is available in all of their locations for $3 (but is not on the menu).

Some chains have made their bread an integral part of their image. Red Lobster serves cheese-garlic biscuits. Olive Garden has been famous for their breadsticks since they opened. Carrabba's has a great Italian loaf. Maggiano's used to offer a basket of breads when they were associated with Corner Bakery, but their offering is more pedestrian these days.

Deciding what is good bread, and what is great bread, is a very personal choice. Deciding what is bad bread is usually an easy decision by those at the table. The amount of money that the restaurant spent on the bread is usually the first determinant in quality. The second determinant is the amount of labor that is spent on the bread. Cheaper bread can still be good bread if labor is thrown at it with in-store baking.

I was in New York last week and had the occasion to eat dinner in two different restaurants one evening. The first was an outstanding bistro called Landmarc, with two locations in the city, that blends French and Italian foods. The bread served was a high quality loaf. Not unique, but good.

The second dinner was at BLT Steakhouse. They have eight restaurants nationwide. I have always paid attention to the bread served at high end steakhouses. Their high check averages give them more room on costs to serve a great bread if they choose to. My favorite bread in a steakhouse, before this evening, was the hot loaf served by Del Frisco's. It is excellent hot, average when cold. BLT has become my new favorite bread served in a restaurant.

To be fair, it is not a typical bread, they are popovers, served one per person. They are unique in both appearance and taste. They are so unique that they are featured on the home page of their website, instead of a steak. The restaurant does something very clever. To be sure that you appreciate the cost and labor intensiveness of their bread offering they include a recipe card, when they are served, for making the popovers. They want you to know that there are 2 1/4 cups of grated gruyere cheese in every batch of 12.

I loved the idea of not leaving to chance that you will appreciate the specialness of their bread offering. The recipe card, which few will undertake after seeing how complex the dish is, is a great way of reinforcing a high cost, high labor item. They cast their bread on the waters and their customers return.

Posted by Lane Cardwell on May 9, 2008 | Comments (2)