Panera Bread-My New Favorite Restaurant
Written: Jan 02 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Read the review
Cons: Not too impressed with the desserts
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| chrisceb's Full Review: Panera Bread |
Whenever a new restaurant rolls in, everyone in town goes nuts. The place is packed for weeks and it’s tough to get in. Panera Bread is no exception. Opening its doors just four short months ago, Panera Bread has been the talk of Knoxville…or at least in my circles. Everyone I run into asks, “have you been to Panera Bread yet?” Luckily I can reply boldly… “of course I have, do I look like I’ve been living under a rock?”
The Product:
Panera Bread is an upscale sandwich shop and so much more. The décor is contemporary in muted yellows, golds and greens. Tiled floors give a very Mediterranean feel, as well as the Italian artwork adorning the walls. Upon entering Panera Bread you’re overwhelmed by the mile high ceilings and the noise. Noise from the customers and from the kitchen. It’s not just a dull roar either; it’s actually hard to hear your dining companion. Assuming you have one that is.
A glass case is home to a dozen or so pedestals of pastries, bagels (10 flavors) and homemade treats. From cinnamon rolls, to sesame seed bagels, all are freshly baked and have the look of perfection. Behind the glass enclosure are racks of baskets of bread you can purchase to take home with you. You name it they have it. Sourdough bread in baguettes, loaves, rounds, soup bowls and rolls. Sandwich breads of French, nine-grain, honey wheat, hearty grain, rye, pumpernickel and focaccia to name a few. Specialty breads include Asiago Cheese, fiesta, pesto and cinnamon raisin. Plus a few more. Croissants, danish and specialty pastries in various flavors are also available for purchase. Cream cheese spreads are also made on the premises.
Panera Bread is also known for their coffee bar. Available all times of day and night are you favorite coffees hot or cold including cappuccinos, lattes, espresso, and everything in between. All drinks are available with decaffeinated espresso, skim milk or over ice. Other beverages include Lemonade, Dr Brown’s Sodas, fountain drinks, milk, hot chocolate and teas, juices and bottled seltzer and spring waters.
Panera bread bakes their breads fresh everyday, all day and in case you haven’t already noticed the bread is the main emphasis of their menu.
Soups:
Soups are served in a sourdough bread bowl or in a regular non-edible bowl with a sourdough roll on the side. A regular bowl or soup is $3.00 and in a bread bowl your price shoots up to $4.25. Different soups are made each day.
Salads:
Salads are served with your choice of a baked sourdough or French roll. Chicken Oriental Salad with bok choy, Napa cabbage, chow mein noodles and Oriental sesame vinaigrette and Fandango Salad with Mixed greens and romaine lettuce, Gorgonzola cheese, mandarin oranges and raspberry dressing are the two most unique salads. All meal salads are priced from 3.95 to $5.75. Chicken can be added for an additional $1.20.
Hot Panini Sandwiches:
Panini Sandwiches are just regular sandwiches, which are pressed on a hot grill, and they look scrumptious! Allow me to introduce you to a couple sandwiches that will make your mouth water just by reading them…
Frontega Chicken with smoked pulled white meat chicken, red onions, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and chipotle mayo are grilled on Panera’s Rosemary and Onion Focaccia bread.
Cuban Pork and Ham is smoked pork tenderloin, sliced ham, Swiss, dill pickles, chipotle mayo and spicy mustard grilled on Panera’s Asiago Cheese Focaccia bread. All hot sandwiches are about $6.00 and are served with chips.
Ok, if your not hungry yet just keep reading…it gets better.
Café and Signature Sandwiches are all served with mayo, spicy mustard, lettuce, red onion, tomato, sprouts and salt and pepper unless otherwise requested. Some café and signature sandwiches include: Chicken salad, tuna salad, peanut butter and jelly (yes, I’m serious), Tuscan Chicken, Italian Combo Sandwich, Veggie Sandwich and even Party Sandwiches. All sandwiches range from $2.95 to $6.00 and are served with a pickle spear and chips. The party sandwich served six to eight and costs $25.95.
One unique aspect, not saying all of Panera Bread isn’t unique…it absolutely is, so let me change my wordage to impressive. An impressive aspect of Panera Bread is their Operation Dough-Nation, where they give back to the community through one of three programs.
1. Cash donations made to the café are matched and donated to local hunger relief and other charity organizations.
2. All unsold bread is donated at the end of the day to local hunger relief agencies
3. Through Dough For Funds, fund-raising groups sell special coupons for Panera Bread products and the groups keep half the proceeds.
4. Panera Bread regularly donates products and gift certificates to benefit a wide range of charitable organizations and causes.
Amazing. I don’t know of any other chain restaurant who promotes community charities like Panera Bread.
My Experience:
I’ve eaten at Panera Bread twice now and both times it was amazing. The first time it was frigid outside and a bowl of soup sounded heavenly. I had the French Onion Soup in a Sourdough Bread Bowl. You stand in line at a bar to order and then move down the bar passed the “cooks” while they make your meal in front of you. At the end your meal is ready. My soup came in a nice sized bread bowl, which held about a cup and a half of soup. Provel cheese was melted over the top and drizzled down the sides of the bowl.
Take a sniff, you can almost smell it…
I have never had onion soup before, and I thought it to be a little on the salty side, but I’m not sure if that’s the way French Onion Soup is supposed to be. Regardless, I thought it to be too salty. However, the bread seemed to be a wonderful compliment to the saltiness. The bread was amazing but was a little difficult to pull apart and eat. The crust was VERY crusty and tough. Not that it bad at all, as a matter of fact it’s probably the best bread I’ve eaten…however, it’s a little difficult to eat.
The second time I had a menu item called "You Pick Two". For $5.40 you select two three opinions…any bowl of soup, half a sandwich or half a salad. I had broccoli cheese soup that was hot and creamy with a decent amount of broccoli chopped in it. My other choice was the Greek salad. Both the salad and the soup were about a cup and a half each and the salad was very crisp and cold with ample white chunks of feta cheese. Kalamata olives aren’t my favorite but I have to say I ate those too this time. And I admit I ate every spoonful and every forkful of both. Included was also a hard crusty Sourdough roll.
My lunch companion both times was my mother. The first visit she ordered the bread bowl of soup too, but she ordered the clam chowder. It looked piping hot with large chunks of potatoes in a creamy white broth. She said it was very tasty. The second time she also ordered the "You Pick Two". She had a chicken salad sandwich and a bowl of broccoli cheese soup. Both she said was wonderful!
I also took home a couple of Pecan Rolls that were just ok, not impressive. My mom took home an apple something-or-other and she said it was delicious. I also bought a loaf of sourdough, which ended up being just white bread. I was quite disappointed while eating my buttered toast the next morning and realizing it wasn’t sourdough. Humph.
I can’t wait to return to Panera Bread and actually have plans to visit in the next couple of weeks, however I’m wishing it was for dinner tonight after writing this review!
Recommended:
Yes
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chrisceb
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Member: Chris B
Location: Florida
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