Best garlic / hot bread as appetizer?

[shivohum]

Anyone have restaurant recommendations for the best appetizer or complimentary hot bread, especially garlic bread? Thanks!

[hiddenboston]

Well, one of my favorites used to be the bread basket at Cafe Apollonia in Roslindale, but they are no longer around.

I hate to say it (mainly because I am not a fan of the place), but the bread with dipping oil at Not Your Average Joe's is really good. I just wish I had another reason to go there...

[tatamagouche]

I posted somewhere else recently, too, that I was really surprised at the yumminess of the bean dip at LTK. It's chunky, olive-oil drenched, and contains pintos as well as cannellini, so it's a touch sweeter than just white beans would be alone.

[SeaSide Tomato]

La Storia on 138 in Stoughton has wonderful bread and garlick-y whitebean dip. While it's no Lucca-it's definitely not a typical "red sauce" Italian spot--the food is full of love!--and yummy, of course!

[tatamagouche]

Huh, I don't think of Lucca as typical red sauce...

[SeaSide Tomato]

Oh Gosh, me neither!! While I love red sauce and tomatoes in any form (hence the name!!) perhaps my punction was lacking so my reference not clear. I love Lucca and think it's far and away more broad, daring and modern than traditional red-sauce. What I meant was La Storia doesn't reach Lucca's hieghts, but is by no means (just) old school red sauce level.

Sorry for my lack of clarity!

La Storia, whose bread prompted my post, is terrifc and in the middle ground between the kind of Italian-American many of us grew up with and the type of Italian one finds at dear Lucca.

I hope that clarifies.

SST

[pamalamb]

I'm with you on the oil at Not Your Average Joe's. Between the bread/oil and the apple pie sticks, I could make a meal, but I usually order something else, like an appetizer, to make it a more rounded meal.

[MC Slim JB]

A very recent thread on complimentary bread baskets: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/396691

As for good garlic bread / apps, I love the fettunta at Trattoria Toscana (Tuscan style garlic bread -- basically grilled Tuscan bread rubbed with raw garlic, drizzled with EVOO and salt), though it has been dropped from recent menus. Their bruschette are also terrific, especially the fegatini, the chicken liver pâté topped one. Neither of these are free apps.