Panera Bread
http://www.panerabread.com/

Free wifi is a dangerous idea.  I spent the prior day traveling and hoping that I could catch up with work when I get to the hotel.  Upon arrival to my awesome deal of $50 from Priceline, the hotel’s internet was down.  I then decided to forget about working and I headed out on the town to see what Dayton, Ohio has to offer and catch up with work in the morning before my meetings.   Btw, if the hotel’s internet is down, they should offer free porn.  I am not saying that I would take advantage of such an offer, however I thought about the adverse affect effect it would have on the love life of many traveling business men in the hotel.  Just sayin’…  Anyway, let’s start the review.

Free wifi brought me to Panera and I felt obligated to buy something instead of just scamming on their network.

What I Ate: Jalapeño & Cheddar Bagel Breakfast Sandwich with Ham; around $3.50.

I have never tried a Jalapeño bagel before, but I was looking forward to this one and it didn’t disappoint.  I thought that I might be put off by a spicy bagel (unless I went on a bender the prior night), but I liked the bites that had some heat to it.  However, it wasn’t really THAT spicy, so if you are the type to do lines of pureed habaneros, this is not going to register.

There is a “thick cut” slice of Vermont white cheddar and I found that to be the case, it was a pretty cheese heavy sandwich.  The egg was fine, nothing to rave/rant about.  The ham was disappointing though as it was just one slice of paper thin ham that reminded me of the cheapest prepackaged deli meats that you can find in the grocery store.

Would I Buy It Again?  If at Panera, maybe. I wouldn’t go out of my way for this sandwich, but it was surprisingly good considering my ultra low expectations. However, at 490 calories and 16g of fat, this will be a pretty rare purchase for me.

-wibia

Over a year of reviews and this if our first review of Panera.  You will soon see why.   I used to go to Panera when I worked right by it.  I thought it was convenient and inexpensive.  This was pre-Paradise Bakery as well and Panera was the first fast-casual resto in this area.

I decided to go with the “You Pick Two” menu.  I ordered the Chicken Bacon Dijon and Broccoli and Cheese soup.  What I like about Panera is that they have their calories posted by the menu items.  However, it is depressing to see 420 calories in 1/2 a sandwich.

The sandwich was thin and pretty small.  A few scattered pieces of chicken and bacon between two tasteless pieces of bread.  I quickly realized that of course they need to smother it in fat (bacon, cheese, etc..) because the over processed tasteless chicken could not carry the sandwich by itself.  I could’ve used some lettuce or tomato on this.

I can’t imagine that the broccoli cheddar soup is made in house.   Was it horrible?  No.  Was it better than a good quality canned soup?  No.  Dipping the piece of bread into the soup was a good comfortable combination, almost like yuppie biscuits and gravy.

Would I Buy It Again?  No.  For close to $8.00, I didn’t see a lot of value or more importantly…taste.  If I didn’t eat the bread, I would be starving after this almost 800 calorie meal.  My lunch partner ordered a salmon salad and at first glance I thought they forgot the salmon as the portion was tiny.    I am not going to totally diss Panera though as I do like their Cinnamon Crunch Bagel and almond cream cheese.  I also applaud Panera for putting nutritional information on the menu.

-wibia

Remember those huge Panera bagels about the size of a personal pan at Pizza Hut?  Apparently Panera doesn’t.   Check out my breakfast, what happened?!  Damn economy.

-WIBIA

   This one is from 86th Street Panera on the NW Side