Garlic Bread from Joe's Garage in Cranford St

Joe's Garage
478 Cranford St
Redwood
Christchurch

Tel 03 352 5637

https://www.joes.co.nz/restaurants/christchurch-cranford-st/menu/


 Firstly - apologies for the quality of the picture!!  My companion was to keen to get stuck into it and earting this sample before I could take a decent enough image.  I can tell you though that the presentation did not really suffer from this - it did come on napkin and wooden board and was just piled up like so. . . .

 The bread itself seemed to be warmed up first then cut and buttered.  The outside was just soft - no crispy crust at all.  This softness then went right throughout the bread.  While it had plenty of garlic flavour - the herbs were missing in action.
It being a franchise you could assume that the quality of the meals are standard across all restaurant.  In this case (having been to three others before) I can say for sure that there are different standards - at least for the garlic bread.  On the upside - lots of room for improvement . . . .

Presentation	0 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	3 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	7 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Bullock Restaurant & Bar in Timaru

Bullock Restaurant & Bar
109 Sophia St, Timaru

FREEPHONE 0800 285 662
http://www.bullockrestaurant.co.nz/

 It was advertized as :

Garlic Loaf

Our locally baked Homestyle loaf smothered in our delicious freshly made Garlic butter

Half: $8 . . . .  Full: $14

So being wise (for once) we asked how big the loaf would be and then decided a half one would do just nicely!!  Just as well as you casn see this was a rather large loaf indeed.
It came in good time and was hot throughout.
Initial recations were along the lines of 'not another DE-constructed loaf' however we soon found out that the additional garlic butter was there for a reason.  The loaf was cut down only so far (about halfway) so after we cut a slice off (4 in total) we were able to add the rest of the butter to the regions where the chef's butter failed to drain down to - making it a deliciously flavoured bread - especially as seeing it was still hot enough to actually melt the butter into the bread texture.   A half loaf is more then enough for two people - especially if you want to eat a proper meal afterwards!!!  Those lucky enough to get the cheese/bacon topping slice had an additional flavor to enjoy.

The wooden board and paper napkin detracted from the presentation.  Oh and I have to say - the "Bread-knife" was of superb quality!!  Best I have seen in a long time - and that is saying something!! *smiles*

To enjoy this - use above details and yes - one has to book or miss out on a table - or wait a long time!





 

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	15 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Donegal House in Kaikoura

Donegal House

Schoolhouse Road
Kaikoura
New Zealand

Tel: +64 3 319 5083

www.donegalhouse.co.nz/


I did wonder if they would! Donegal House is your typical Irish Pub - along with a Motel Unit and some campground! Everything in there is Irish! And it is a busy place!

We did order the Garlic Bread which arrived in good time.  The long baguette had 7 cuts and then made into 2 halves!  There was lots of garlic flavor and a good sprinkling of the obligatory herb!!! It was hot enough and semi crusty on the outside and soft buttery on the inside!  Cudos for adding lots of Garlic butter.
I sent a pic of this to my friend who said no points for presentation! I could live with the wicker basket (as it will not get cut) but the GREEN napkin was definitely some points of!

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Cafe Phoenix Hof in Vienna

Cafe Phoenix Hof
Neustiftgasse 55,
1070 Wien,
Austria

Tel 0043 (0) 699 1733 1072

http://www.phoenixhof.at/
Email   cafe@phoenixhof.at

It would proof to be our last sampling of Garlic bread while on tour around Europe and - it proved to be a bit fortuitous!  Upon arriving we were told that due to a cut in the gas line - they could only serve food that could be baked - or cold (salads).   Luckily the Garlic bread is oven baked so that was ok.  Although I am not so sure - as you can see the "tan" lines of a grill on the bread.  It came and was still warm to the touch - however we think the garlic was spread on after it has been warmed and not baked/cooked at all - it certainly was a 'fresh' taste (and re-tasting it at 4am). On the upside it was a crispy crusty outside and soft-ish on the fleshy inside part!!  Kudos yet again (must be a European thing) for the plate and no napkin (which always comes separate) presentation.
As the bread was small and was supposed to be for 2 people, we found a bit wanting, and could have had at least one more slice.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from Pizzeria Bella Italia

Pizzeria Bella Italia
Traunstein Strasse 11
4810 Gmunden
Austria

Tel 0761276763

www.https://www.bellaitalia-gmunden.at/#cat2

We found this delightful little piece of little Italy. Your typical Mum and Pop shop along with sons and who knows how many cousins . . .  It runs mostly as a food delivery service but also has enough seating to dine out.  Our place was right down in line of sight of the Kitchen so could see the hidden sight of what normally goes on - Thus could tell when our Garlic bread would arrive.  I actually saw him make it - a first!!! 
Typical with Pizza places is that you get a pizza base that doubles as bread.  It was pre-baked and then from a bucket - using a knife - liberally smeared on the garlic butter - or was that just straight crushed garlic?!?!?!  It certainly had LOTS of flavor.  Then for a quick 20seconds back into the oven before being served - hot!  I almost wished for another slice!  

Presentation	3 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	15 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from 'Zum Janni' in Treuchtlingen / Germany

Restaurant Stadthalle
Jahnstrasse 14
91757 Treuchtlingen
Germany

Tel (D) 0914201700 

Zum Janni

Email:  info@stadthalle-treuchtlingen.de

We decided to broaden our horizon and see if our European kinsfolk were as passionate about Garlic bread as this Kiwi is!


Seems it is more or less - probably less so then the same.  We found only a few places that actually served Garlic bread as appetizers.  In Treuchtlingen we found this delightful place, run by the Greek Family 'Avgoustis'.  There were certainly a good number of traditional  Greek meals on offer - along with more middle European offerings as well.

To the Bread itself then - as you can see from the image it was done on a grill rather then in an oven - or shock even a microwave herd!! It did arrive about 3 minutes after the main meal was served - we put that down to a busy staff . . . .

It was just warm and easy on the touch.  Kudos for the plate and no napkin!!! Certainly more of a decorative touch there.  4 slices of traditional baguette cut across and liberally sprinkled with Garlic and butter and some herbs.  The Zaziki was a nice touch - but overpowered the garlic flavor of the bread.  Hard to gauge on quantity as we ended up eating it alongside our main meal (pizza) 

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Reflections Cafe in Tekapo

Reflections Cafe in Tekapo

Reflections Café and Restaurant
SH 8 Lake Tekapo 7987

Tel +64 3 680 6234

Website: www.reflectionsrestaurant.co.nz


www.garlic-bread-from-reflections-cafe-in.html


This would be our 5th or 6th time we have eaten a meal there - seems we like the area and the cafe / restaurant too well!  Looking back at the other times we had been there - this effort has not changed for the last 3 years or so - but it is a change from 2012 - with the original bread longer and on a skinnier plate. 
Anyhow, the bread duly arrived in good time and - was hot to touch. Having learned from my last garlic bread (urm Cromwell I think) experience I grabbed the napkin (ok - so THAT's the reason they supply them????)  and tried to cut the bread - only to fail.  As you can see it was pre-cut and all you had to do was cut the 2 or 4 mm at the base.  Easier said then done steak knife not-withstanding - it was crusty beyond belief!!

 So I ended up taking the bread and turn it 90 degrees and then sliced downward (like a timber merchant) and that worked better.  Debating this with my companion we came to the conclusion it must have been sitting in a fry-pan or girdle and was 'fried' to create such a crust!

There was a good garlic flavor you could taste (and see) - sadly the touch of green herbs was missing.  Crusty on the outside (top AND bottom as previously mentioned), yet soft-fleshy on the inside.  We were not ravenous so probably one slice to many.

Presentation	3.5 out of 5
Quantity	3.5 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	14 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Lone Star Bar at Spitfire Place - Christchurch

The Lone Star
Spitfire place

544 Memorial Avenue
Christchurch

https://www.lonestar.co.nz/restaurants/spitfire/



It was advertised as:
Lone Star Artisan Loaf
A traditional seeded ciabatta loaf, handcrafted exclusively for Lone Star. Served warm with butter.

We had to ask if they do Garlic flavor or just plain butter - turns out that they will add the "garlic flavor" upon request only - so we duly ordered one.

As you can see from the image it is indeed a loaf.  It came WHOLE - eg NOT half pre-cut; whence the bread board and the bread-knife - which was sharp and nice to handle.  HOWEVER - as the bread was still very warm to hot - one could hold onto the loaf only for so long - usually about a half cut, before you had to release and try again to finish the cut.  (I should add that as a former pastry chef my hands have been 'conditioned' over a long period of time and can hold hot things longer then most people).  I guess I could have used a serviette to cushion the warmth.
 The bread itself was soft so despite the sharp knife we ended up squashing half of it during the cutting- and with the exception of one piece it snapped back 'into shape'.  Now for the butter - which - if you remember from the menu -  was meant to be 'warm'.  It obviously had been pre-made earlier in the day and then chilled.  Thus it ended up in nether-land - neither hard (as butter is once properly chilled) nor soft - and very hard to self-help with the buttering.  It just did not spread and remained a blob for a minute or two before the remaining heat of the bread melted some of it.
We had a mixed reaction with half of us saying it had good flavor and the other half saying " what flavor?"
Three of us managed to eat most of it - so for two people it would be more then enough - to much actually unless you are ravenous to start with.

Presentation	1 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	1 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	6 (out of poss 20)

Garlic bread from 5 Stags Bar in Cromwell

Harvest Hotel
Five Stags Bar & Restaurant
6 Barry Ave,
Cromwell

Email: info@thegate.nz
NZ Freephone: 0800 104 451
Phone: + 64 3 445 1777
https://thegate.nz/five-stags/









First of all - apologies for the  quality of the picture - it is from an older phone of mine which I had to gang-press back into action after the screen of my current phone died and is awaiting repairs!!

The Five Stags Bar and Restaurant are part of a wider Hotel Complex with 2 other food places competing for your $$! That said - we have been to the 5 Stags in Hanmer and figured we would get roughly the same quality and type of meals.  This serving was advertised as :
Garlic and Herb Breads
Our house made garlic breads served with aioli 

Interestingly enough it is indeed  'housemade' as opposed to bought bread - thus clearly it is a Vienna type loaf cut into slices.  The Aioli was plain and very much unlike the one from Hanmer which had a tiny bit of Jalapeno crushed through it (and giving a hint of spice).
It arrived in good time and was still warm to hot to touch. A plus was that it was buttered on both sides.
We had ordered 2 helpings to be divided between 5 people and even then we struggled between all of us to eat all of it. For a couple of folks it would have been 2.5 slices and probably to much as an entree.  The sprinkling of green herbs made it nice and the Garlic flavor was just there - could have been a tiny bit more for my likening!
The presentation suffered from the usual bread board (where you could see the grooves from previous cuts) and the obligatory paper napkin underneath!

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	11 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from the Village Inn

The Village Inn Complex

41 Talbot St
Geraldine


Tel: 03 693 1004
Email: info@villageinn.co.nz
Website: www.villageinn.co.nz

The sign outside had Montheith"s so we figured we would be in good hands. 
The bread came in good time and was hot to touch - fresh from the oven.  Sadly it was buttered just on the upside. The greenery is a nice touch and had good flavor. For my liking it could have had a bit more 'garlic' flavor!  3 pieces each was just right - especially as they were small sized. 
The down side was the wicker basket along with the paper napkin.

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	2 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	9 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Mackenzies Cafe Bar Grill in Tekapo

Mackenzies Cafe Bar Grill

State Highway 8,
Lake Tekapo 7999

Phone: 03-680 6886

No known website or email address

We stopped at one of our favorite places in New Zealand - Lake Tekapo.  It was her's truly to cook so she took the easy option and we treated ourselves to a meal out!

We had been to this a few times (2013/15) and always found it a good place.  Our ordered Garlic bread came in good time even though the place was busy - always a good sign!

It arrived on, what we guessed must be an engineered stone - and no napkin underneath - a big plus.  The three pieces looked small - however by the time we halved one piece (1.5 for the two of us) it was just the right amount. Not filling up and leaving you wanting a morsel more.
There was lots of flavor and a big surprise was, that you could see some actual freshly cut Garlic cloves under the cheese!!
The baguette was crispy on the outside and nice warm and fleshy on the inside.

We have a friend who is a garlic bread aficionado and I am confident that she would have rated this 21 out of 20! 

Myself I am not overly fond of cheese on my garlic bread which would perhaps be the only distraction.  So we give this an almost perfect score - 19.5

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	4.5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	19.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from The Railway Hotel in Richmond

The Railway Hotel
(Formerly known as Bar321)
321 Lower Queen Street
Richmond / Nelson

Email:  bookings@therailway.co.nz
Tel:  03 5447289

https://www.facebook.com/The-Railway-280113872584603/


Formally the Railway Hotel in Richmond - with the train rails going directly past the hotel.  Neither are visible today and everything has changed.  Not sure even if this is the "original" site to it.


The Bar itself had a change too - it used to be known as Bar321.  I have never included a street shot of the location - in this case I am making an exception. We did say that if the menu did not appeal we could always go and have the American diet next door!!



The place looked comfortable enough and we decided to stay.  Turns out the new Chef is from the former Huruni Bar/Hotel in Canterbury - a place we have stopped a few times and always had good meals.  All good then.

The garlic bread itself arrived in good time.  A bit soft on the outside and needed to be cut at the bottom.  Big wraps for serving it on a plate and without the napkin underneath.  It ended up a bit salty - you can just spot the salt on the plate.  The inside was soft / liberally flavored and had one or two herbs with it.  There was more then enough for the two of us - and we had to pace ourselves in order not to get to full before the main-meal arrived.

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	16 (out of poss 20)