There’s a certain kind of smug satisfaction that comes with knowing a secret. Bonus points if it is tasty and harms no one—except maybe your doctor’s patience. One Florida couple discovered a delicious secret while dining out at a Ruth’s Chris recently.
So Brionna Barbosa (@brionnabarbosa) immediately posted it to TikTok. She wrote in the caption, “No gatekeeping here! Ask for the sizzling garlic butter with the bread [drooling emoji].”
Next, the man accompanying her dips a chunk of bread in a sizzling dish of butter. The text hovering over the scene reads, “This secret menu item at Ruth’s Chris is [fire emoji, fire emoji].” Barbosa’s tip has been watched over 890,000 times.
Sizzling butter, fresh bread, and a little garlic? It’s a combination to binge on.
Why Is Bread, Butter, And Garlic So Delicious?
It’s not a secret that good bread, good butter, and garlic is a combination so irresistible that restaurants from the corner pizzeria to fancy tapas places serve a version of it. The combination is so successful that one Huffington Post writer breathlessly called it the “side dish of the Gods.” It’s flavor comes as a result of the malleability of butter mashed up (literally) with the allium compounds in garlic.
Additionally, the luxurious feeling of butter on a piece of French bread adds heft to a bite without being heavy. It’s like the grown-up version of potato chips and French onion dip.
‘Not Sharing That’
With a few snarky exceptions, the Ruth’s Chris “dip” is lauded and praised by the internet. Though a few users do speculate on the cost.
TikToker @tommygunn01 exclaimed, “Disgusting! I’ll take 10 plates.”
Another user, @mrsbabysheep, is familiar with the dish. She admitted, “I dip my steak in it!!!”
Several folks advocate making the dip at home (and saving money), which raises the question of a homemade dupe. A post on a beef-centric website claims to unravel the secrets of Ruth’s Chris’s butter, the solid and sizzling forms.
Surprisingly (or perhaps not), the recipe calls for more than unsalted butter, garlic, and Kosher salt. Though those ingredients are on the list. Additionally, the dupe calls for parsley, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper.
Apparently, the secret to a successful butter is to bring the butter to room temperature. Resist the urge to speed the softening process using the microwave (the butter will break in a way that’s kind of gross). So plan on letting the butter sit on a counter for about an hour to properly soften.
After the butter is soft enough to manipulate, use a fork to mash all the ingredients together. Then, if you want pats of butter, wrap the mixture in plastic wrap, roll it into a log, and let it chill. For a sizzling dish, put the compound butter mixture into a saucepan, and let the butter melt and bubble until fragrant. Then serve it with the nicest French bread you can find.
Though this recipe cites properly softened butter as the key to a successful butter, the Worcestershire sauce adds a deep, rich, tangy umami flavor, enhancing the nuttiness of a good butter. In lieu of Worcestershire, soy sauce can be substituted.
Whether on a thick slice of bread or used to finish a steak right off the grill, a few simple ingredients can be transformed into more than buttery goodness. So if you’re into secrets and gatekeeping, worry about other things: The Instagram posts you “liked” at midnight, or the number of well-intentioned screen-caps that live on your phone, forgotten and ignored. This “secret menu item” just requires that you remember to ask for it by name. Let your doctor worry about the rest.
BroBible reached out to Barbosa via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the post. We reached out to Ruth’s Chris via their media email.
@brionnabarbosa No gatekeeping here! Ask for the sizzling garlic butter with the bread🤤 #fyp #explorepage✨ #foodie #foodtiktok #foodreview