The dining-out favorite you may no longer see

As eateries attempt to cut costs, restaurant diners may lose a long-relished freebie -- the pre-dinner bread basket.

New Jersey restaurant owner Peter Loria told The Record, "If we can't sell plates because people are filling up on bread, it's a financial burden. We're in the business to sell food, not to sell bread."

So, if there's no bread to whet your appetite, what will?

The Boston Globe reports one restaurant that used to serve cornbread is now going with another southern snack - pickles. The owner says, "Not only are pickles gluten free, but they're soy and nut free, and there's no dairy in them."

As expected, the trend is not going over well with many customers. The Washington Post says one DC restaurant was met with so many complaints about the missing bread that the owner relented and started serving it again.

The Boston Globe says some restaurants are starting to serve potato chips, which are about 5 times cheaper to produce than bread.