A reader e-mailed this morning to tell us about a South Minneapolis bistro (I won’t say which one. . . .because this is a common practice) where she and a friend enjoyed their entrées but were completely put off after being charged separately for the bread — a couple paltry, obviously store-bought slices of baguette served with two foil packs of butter.
“Our meal, with wine but no desserts, came to more than $60 for two,” she wrote. “I can understand a restaurant trying to save money by not automatically setting out a bread basket. But once you’ve ordered — at that price — shouldn’t bread be part of the deal?”
As one of those people who rarely eats bread, I’m sometimes surprised by the number of restaurants that still do set down a bulging basket at the outset of every meal. My husband might take a slice or two, but we’ll typically send back half a loaf to be discarded (I hope!) in the kitchen.
Personally, I agree with our reader: the best solution is for patrons who want bread to request it, so entire baskets don’t go to waste; but at a certain price point — say, $20 a head — it really should come gratis. Manna from. . . .well, you get the idea.
Dissenters?
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