The Free Bread, and Why It Matters
Fresh-baked rolls with honey cinnamon butter arrive at the table before you have ordered anything. They are refilled on request and they are not charged for.
They are also on no price list and in no calorie column, which is precisely why they escape most people's accounting entirely.
Why it changes the value calculation
For a table watching the bill, unlimited free bread is worth more than most available promotions. A percentage discount on a $60 table saves a few dollars; free bread for four people fills a genuine share of the meal.
It is one of the reasons the entrée prices work the way they do. A $13.49 sirloin that includes two sides and unlimited bread is a different proposition from a $13.49 steak served alone.
It is also why ordering a starter is less necessary here than at most restaurants — something arrives to eat immediately either way.
Why it changes the calorie calculation
Bread and sweetened butter are not a rounding error. Against a 250-calorie 6oz sirloin, a couple of buttered rolls is a substantial proportion of the plate.
Because nobody ordered them, they rarely make it into anyone's mental total. Someone carefully choosing green beans over a loaded potato to save 640 calories may have already eaten more than that in bread before the entrée arrived.
For anyone eating low-carb, this is the single most common way a meal here goes wrong — and the fix is simply asking the server not to bring them.
- Free, unlimited, and refilled
- Arrives before you order — no decision involved
- On no price list and no calorie column
- Worth more to a table than most discounts
- Ask the server not to bring them if you are avoiding carbs
The copycat version
The rolls are enriched with milk, honey, butter and egg, which is what produces the soft crumb, and cut into squares from a rolled slab rather than shaped into balls.
Our own dinner roll and cinnamon butter recipes are written to approximate the result — both are original formulations rather than the restaurant's recipes, which nobody outside the company has.
Frequently asked
Is the bread really free?
Yes, and refills are included. It arrives automatically before you order.
Can I ask them not to bring it?
Yes, and it is a reasonable request if you are avoiding carbs or managing a gluten issue.
What is in the butter?
A whipped honey cinnamon butter. Our copycat recipe uses butter, honey, icing sugar and cinnamon.
Keep reading
Low-Carb and Keto Ordering
Grilled meat and vegetables is most of the menu, which makes this one of the easier restaurants for low-carb ordering — with two specific traps.
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A First-Timer's Guide
What to expect, what arrives unasked, and the four mistakes that are easy to avoid once you know about them.
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How to Read the Calorie Numbers Properly
The numbers are accurate and routinely misread, because different sections count different things.
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