Too Much Dough!
Written: Jan 02 '03 (Updated Jan 03 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fast Service, Nice Ambience, Good Variety of Bread
Cons: Limited Choices for Sandwiches, Too Expensive for What You Get
The Bottom Line: I would recommend Panera Bread to those who are seeking healthy and quick food, but beware, the prices are high and the quality is nothing special.
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| chestnutluvr's Full Review: Panera Bread |
A Panera Bread store recently opened in my neighborhood and boy was I excited to try the food. I had tasted a grilled chicken panini sandwich at a Starbucks a few years earlier and remembered the delicious taste of the bread and the mouth-watering flavor of the chicken.
My first visit to the brand new Panera Bread store took place during the evening. Having already eaten dinner, I wanted to purchase just a pastry with coffee. The store, however, was having a "Buy 1, get 2 free" sale due to its grand opening. I chose to get the Caramel Pecan Brownie, the Very Chocolate Brownie, the German Chocolate Danish, and also a cappuccino. My dad, meanwhile, got a large orange juice. While I enjoyed the Caramel Pecan Brownie due to its soft, moist texture, I found the two other pastries to be stale and nothing special. I feel I had better tasting desserts that were bought at local supermarkets and delis. The German Chocolate Danish just had a bunch of hard, dry chocolate morsels, and the danish itself was very flaky. I am glad that I got two of the three pastries for free. Most of the pastries range from $1-$3, while some of the more decadent desserts are priced slightly higher. The cappuccino tasted good, but again I felt that the quality of the drink was comparable to those found at bookstore cafes and at Starbucks. I felt somewhat disappointed with my first visit to the Panera Bread, but I thought maybe the disappointment came due to my high expectations of the store after reading about the chain in Time and The Economist. I decided to give Panera Bread another try.
My second visit to the store happened the very next day. This time, my sister, cousin, grandmother, and I went to Panera Bread for lunch during a sunny Saturday afternoon. When I entered the store, I noticed the unique interior design of the place that I had not paid attention to the previous night. Orange, brown, red, and dull green colors dominate the place, and the tables are all of contemporary design (when you enter the front doors, there are aluminum tables for two-people seating). The place has the ambience of a little cafe where literary scholars can go to discuss and exchange their thoughts. The surroundings have a very cozy feel to them. The store had a lot of people that Saturday afternoon, yet the place did not feel crowded and chaotic due to the layout of the tables, booths, and cash registers.
To place your order, you have to go to the back of the store. The front area has a display for the various pastries and two cash registers for those for are picking up their order after having pre-ordered by telephone or fax or for customers who are buying simple, already-made items. Behind the cash registers, you can see shelves of fresh-baked breads. Their selection of breads can certainly be described as eclectic. You can choose from sourdough, country, french, rye, pumpernickel, multigrain, honey wheat, and cinnamon raisin to such unusual types such as tomato basil, raisin pecan, asiago cheese, and kalamata olive. The types of bagels available are just as extensive, as the customer can choose from asiago cheese, blueberry, french toast, sesame, cinnamon crunch, nine grain, chocolate, dutch apple & raisin, everything bagel, or the ever-present plain one. The price of a bagel at this Panera Bread (79 cents) is higher than at my local deli or Dunkin Donuts. You can, however, purchase 13 bagels for $6.99 or 18 bagels for $8.99.
For my lunch, I ordered the Turkey Artichoke panini sandwich. This sandwich came on a grilled focaccia bread with smoked turkey, spinach artichoke spread, onions, and tomatoes. While the size of the sandwich was big (approximately the size of a 6" sub), I felt that they had put too little of the smoked turkey and too much of the onions. My sister ordered the Bacon Turkey Bravo Signature Sandwich, while my cousin and grandmother both chose to eat the Frontega Chicken panini sandwich. My sister found her sandwich to be plain-tasting, and my cousin and grandmother had the same complaint that I did -- too little of the chicken and too much of the onion. All four of us thought that the prices were a little outrageous for what we were getting. I did find the focaccia to be very soft, but I forgot that the bread was of Basil Pesto flavor due to its plain taste. The panini sandwiches all come with potato chips, while the signature (or cold) sandwiches come with a pickle and potato chips. Another complaint I had of the sandwiches was of the limited selection of sandwiches from which to choose. Panera Bread only had 3 panini sandwich options, 6 signature sandwich choices, and the basic chicken salad, tuna salad, pb&j, and ham&cheese sandwiches. I would have preferred to be able to custom-order my sandwich; in other words, I would have liked to have the choice of the meat, the vegetables, whether I would like mayo or no mayo, etc. rather than just deciding from pre-determined sandwiches.
On our way out, we decided to buy a bowl of soup and some bagels. We tried the Broccoli Cheddar soup, and bought the blueberry, french toast, and plain bagels. The soup was very creamy and had a good amount of broccoli bits. The bagels, however, seem overpriced for their quality. While the bagels had a soft, chewy texture on the inside, the exterior was a little too hard and dry. I also could not really taste the blueberry and french toast flavor; they were not strong enough.
Overall, the Panera Bread failed to live up to my expectations. I feel that for the quality of the food, the prices are too high. I will probably go once in a while when I need quick and healthy food. The menu is most likely healthier than the foods found at fast-food restaurants, but my money will run out quickly if I eat at Panera often. I know I can get comparable if not better sandwiches at my local deli for lower prices, so I think I'll stick with the deli.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
chestnutluvr
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Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 1 member
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