{"id":734891,"date":"2026-04-17T17:34:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/734891\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T17:34:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T17:34:19","slug":"the-atlantic-thinks-parc-has-the-best-free-restaurant-bread-in-america-is-it-even-the-best-in-philly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/734891\/","title":{"rendered":"The Atlantic thinks Parc has the best free restaurant bread in America. Is it even the best in Philly?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends. Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This week, Atlantic writer Caity Weaver wrote an article<\/a> proclaiming that the best free restaurant bread in America was right here in Philadelphia: the cranberry walnut loaf in Parc\u2019s bread basket.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, Parc\u2019s bread basket is a banger. What is better than enjoying a glass of wine on the square with some Parisian-inspired loaves? Still, do you agree\u2026 Is the walnut selection really the best complimentary bread in the United States? Is it even the best in Philadelphia?<\/p>\n

For her article, Weaver toured the country trying bread from high-end spots like Jo\u00ebl Robuchon in Las Vegas \u2014 to beloved national chains like Red Lobster and the Cheesecake Factory. (We do love cheddar bay biscuits and brown bread.)<\/p>\n

Parc\u2019s cranberry loaf ultimately reigned supreme due to its unique appeal and its \u201cability to harmoniously convey the sensation of eating an entire meal, with dessert, in every bite.\u201d<\/p>\n

High praise indeed!<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is fitting that the best free restaurant bread in America should contain cranberries,\u201d Weaver writes. \u201cThey are indigenous to North America. If you were going to design a restaurant bread specifically intended to appeal to 21st-century Americans, you might well create this exact foodstuff: It is a very chewy sourdough, with a thick, crispy crust that is chocolate brown in color.\u201d<\/p>\n

Philly restaurateur Stephen Starr told The Atlantic that Parc gives away slightly under half a million dollars in free bread every year. (And that\u2019s not factoring in the butter.) However, even if it was the \u201cdumbest move we ever made\u201d financially, according to Starr, he couldn\u2019t imagine charging for the bread.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just wanted it to be joyful,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the end of Weaver\u2019s article, it becomes clear that the best free bread does not just have to do with the recipe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Part of the reason Weaver chose Parc\u2019s bread is precisely because the restaurant is in Philly \u2014 her father\u2019s hometown. She visited a few weeks after his passing, and her experience goes far beyond sustenance and flavor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am seated near a family: a mother, father, and college-age daughter,\u201d she writes. \u201cI can hardly look at them, even as I can\u2019t keep my eyes off them. Veiled by Parc\u2019s low lighting, I allow myself to sink into a luxuriant, tear-flooded sadness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Parc during an open streets event. Sept. 8, 2024. (Meir Rinde\/Billy Penn)<\/p>\n

Enjoying bread, after all, is not a science. Perhaps, your favorite free bread is at your family\u2019s go-to restaurant, where the smell of a particular yeasted dough can take you back to your childhood days.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediate family members frequently identify the same bread as their favorite, as if this has been determined by group vote,\u201d Weaver notes. \u201cMany people can only recall breads eaten as children.\u201d<\/p>\n

My personal favorite free restaurant bread comes from From the Boot\u2019s location in Lafayette Hill, which offers soft, extremely buttery and garlicky, tear-away knots that come warm \u2014 and which I gobbled up all the time as a kid.<\/p>\n

We at Billy Penn are curious what your favorite complimentary bread in the city is \u2014 no national chains, just local spots. We\u2019re asking readers to share their favorite free restaurant bread in Philadelphia and tell us what makes it so special. <\/p>\n

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