The New Cafes, Bars, and Restaurants on Driggs Avenue
Bread For The Eater
168 Driggs Avenue, at Diamond Street
A handful of candles burning in martini glasses illuminate the menu here, on which is carb porn. As the name suggests, this place is super into incorporating bread as often as possible. The server delivers a small appetizer plate of munchy bread with butter and honey. You can taste the take-no-prisoners freshness.
Open for just six weeks, Bread remains largely unfinished, including a roomy lounge in back. Sadly, the menu also slightly suffers from its infancy; when we arrived around 7:30, they’d already run out of several entrees and (gasp!!!!!!!!!) fries. They also didn’t have a liquor license when we visited. However, a block to the booze shop and a $7 corking fee (for the whole table) later, and it’s bottoms up!
The tables don’t hold many people—maybe 20 in total. They sit squished together in the sort of close proximity that makes me avoid most joints but, so far off the beaten path, we’re all locals. Here I felt the most communal, neighborhoodish vibe… especially when I joke with my brave photographer about a $2 bottle of Merlot I tried circa age 21 and our table neighbors laugh along. We start as one of three occupied tables and leave relieving a small wait. Church bells rang and strangers were laughing with each other and we weren’t even that drunk—it was like a scene from a fucking movie! (Not The Departed.)
Biggest perk: The bread! Why are we even still talking about this? That shit is fresh, delicious, soft, crispity, and other pleasant adjectives. It soaks up butter nicely. Oh, and although your gluten-free friends may be bummed, your vegetarian pals can rejoice: there’re six veg options to mix/match for a mad decent meat-free meal.
Biggest bummer: I really wanted to try those fries. Also, the one bathroom stall didn’t lock, or, if it did, it was via some kind of voodoo I have yet to master.
Try: Panzanella with Tomato, Cucumber, Parsley & Black Olive, $13. Sizable bread cubes soaked in mouthwatering vinaigrette? Yes, please. Also, you don’t even have to try to stab a forkful of pitted olives.
Hours: Closed Mondays. Tuesday through Sunday open for breakfast 7am to noon, lunch noon to 4pm, and dinner from 6pm to ? (the question mark is theirs).
