Garlic Bread from the Plough Hotel in Rangiroa

Plough Hotel
398 High St,
Rangiora 7400

Phone:03-313 7207

Website: www.theploughhotel.com (broken link??)

Email: theplough@xtra.co.nz

Facebook: www.facebook.com/PloughHotel/


We live in Christchurch so to eat out in Rangiora is a bit of a stretch. However on this occasion we had good reason to visit and enjoyed a good meal.
 

 Naturally we ordered the Garlic bread as starter. 

Firstly a 'starter' is just meant to be that - a starter.  As you can see there are nine slices of bread. By the time we munched through this lot we were almost full already.  A friend of mine once made a rather dry observation that the more filling the starters are the less quality/quantity of mains you can expect . . .     We hoped this did not come to fruition.

Secondly - I know it is more of a country pub then Hotel - so the rustic timber bread platter is understandable. Yet it is out of sync with the rest of the meal all coming on semi fancy plates.  Surely if you can afford to buy special plates - you can spring for oblong garlic bread platter's.  I worked in the industry - these timber plates are so hard to keep clean . . . . . .

Anyhow - to the garlic bread itself!
I suspect the garlic came (noticeable uniformly) pre-chopped from a bottle and is added into the creamed butter. On the upside - both sides were buttered and a liberal sprinkling of fresh herbs did help.  The crust was - well crusty and the bread itself semi soft if on the cool side.  It certainly did not come straight from the oven, and as you can see the arrangement did suffer in transport . . .

Overall - we rate this as pretty average . .

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	1 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	10 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the West Coast Bar and Grill

West Coast Bar and Grill
43 Main North Road,
Papanui 8053
Christchurch

Phone:03-354 1583

www.westcoastbarandgrill.com/


We had reason to come back again to the same place!!  And as per previous second visit - you would expect to be served the same this time round- yes?!?   We did get the same bread - yet again just with one major difference - the arrangement!!

Further - there were only three paying customers to be served for Dinner and the Garlic bread took its time coming to the table.
When it did arrive it was semi-lukewarm with blobs of butter still visible. Given the tiny patronage present at the restaurant, there is really no excuse for sending out a half baked lukewarm garlic bread.





Other then that - it was all exactly the same, so we rate this effort even less then the two previous efforts

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	1 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	1 out of 5
Overall score:	8 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the West Coast Bar and Grill

West Coast Bar and Grill
43 Main North Road,
Papanui 8053
Christchurch

Phone:03-354 1583

www.westcoastbarandgrill.com/


So this was last weeks post entry -   see below -   and we had reason to come back the following weekend to the same place!!  You would expect to be served the same - yes?!?   We did get the same bread - just with one major difference - the arrangement!!
Now the only difference from last week was that the place was busier - which goes begging the question - does the chef have time for artistic flair - ONLY if the place is quiet??? Certainly felt like that.  Shame really

Other then that - it was all exactly the same, so we rate it the same - perhaps a half point off for lack of consistency?


Have fun


-----------------------------------------------------
From last week:  

 When visiting the Westcoast Bar and Grill you know the meals are not only tasty but also in a typical pub fashion, rather plentiful.  The Garlic bread was (as is the rest of the menu) rather colourful described and sold as:


Granity Garlic Bread    $9
This big loaf is perfect to share before your meal!

Having previously been to places that sold "loaves" we expected a rather large bread.  A big loaf it should proof to be. This image does not truly convey the size of it. The plate would have been slightly larger then your average dinner plate. 
The slices in itself were large and cut about just short of an inch thick.
There were three of us present and we struggled to eat it all.  It would have been easily enough for 5-6 people.  Bear in mind that the mains are just as large and you might wonder if you can eat it all.

The bread arrived in good time - sadly a bit just below lukewarm.  It must have sat on a counter for a couple of minutes, waiting to be delivered to our table.  The slice of bread itself was buttered on both sides and contained plenty of fresh garlic and herbs!  It was pleasing to see a porcelain plate, with the drawback being the paper napkin underneath - getting a bit soaked from the bread and the oily butter.  The presentation is simple enough and with the "loaf" being precut - all you had to do is grab a slice and eat - no getting fingers greasy with trying to break off or  cutting away a slice.

Despite the almost perfect presentation and good taste we rate this as average with room for improvement.

Presentation	3.5 out of 5
Quantity	1 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	10.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the West Coast Bar & Grill - in Christchurch

West Coast Bar & Grill
43 Main North Road,
Papanui 8053
Christchurch

Phone:03-354 1583

www.westcoastbarandgrill.com/




        When visiting the Westcoast Bar and Grill you know the meals are not only tasty but also in a typical pub fashion, rather plentiful.  The Garlic bread was (as is the rest of the menu) rather colourful described and sold as:


Granity Garlic Bread    $9
This big loaf is perfect to share before your meal!

Having previously been to places that sold "loaves" we expected a rather large bread.  A big loaf it should proof to be. This image does not truly convey the size of it. The plate would have been slightly larger then your average dinner plate.  The slices in itself were large and cut about just short of an inch thick.
There were three of us present and we struggled to eat it all.  It would have been easily enough for 5-6 people.  Bear in mind that the mains are just as large and you might wonder if you can eat it all.

The bread arrived in good time - sadly a bit just below lukewarm.  It must have sat on a counter for a couple of minutes, waiting to be delivered to our table.  The slice of bread itself was buttered on both sides and contained plenty of fresh garlic and herbs!  It was pleasing to see a porcelain plate, with the drawback being the paper napkin underneath - getting a bit soaked from the bread and the oily butter.  The presentation is simple enough and with the "loaf" being precut - all you had to do is grab a slice and eat - no getting fingers greasy with trying to break off or  cutting away a slice.

Despite the almost perfect presentation and good taste we rate this as average with room for improvement.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	1 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	11 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from McKenzies Bar and Grill -

Mackenzies Cafe Bar & Grill
State Highway 8
Lake Tekapo
Canterbury 7945
03-680 6886

mackenziescafe@ihug.co.nz

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mackenzies-Cafe-Bar-Grill/204789782870477

One of the fun things is going back to places you have been before and check out the garlic bread - then compare notes and see if there has been an improvement - or not - or worse.  We did visit this place before:  garlic-bread-from-mackenzies-bar-and.html

Comparing the pictures - not much has changed.  It is still the same 3 slice bread and they went from round plates to square plates (which oddly enough gave more of a 'more plate then food' impression).  Looks like it had more cheese this time round - and the garlic flavour was definitely missing - or overshadowed by the taste of the cheese perhaps?? It did have the sprinkling of herbs again and the same artistic arrangement.  I am pretty sure this is the first time that a garlic bread has been delivered to the table on a porcelain platter and with out a napkin underneath - a big plus. By the time it arrived it was semi lukewarm although cooked just-about right - slightly crunchy on the outside - yet soft on the middle.
Sadly - we did the same thing from last time - the you know ---- "With three slices and two people present we soon found ourselves outdoing ourselves by being polite -  quote "you eat it - honestly - I had enough"."

So top marks for presentation and quality . . . . .
pity - one more slice and less cheese and this could have rated very highly indeed

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	2 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	13 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Raspberry Cafe

The Raspberry Cafe
40 Rhodes Rd
Selwyn 7672
Tai Tapu
Christchurch


Tel: 3296 979
Fax: 3296 687
email: theraspberrycafe@xtra.co.nz
Web: www.raspberrycafe.co.nz/

Garlic Bread
$8.00
Individual 200gm sourdough baguette, warmed and smothered with garlic and parsley butter.

As above - this straight of their menu.
I have to say the size was just right and the bread was still steaming (it was a cold day so the steam could be seen rising)  by the time it arrived at our table.  It certainly was more then just warm.  The bread itself was crusty on the outside and 'al dente' on the inside.
The butter was spread right to the bottom of the cuts - a bonus.  Even better was that the garlic butter appeared to be home made - with sizeable junks of garlic clearly visible. The herbs rounded this bread nicely of.  In terms of size this photo is not showing the true size. Its height was barely past 2.5 cm and in length - well - you see the knife next to it?!

This garlic bread would have been near perfection (in fact I would rate the bread itself perfect) if but for the presentation.  Again - for a place where the rest of the meals come on big plates and where the arrangement of food is almost a priority over quality, a wooden platter is a bit of a let down. At least the napkin was around the knife and not under the baguette itself.
I scratched the white bits with my fingernail thinking it might be just liberally sprinkled flour dust ( a design thing) - but it was deeply ingrained into the timber itself and was very hard to shift.  It would be pure speculation if this was white mould or something else.  Pity. 

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	17 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Theater Royal in Kumara

Theater Royal Kumara

81 Seddon St
Hokitika,

New Zealand

Ph: 03-736 9277

Website:   www.theatreroyalhotel.co.nz/

Kumara on the Westcoast - a sleepy place with a glorious past.  Now probably best known as the starting point (Kumara Beach)  of the annual Coast to Coast race.  We stopped for dinner and sadly no entrée ala garlic bread - but then spotted it as being available as a side dish - duly ordered and it came indeed as a side dish to the mains.  Nice ciabatta style bread, plenty of flavour and colour (herbs). crispy on the outside and fresh soft moist on the inside. The "arrangement" must have suffered in transit from kitchen to table. Pity the paper napkin placed under the garlic bread.  This would have been superb as a entrée - as a side dish it was just to much for one person and it was duly shared with the others in our party.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	4.5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	17.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread at Passello Bar Sydney

Passello Bar
2-10 Darling Drive,
Level 1, Harbourside Shopping Centre,
Sydney T-Bar,
Sydney
NSW 2000,
Australia


Phone:    +61 2 9281 3699
Website:   www.passello.com.au/
Email:   info@passello.com.au

A the place where there is Pizza / pasta / wine and a million Dollar view!! (from their website!)  What could go wrong???

Compare the picture from their website to the one I took when we visited this place:


 From the Website















What we got














So this is a first in Australia - a wicker basket with paper napkins.  Hmmm
For a place that is in such a prime location and prides it self in their food - this was a let down for a start.
Then the bread came - shall we say well done in parts?!  The portions were large-ish and the cut bread deep in parts - by the time we munched through this we were almost finished with our appetite. Its one redeeming feature was the fresh cut garlic you could see on top of the garlic bread.  None of this pre-sprayed / oiled stuff you sometimes get.  sighs

Presentation	1 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	8  (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from West Tamworth League Club

West Tamworth League Club Ltd
Phillip Street (PO Box 3040)
West Tamworth NSW 2340

Ph: 02 6765 7588
Fax: 02 6765 1508
Website:   http://www.wtlc.com.au/
Email: info@tamworthwests.com.au




















It was sold as pizzabread - so expected a flat round thing (and as they are often are dripping with oil).
So to our surprise we got real bread with a nice arrangement. Small baguette cut in half and topped off in three styles.  The long bread on a long platter criss-crossing looked attractive enough.  The napkins underneath did detract from the ensemble.  There were 4 of us present so it was just the right amount but if this is served for two - it would have been too much.
The bit I ate had plain garlic - no cheese / bacon and as such had nice flavour - even with the herbs missing.  This is a difficult one to rate as our Australian hosts had different ideas on what makes a good garlic bread - but eventually we settled on a agreeable 17 out of 20
 

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	17 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread at the Emerald Beach Pizza and Pasta Restaurant

Emerald Beach Pizza and Pasta Restaurant

Shop 3, 101 Fiddaman Rd,
Emerald Beach
NSW, 2456


Phone:  6656 1666

Website:  www.emeraldbeachpizzapasta.com.au/



The garlic bread did arrive in good time and was still warm.  A small half loaf/baguette I guess but rest assured it was a far cry from this image taken from their website.
The taste was there - the herbs not and the presentation was just basic - on a plate of sorts.  It was very crusty indicating a slight overcooked bread
There was more then enough for two of us.

We rate this as middle of the road!

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	11 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Newmarket Hotel / Australia - Brisbane

Newmarket Hotel

Cnr Enoggera Road & Newmarket Rd

Newmarket QLD 4051

Australia

 

Telephone   +61 7 3853 2000

 Website:   www.thenewmarkethotel.com.au

Email:   newmarket.hotel@alhgroup.com.au 

 

 

 

We had a holiday in Australia and decided to sample and compare the garlic breads from our "Western Island" with the New Zealand versions. 

It is not often that I am impressed with garlic bread - but this one is right up there.

It arrived in a good timely manner, was still warm, crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, and also nicely arranged. Notice the platter and no napkin - a big plus.  The waitress even managed to keep the arrangement in place while carrying it from kitchen to our table.  The bread had fresh garlic and plenty of flavour along with the smattering of herbs. We rate it overall very highly, and you could say almost perfect, almost

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	18 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Venuti Restaurant

Venuti
791 Colombo St.
Christchurch
NZ

Tel:  377 2454

www:  venuti.co.nz

email: venuti@xtra.co.nz


This place has a mixed review.  It is currently located in the middle of the town - among the rubble and rebuild.  Still - it is meant to be a family business and the owner / operator from Italy so we were looking forward to some "authentic" cuisine.  The wine list is certainly impressive if expansive.  I knew from the menu description that this would be a "pizza-bread" so not overly surprised by the shape.  For all that - it did proof to be a bit of a nice surprise.  The bread itself ( a long time coming with guests who arrived and seated  after us being served first?!)  was still nice and warm and the middle really soft and a hint of crust outside.  It truly was baked to perfection. A nice decent sprinkle of fresh herbs and a discernible flavor of garlic - without that oily feeling you so often get when having flat pizza-bread based garlic bread. The wicker-basket was an improvement from the usual wooden platter and I can honestly say the paper napkin showed no hints of oil being absorbed. However - yet again - with the rest of the menu being served on over-sized plates and with a decent hint of style and substance, so it was disappointing to see this bread - oops pizza-bread served within the basket.  There is room for improvement in terms of  presentation.
Being pizza bread and moderately thick and fresh - it was more than enough for two people. 

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	4.5 out of 5
Overall score:	12.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Blue Pub in Methven

The Blue Pub

1 Barkers Rd,

PO Box 4, 
Methven 7745

Phone:   03-302 8046

Website:   www.thebluepub.co.nz/
Email:       info@thebluepub.co.nz

 

This would be an interesting one - the Blue Pub has a repudiation for good meals.  Certainly the meals that arrived were more plate then food - yet very tasty.  The Garlic bread ordered however was a disappointment.
For a start, it arrived on a wooden platter - not a good start! I am also not a great fan of pizza type breads - they tend to be all crust and oil, and so it should proof.  As for taste there was little garlic evident.  Its only redeeming feature was the smattering of fresh herbs sprinkled over the bread.

Presentation	1 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	1 out of 5
Quality	1 out of 5
Overall score:	5 (out of poss 20)