Panera Bread

[Ann_Hedonia]

@Scotty Mo

See my fav. would be a you pick two: chicken-bacon panini and a bowl of broccoli cheddar. A delicious meal, but suprisingly filling.

I think this might be a bad sign because I’m a young guy with a pretty healthy appetite. I don’t see how a little sandwich and soup like this should fill me up but it does.

Anyone know why, perhaps the fats or sodium they put into it?

The pick two size of broccoli cheddar weighs in at 190 calories.
A full Bacon chicken Dijon sandwich on country bread is a hefty 940 calories, a half is 470.

Is the “pick two” a half sandwich or a full sandwich?

If it’s a half sandwich then your meal is 660 calories, which is over my lunch "budget’ but OK for a young guy. If it’s a full sandwich then no wonder your lunch is filling.

I have eaten there a few times but found most everything was a lot less healthy than it looked…I would have to go into my “treat” calorie allowance for most everything and it’s not THAT good. Also I find the sandwiches heavy on the bread which I don’t like, though it keeps their costs down some I imagine.

[ivylass]

You Pick Two is half a sandwich/half salad/smaller bowl of soup.

[zweisamkeit]

@shiftless

I don’t want to bad mouth a generally fine restaurant but we must be eating in very different Paneras. Other than the good bread they use, their sandwiches always remind me of something my mom put in a plastic bag for me when I was a kid. Two pieces of bread with some sort of spread and a little meat and cheese is what I get. A fine example of mom’s sandwich true, but nothing to get excited about. The hunk of baguette on the other hand, I could just gnaw on one of those all day long and ignore the sandwich.

That’s absolutely bizarre to me. Maybe you just have a shitty Panera by you, but all the Paneras by me are really generous (though not to the gut-busting deli monstrosities) with their meat/cheese/toppings amounts.

[adhemar]

@DiosaBellissima

I drove through Arby’s once and they were out of Roast Beef. Nicely done, Arby’s.

I went to Taco Bell and they were out of taco meat.

[Baal_Houtham]

I just want to say that their sourdough bread, toasted and spread with butter is about as good as food gets.

You can’t get more complex flavors, but very few things more delicious.

[joew]

If anyone lives near a Calistoga you should check it out. They are in SW Florida and Central Kentucky and they are so much better than Panera. Their soups and Caeser Salads are just right. I echo the above sentiments on Panera’s onion soup and Caesar salad. Just horrible. Plus the one next to me is the only restaurant I’ve seen with a C grade from the health department.

[DrDeth]

@Baal_Houtham

I just want to say that their sourdough bread, toasted and spread with butter is about as good as food gets…

You want bread nirvana? Semifreddis Rustic Sour.

I think it is clear from this thread that Panera varies widely by locations. Some are well managed and generous with the protions, others not so much.

[ShibbOleth]

@joew

If anyone lives near a Calistoga you should check it out. They are in SW Florida and Central Kentucky and they are so much better than Panera. Their soups and Caeser Salads are just right.

Just checked, but unfortunately they currently only have five stores, located in Naples, Ft Myers, Lexington and Louisville. I do rarely get down to Ft Myers/Naples, so if that happens again, or they expand, I’d like to give them a try.

Added: in Tampa, we have Pane Rustica. Not a chain, but have some great food. Mostly loaves of bread, flatbread pizzas and some killer but simple sandwiches. Often a line to get in at lunch, though.

[HazelNutCoffee]

@DiosaBellissima

I get a half ceasar salad (theirs is tasty) and half of a pannini sandwich.

People always ask me what I miss about the US; I think Panera’s artichoke sandwich is up there in the top ten, along with hummus and good Mexican food. Sob.

[Erdosain]

I think part of the problem may be what people are ordering. If you order a lunchmeat sandwich at Panera (like the Italian), it’s pretty uninspired. However, if you order a sandwich that has Bell & Evans chicken or a panini, then it’s much, much better.

Someone upthread mentioned the Atlanta Bread Company. I find ABC to be inferior to Panera in every way (in my opinion).