Panera Bread

Sunday, 23 April 2006

http://www.panerabread.com

We've all been to a Second Cup or a Starbucks to hang out - be it for studying, chatting, or surfing the web. Another place to hang out, get soft seats, wifi, and not be pushed to leave is called Panera Bread.

There are plenty of places to sit with soft cozy booths or you can sit in a normal table layout. The colours of the interior are very room and there's even a fireplace with big soft chairs to sit and chat.

I'm not studying and I work from my hotel so let's get straight to the food!

I ordered a French Onion soup and a Smokehouse Turkey Panini. I like hot things so I got the Smokehouse Turkey Panini. I wanted to be healthy and the sandwich wasn't going to fill me for dinner so I got a French Onion Soup.

Let's just say the French Onion soup did not come out as I had expected. The soup is pre-made and they just scoop it from a big pot. They follow up with drops of small bread blocks and sprinkles of cheese. While they were putting it together I had the false impression they would actually stick it into an oven to bake it. I was wrong. As you can see, it's not really pretty and it wasn't too great. It was a bit salty and tasted like something from a can.

On to the main course - The Smokehouse Turkey Panini. It's thin slices of grocery store style turkey. It's really oily. The picture shows it as a brownish yellow. It's not my camera's fault. It really is that brownish yellow. That is the oil. I'm not so sure this is healthy. I wonder how it compares to a Big Mac. The panini is very hard and crispy. There isn't much between. It's not something I'd want to eat too often. All I can remember about this sandwich is that it's oily. So if you like oil go for this.

Would I recommend this place? It's a nice place to sit and study. I wouldn't go out of my way to go to this place to eat. The soup was $3.99 and my sandwich was $6.99. Both come with your choice of an apple, bag of chips, or bread. The side bread is super hard so watch your teeth.