Panera Bread

We love coming here for a quick bite to eat. Yes, it is a bit pricier than a lot of other places, but the food is always fresh and tastes pretty dang delicious. The flat breads are fantastic, the salads are huge and the toasted sandwiches are mouthwatering good. We're always more than happy to pay the extra money for quality food and speedy service.

My wife and I haven't been to Panera in a little while and I believe their menu has been updated since our last visit. We both got the "Pick 2", me with the Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sandwich and the Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese, and my wife got the Toasted Frontega Chicken Sandwich with an Asian Sesame Salad. While the food was good it did not knock my sox off. My sandwich was very bread-heavy, overpowering most of the other flavors of the BBQ Chicken Sandwich. The Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese was good and reminded me of a thick based cheddar broccoli soup with noodles in it. My wife's selection was much really good. We can only assume though that when the Asian Sesame Salad is ordered as a side that it does not include chicken (as the menu indicates), or at least hers did not. Overall the food was good enough for 3.5 or 4 stars, while I reserve 5 stars for an experience that leaves the pallet wanting for more or an ambiance that leaves me inspired. While it is somewhere between fine dining and take out, expect to pay a little more than for a fast food, grab-and-go. Portion sizes were decent - I left sated, but not overly full, but my wife also shared a few bites of her sandwich and salad with me as well.

I just wanted to say that I applaud Roger, the elderly gentleman who was working in the lobby on 10/21/20. He not only made sure that the lobby was kept clean but also assisted patrons by taking their trays and dishes, disposing of the trash and cleaning the leftover food into the garbage can, wiping down the tables and making sure the floors did not have trash under the tables. I applaud Roger for doing such a good job. He should train the younger employees to show them how to do the job right and to show them what Customer Service truly is.