Earlier this week at a media dinner at Bo's, a New Orleans style restaurant on West 24th Street that opened last fall, the meal began as one should: with a basket of bread for the table.

At Le Fantastique, in San Francisco, the “Bread & Butter” gets equal billing with the mains: $12 for a baguette with smoked-peppercorn-and-yuzu-kosho-infused butter. Hav & Mar’s basket with ...

But some of her 1.3 million viewers didn’t necessarily agree with her theory, claiming they’re too full after a bread basket and appetizers to eat any more. “The opposite for me. I ended up ...