Here's Why Garlic Bread Tastes So Much Better At A Restaurant

From enjoying a pleasant atmosphere to indulging in tasty food, it goes without saying that there are plenty of good reasons to grab a meal at a restaurant. But for some people, there's only one element of dining out that makes it worth the gas money: the next-level garlic bread served at some eateries. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's no secret that folks go crazy for garlic bread, and we can't blame them. Whether it's topped with cheese or served in its natural state, the savory, buttery, crunchy goodness of garlic bread is enough to take any night out from good to great. If you've ever tried to recreate restaurant-quality garlic bread at home, you may have noticed that perfecting this seemingly simple appetizer is more difficult than it looks. So is the case with many foods. Even something as basic as a fried egg is always better at a restaurant. That's because many professional chefs employ a few tricks to make their garlic bread remarkable.

One ingredient that separates most restaurant food from anything you make at home is butter, and lots of it. As Anthony Bourdain once wrote for the New Yorker, "In a good restaurant ... you could be putting away almost a stick of butter with every meal." Starting with a large amount of butter for your garlic bread recipe is just the first step in making a show-stopping dish. There are plenty of other ways chefs elevate their garlic bread.

There are plenty of ways to effectively pile garlic onto bread. For instance, you can infuse all of the butter you're using with garlicky goodness. Fold minced garlic, a few dashes of garlic powder, and salt into softened butter before spreading it over the bread. Or, you could go the extra mile by roasting a bulb of garlic in the oven then simmering it over the stove with some more butter to make a confit. Roasting the garlic intensifies the flavor and makes it a bit more complex. Once you've perfected preparing the garlic, you can upgrade the recipe with parsley, oregano, hot sauce, scallions, and lots of other add-ons. To make it a full appetizer, pair your garlic bread with the right dip.

Restaurants also pay a lot of attention to the bread to get mouthwatering results. For bread that is perfectly crisp, start with a soft loaf like French bread. In a pinch, you can also use hot dog buns for garlic bread. Toast the bread once with just butter or oil, then slather it in your garlic mixture and toast it some more. The final product should get a nod of approval from any pro chef, and make eating in a lot more exciting.