Garlic Bread from the Roasted Bean Cafe in Hanmer

The Roasted Bean Cafe

47 Amuri Ave,
Hanmer Springs 7333

Ph.  03 315 7430

Web: www.roastedbean.co.nz/

It is listed on the menu as "Fresh baked loaf of bread served with garlic butter"  and sits opposite of the "Grand Flat Bread - which is Garlic and pesto base with sundried tomatoes, cashew nuts, feta cheese, olives and a sweet chilli swirl. 

We gave the pizza based bread a miss and ordered the 'loaf'.  The news from the waitress was that it would arrive first and our pizza's (our mains) sometime after that.  So imagine our surprise when they arrived all at the same time.  The Garlic 'Loaf' itself was a ciabatta type bread - nicely cut into triangle and had lots of garlic butter flavor along with a tiny amount of green herbs.  You could easily see the garlic in the bread.  It was crusty on the outside and soft fleshy on the inside - and again - with plenty of flavor.  It arrived as you can see on a plate and had no serviette underneath - a big plus there.   Do not let the image fool you - the size of the slices was rather large and even though we  (2 of us) were hungry, we struggled to get through that lot - in fact we had a doggie bag.  It might have been different if our mains had arrived much later - but not wanting to let the pizza get cold we ended up using the aforementioned doggie bag. But for that it would have rated very highly.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	17 (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 Speight's Ale House

The Speight's Ale House
Speight's Brewery
200 Rattray Street
Dunedin

Phone: +64-3-471-9050
Fax: +64-3-471-9030

 Email: thealehouse@xtra.co.nz

 www.SpeightsAlehouse

They call it -->  Ale House Loaf    
Locally baked Speight’s bread.
Hot and delicious – garlic or plain. 
Half $7.0, Whole $12.0

Well I did wonder and was not overly surprised.
It reminds me of the loaf you get at Harringtons. Similar idea there too:

ww.garlic-bread-from-harringtons.html

Indeed at least they had a genuine loaf - where as this had more of a tin loaf feel to it.
It came pre-cut - into 6 slices and the cuts almost run along the change of colour.  It ended up being about an inch thick.  The butter had been added from the top and little of it made it to the bottom of the bread, let alone right across the thickness of the bread itself. I have also got the sneaky suspicion that the basic loaf is used for other menu items - this proved to be correct.
Turns out that this is not the only use of bread, as the soup that came later had a slice from the same type of loaf (in the kitchen) and a dollop of salty butter on the top.  Greenery was missing in action.
Yet again the Garlic (Loaf)  was just warm enough to melt the butter but not warm enough to give of that appealing aroma.
Its redeeming feature was the presentation and the dramatic effect of a knife sticking in the bread. 
One slice and you pretty much had enough eaten for the night - which goes begging the question - do they want you to fill up before the dinner arrives - because it is so bad or . . . .  not enough on the plate - or they assume you are a strapping hulking male who needs double the carb's everyone else would normally need???? Suffice to say the 5 of us present managed to leave one slice behind in the end.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	1 out of 5
Taste:	2 out of 5
Quality	2 out of 5
Overall score:	9 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread from Etrusco's at the Savoy

Etrusco's at the Savoy

8 Moray Place
(The Savoy Building)
Dunedin Central
Dunedin City  

Ph:  03-477 3737

http://www.etrusco.co.nz/starters

This place came highly recommended to us and while we did not have a booking - we did get in - the last un-booked people on the night.Many arriving after us got turned away - a testament to its popularity.
The food and atmosphere was fabulous
right down to authenticity - which is great given the Native Italian ownership.

Sadly the same could not be said for the garlic bread. It arrived in  good time but was luke warm only and while the texture of the garlic bread was cripsy on the outside and soft-ish on the inside - it lacked a aroma/flavour.  The garnish on top was wasted and appeared to be a after thought. The presentation did leave a lot to be desired for as well - its only redeeming feature the crockery plate underneath, which is always a bonus compared to the wooden platters we have seen.  It just lacked inspiration - especially when compared to its surroundings. The price of $5.50 would be a fair reflection - cheap enough to be of value  but definitely worth of improving - in all aspects.-

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

Garlic Bread from Monteiths Brewery in Kaikoura

49-51 West End

Kaikoura

Tel.  319 3333

Email: thewhalerkaikoura@xtra.co.nz

www.thewhaler.co.nz

I was mistaken.  I assumed that the Montheiths franchise would have the same menu from place to place.  Seems not so.  We were in Kaikoura recently and stopped for dinner and ordered Garlic bread - having enjoyed the version served in Montheith's Hanmer .  Well it turned out to be a bit of a disappointment  - in fact it was nothing like in Hanmer.  The bread while it arrived in a timely manner consisted of a a pizza bread dough - wafer thin. It had so much herbs on it - that it should be described and sold as Herb bread.  Three out of four diners could not discern any Garlic flavour. Now that was certainly a let down. There was plenty of butter on the bread and it had melted and seeing that the bread had no soft "bread-tissue' eg it was crusty all the way through, the butter had run straight of the bread and onto the plate, and  as well ended up on our fingers.   Our companion mentioned that you would feel cheated out of a pizza - no toppings etc. 
At NZ $9 I would have expected a lot more. The only redeeming feature would be the creative arrangement on the plate. 

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	2 out of 5
Taste:	0 out of 5
Quality	0 out of 5
Overall score:	4  (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread by Monteith's Brewery in Hanmer

Monteith's Brewery Bar
Amuri Avenue,
Hanmer Springs  NZ

Tel 03 315 5133

www.Monteith's Brewery in Hanmer

We decided to take a dip and then were really lazy and supported the local economy and chose to eat at the above eatery.  We remember the place when it used to be a Robbies in Hanmer. The decor / layout had not changed much - but the service and the quality of the food had indeed improved.  The ordered garlic bread arrived in double quick time and was simply delicious.
The Garlic butter had melted into the Ciabatta bread and had a real decent garlic flavour, complimented by the green fresh herbs that were with in the garlic butter. It arrived on a simple wooden platter which given the rest of the meal, which was more plate the substance, was quit a point of difference.  It was still warm - without being steaming hot and the bread itself was an typical Ciabatta bread. The use of Ciabatta bread was unusual - and it took a bite or two to get used to this - but once one slice was eaten the rest very quickly followed. You would think that 6 slices of freshly made garlic bread are enough for two people - but this would have to be the first time where my partner had to say "hands of the last slice - it is mine!"   All in all - a very good start to what turned out to be a great meal out.

Took a while - but I was sure that we had been to a Monteith's Pub before - and as it turns out we did -----> garlic-bread-from-monteiths-brewery-bar
not that long ago!! Interestingly enough - the garlic bread in Hanmer was way better . . . . .

:)

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

Garlic Bread from Monteith's Brewery Bar

Shop 4/ 5 Avonhead Mall
210 Withells Rd
Christchurch

Ph.  358-8184

Monteith's Brewery on Merrin st

It was time to go out again and we ended up in the wrong place - but not to be thwarted - we decided to give the place we found a whirl instead - especially when we realised that they do serve Garlic bread.

It was duly ordered and arrived in a timely manner - even though the place was fairly packed. The Friday night crowd sure knows how to enjoy a drink or a meal.
Anyhow - the place is more along the pub styles - so not much on glamor and more on substance. The bread itself was baked through and trough - very crusty.  No soft fleshy bread left - sadly.  The garlic itself was flavorsome and had just the right amount of herbs - to complement the garlic - and give it some color.  The presentation fitted in with the Pub theme - simple and effective. As we shared the bread there was only 2 slices for each - and I found I wanted at least one more. 


I would go back to Monteith's - indeed to any of their many pubs with-in New Zealand - mainly because they do a good choice of hearty wholesome meals, but may think twice about having another garlic bread.  At $5 it was reasonably priced for what you got.

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	4.5 out of 5
Quality	3 out of 5
Overall score:	12.5 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread - at Rimu Park - a local Scout camp site!

Rimu Park
West Coast Rd / Buchannons Rd intersection
Outside of Christchurch City
New Zealand

No known website

Mhmmm - The local scouts had a camping competition, where they had to plan strike and feed them selves on a camp. Points were awarded for camping gadgets and cooking skills and a whole heap of other things. Anyhow - I was deemed to be a worthy food judge and went round the four campsites and got to taste the delicatessen the scouts could cook. The evening meal had to hav chicken and the following lunch had to be mince based. A great variety of meals for sure.
One patrol blew me away though - they decided for the entree to have garlic bread.
While visiting them in the afternoon I did see one young lass chopping up some fresh garlic. Hmmmmmm the aroma - just love it. There was a decent dollop of soft butter waiting in a bowl already. I was eager to taste it later, all the while wondering how they would cook it.

The Garlic bread itself was some small baguette cut into little round shapes no more then 1.5 cm thick and about an inch in diameter. They buttered both sides and then toasted this both sides on a camp toaster over gas. Very inventive. They proceeded to toast all like that and then piled them on a plate , sprinkled with some parsley - and keeping it all hot over a pot of boiling water. By the time we got round to the judging it was still soft, warm and aromatic. Just divine.

Presentation	5 out of 5
Quantity	5 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	19 (out of poss 20)

Presentation: 5 out of 5
Quantity: 5 out of 5
Taste: 4 out of 5
Quality: 5 out of 5

Overall score: 19 (out of a poss 20)

Garlic Bread - from Countdown supermarket

Countdown Supermarket
Anywhere in NZ

http://www.countdown.co.nz/

I decided I like the garlic bread so much I would treat myself at home and went and added a garlic bread from the local supermarket in our weekly shopping. I should have known better.

The bread barely had any garlic in it. The Garlic bread itself was a French baguette cut in half and then cut lengthwise vertically and as mentioned before had very little garlic in it.
For a quick and easy meal it'll do - but I would always add some garlic butter before it goes in the oven.


                                               

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)

Garlic Bread - from Ciccio Italian Café

Ciccio Italian Café
1262 Fenton Street
Rotorua

http://www.ciccio.co.nz/

Seating could be inside or there are a few tables on the outside pavement for your leisurely and warm and pleasant after noon sun .
Service was prompt and friendly. The ordered Garlic Bread arrives soon after.
It was a French baguette cut horizontally and then shortened into smaller pieces with a diagonal cut. The 5 or 6 pieces where nicely buttered and flavored / had a bit of parsley with it and was crustily baked.
Being a Italian restaurant that seems also to pride itself on style, the bread came nicely layered (or should that be arranged) on the plate - more like a pyramid shape?

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

Garlic Bread - from Breakers Cafe and Bar

Breakers Cafe and Bar
209 Fenton Street
Roturua

http://www.breakerscafebar.co.nz/




The bread duly arrived - having ordered on the bar and paid there.
It was a French stick look alike that was vertically cut along the entire length and then flimsily filled with a teeny bit of garlic butter. The French stick was then cut into 4 smaller segments. To melt the butter it was grilled (not long enough) as there were still traces of butter left in the bread. Obviously it was a quick and easy job - rather puzzling as the eating area was near empty. At point of writing this would have to be the least exciting garlic bread so far.

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 Dino's Cafe

Dino's Cafe
1 Blacksmith Lane
Whitianga
New Zealand

No known Web address






Dino's Cafe is a lovely Italian pizzeria (dine in or take-away) - with the main bulk of the tables inside in the restaurant and some (3) tables outside on the foot path with a sun umbrella. What better way then to sit in the late evening sun - drink a glass of the local bubbly and wait for dinner in the shape of Pizza?! Just perfect. We also knew that this is a good place to eat out as we saw plenty of the locals picking up their take-away.

Service was friendly and prompt.

The garlic bread that arrived, was totally different from the expected or shall we say the usual.
Most places use some form of French baguette look alike and work with that, however I am sure in this case it was the same base as the ordered local pizza, as it was round and flat and about 2-4 mm thin. On the upside - this will have saved a lot of overheads, easy and economically to make.

The Garlic Bread itself was generously topped with Garlic butter and a very faint sprinkling of parsley and salt. The garlic bread was sufficiently crusty (baked I suspect) so that one could easily pick it up with fingers and eat - same as a pizza. This however left your digits a tad greasy - which can promptly be remedied with the supplied napkin. As it had very little "bread" in it it left you wanting more - or hoping that your dinner was not to far away - a plus in my opinion. The last thing you want is feeling full before your main meal has arrived.

Presentation	2 out of 5
Quantity	4 out of 5
Taste:	4 out of 5
Quality	4 out of 5
Overall score:	14 (out of poss 20)

Garlic Bread - from Chinwags

8 Seaway Rd,
Clarks Beach,
Auckland 2122,
New Zealand

http://www.chinwags.co.nz/eveningmenu



It was a hot sunny post lunch afternoon and we sat outside in semi shade and enjoyed the atmosphere - very relaxed.
We knew we were in the right place as soon as we saw the cook enjoying his break from the kitchen.
<------------------ Oh la la - voui!! The Garlic bread was a small French baguette cut horizontally in half and then quartered. This was topped with garlic butter (not enough garlic however - there was only just a hint of taste) and rosemary - then lightly grilled. It arrived on a platter and was criss cross layered.

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

Garlic Bread - from Harringtons

808 Main North Road
Belfast
Christchurch
New Zealand
http://harringtonsbreweries.co.nz




Garlic Bread type - Like a half loaf (imagine a soccer ball being cut vertically and you receive one of these half's)

The Garlic Bread Loaf arrives on a nice big white plate, and its steaming - so obviously very hot and pretty much straight out from the oven. It is pre-cut about 6 times almost all the way to the bottom.
There is something about freshly baked bread - and this is no different - soft and delicious.
The garlic butter has been spread right through the bread and the amount applied is just right.

Your supplied serrated knife helps you to cut off a piece with ease.
Plates and napkins are also supplied.

Only draw back is - it is enough for 2-4 people (which is plenty for this old-ish couple) and you could say, it is almost a meal in itself.

Presentation	4 out of 5
Quantity	3 out of 5
Taste:	5 out of 5
Quality	5 out of 5
Overall score:	17 (out of poss 20)