Many people will tell you that it’s the side dishes that make the meal. And that’s true even when you’re ordering takeout. At Constantly Pizza, we think that there’s no better side dish than garlic bread. It’s hard to beat a perfectly toasted baguette covered in butter and garlic. But how much do you know about this delicious, crunchy-yet-chewy, buttery delight?
Let’s take a look at the origins of everyone’s favorite takeout order add-on.
It Starts in Ancient Rome
Like so many things, garlic bread owes its origins to the ancient Romans. Garlic bread can trace its roots back to bruschetta. The name bruschetta comes from the word brusciare, which means “to burn” or “to toast.” Today’s garlic bread is similar to bruschetta alla romana, which is toasted bread with garlic, olive oil, and salt. Garlic is easy to grow in southern Italy, so it appears in many dishes and recipes from that region. Bruschetta alla romana was considered a poor person’s food because it was often made with day-old bread.
Immigrants Bring It to America
Most of the Italian dishes that we know and love come to America with Italian immigrants during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In fact, the kind of garlic bread that you’ll find in most places in the United States is an Italian-American invention. Olive oil was hard to find, so the immigrants substituted the readily available butter. The preferred bread was a French-style baguette. Because of this common bread choice, the idea that garlic bread was a French food arose. But French bread was simply available and affordable. The combination of butter, garlic, and herbs spread across it is certainly thanks to that Italian-American population.
No Takeout Order Is Complete Without Garlic Bread
If you’re getting takeout tonight, you can’t go wrong with anything on the menu at Constantly Pizza. Whether you’re in the mood for pizza, subs, or salads, you’ll find something to satisfy your appetite on our menu. And of course, don’t forget to add some garlic bread to your order!