Is it wrong that I love Panera?

I find the whole vibe a bit corporate and grannyish. However, I adore their broccoli and cheese soup, as well as their turkey cranberry holiday sandwich. I feel ashamed...yet I AM ADDICTED. Anyone else?

Not me. A former neighbor retired and moved to Florida. He hangs out in Panera with all the other retirees, drinking free coffee refills. He raved about it, so my partner and I tried various sandwiches and soups and found it to be cafeteria food at best and inedible at worst. Their tuna has sugar in it. And pickle juice. No thanks.
I used to go there a lot because they had free wi-fi, but then they started to put restrictions on it and after I got broadband at home I didn't go much anymore. A friend just gave me a Panera gift card, so I guess I'll have to check it out again.
Love the bread
Now I know why I like the tuna so much! It's a good alternative for fast food..
You know it's just Au Bon Pain re-branded, right?
Finally got to try it. I really liked the chicken salad sandwich.
Corner bakery is better. Try the muffins!
Extremely salty. If I eat there, I know that I will temporarily gain at least 1 whole pound in one day just from water retention.
Lay off the carbs, fraulines!
Lesson in life that it behooves you to learn, OP: Do not ask permission or base your taste on outside approval. This is the very definition of being a sheep. Own what you like. If you like Panera, walk in with your head held high and if anyone says anything, act like they are the ones who are not hip, cool, or urbane enough to get Panera. This is how you set trends. Be a leader, not a follower, and start by owning your tastes, desires and inclinations and not allowing anyone to shame them. Anyone who acts like an authority on taste is self appointed, and I hope you will join me in my mission to dethrone every self appointed dictator I find in my midst.
Hothead%20Paisan
They used to have french toast bagels to die for. Yum!
I love it too, OP. I could eat it for every meal and never get tired of it. My favorites are the smokehouse turkey panini and their baked potato and chicken and wild rice soups.
Love their everything bagels!
Losers eat there...
The pro elm with Panera are all the blocks they put own their wifi claimingnthensite Tim"porn." THEY BLOCK DATALOUNGE!!!! Bummer.
r14 this is not 6th grade. If you want to play on DL, you are going to have to step up your insult game by several hundred degrees.
Free Refills
If you are watching your carbs this is a great place to eat with a lot of options. Soups and salads are really good.. The whole grain breads for sandwiches are good too. I'll get a breakfast sandwich one a week too. It's a great fast food option.
Their bread is leaden. Unlike Au Bon Pain, they can't make a decent baguette. Every store i've been in smells like an elementary school lunchroom. I've ordered chicken salads at a few stores and they all have that old, refrigerator-y taste. I cannot figure out why they are successful. I wish they were more like Pain Quotidien. They seem to be doing the Panera concept right.
I like (not love) Panera Bread, though living out in the sticks I have a slim selection of restaurant options of any sort. At Panera the food is fresh and of decent quality, the staff are pleasant and efficient, it's all very clean and consistent and reliable. Those qualities, though, are really a starting point for liking a place, a lowest common denominator above the level of "edible and fills the cavity." The bread and baked goods are okay, but not exceptional. I like Panera fine for what it is and against the poor competition that exists out where I live. But "love" it? No. [quote]I used to go there a lot because they had free wi-fi, but then they started to put restrictions on it and after I got broadband at home I didn't go much anymore. R2: did you think you were an adornment to the establishment? That the place existed for you to sit around for free and work on your screenplay? That Panera -- and its paying customers-- paid their wifi bill so that you don't have to? Get a fucking job or a home or wifi; barring that, consume something, spend some money instead of just spending your time there. Maybe you could ask them to do a free fluff-and-fold service while you camp out in their best spot without spending any money. Isn't there a Borders Books you can drive out of business somewhere?
Overpriced for what you get. Atlanta Bread Co. is better.
Love the bagels. Over-priced, but I got a free one with the Panera card (if you go often enough, it's worth it)
Fuck Panera. They upped their "premium bagel" prices from $.99 to $1.25 and then had the balls to reduce the amount of cheese on the asiago cheese ones by a good 75%. You can't even taste the fucking cheese anymore, there are just a few shards of burnt-ass cheese on them now. I've gone on their FB page and told them they need to either use the same amount of cheese as they used to, or stop charging the "premium" price for such a non-premium hunk of shit. They used to be amazing bagels until someone got greedy.
Twice, TWICE, they forgot to put the espresso in my lattes. What the fuck? Not going back again.
Wow, no wonder they fuck you over on cheez food and sanka: [quote]Applicants must meet these criteria to gain consideration for a Panera Bread franchise: [quote]Experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator [quote]Recognition as a top restaurant operator [quote]Net worth of $7.5 million [quote]Liquid assets of $3 million
What is their best bagel? I have a free one on my card.
Panera censors. They block Cam4. Was going to broadcast once but then couldn't.
I use to love their tuna salad sandwich but they changed the recipe a few years ago.. it's now gummy.. vile. I do go there to read or do paper work some times in the mornings... awesome oatmeal although it's not cheap. They just added a 'big kid' grilled cheese sandwich with applewood bacon. It's great but not good for me. Hate that.. hate growing older and watching sodium intake, blood pressure, fat content.... but I do it.
kcguy
I guess if you live in the suburbs it would be a choice.
I haven't been in a long time, but their bagels used to be good. But the soup, way too salty for me, and I like salty.
Had a cinnamon crunch bagel with light cream cheese this morning and it didn't disappoint. The black bean soup is great if you want a healthier soup than the also amazing broccoli cheese soup.
R29- not only in the suburbs. There are locations in the city. I prefer Einstein Bagels but they are more scattered around. Not as many out there as there are Panera locations.
Not horrible, but not great. Einstein's is even worse. Bruegger's probably has the best chain bagels. Corner Bakery has much better "treats" and okay sandwiches.
Corner Bakery's menu is smaller than Panera's. CB has seven soups and a chili, Panera has 11 and last winter, they added a chili. I was going to try the cinnamon crunch Panera bagel based on r31's recommendation, but now I am seeing they have a pumpkin one that's swaying me a little.
How are the red velvet cake cookies?
No,it`s cool.What do you think is their best album,`Vulgar display of power`?`Cowboys from hell`>Far beyond driven`?.How devastated were you because of Dimebag? What`s your personal opinion of Phil Anselmo...ooops,wrong thread
Anonymous
It's Frau feed!
They are only two items I adore on their menu- the 80 calorie chicken noodle soup and a bakery item they call a Cobblestone. If you have never had a Cobblestone- drop what you are doing right now and go get one. Absolute heaven.
No, I don't eat there. I do much better at an authentic French bakery that has genuine croissants to die for, and the most incredible pear tarts. French music and mags galore. Sigh.
I always associate Panera with an ex-employee of mine who used to bring Panera bagels to work for the rest of the staff. He used to act as if bringing Panera items was a sign of superiority relative to the rest of the staff who would typically bring Dunkin Donuts items. He would even proclaim his disdain of Dunkin to the other staf while extolling the virtues of Panera. Needless to say, he was not well liked especially by the clerical staff as he made their (to them) expensive efforts to bring coffee and doughnuts for the rest of the staff seem meager. He also used to talk to me about his love of "entertaining friends at home" and frequently discussed his "kitchen space", copper cookware and granite countertops. He was a queen in the HGTV mold.
I don't understand people who declare mass produced snack foods as "heaven." Does that mean you are Christian and you hope when you die you will spend eternity stuffing your face with snacks?
Any trashy thing you like can be covered by declaring it a "guilty pleasure."
It's just okay. I have a friend who loves it so we go there at least once a month. I guess some of the food is sort of healthy, but there are so many locally owned restaurants in my area that are so much better.
Why are there so many hipsters on a thread about fucking food? Do you realize how ridiculous that is?
Is this the place with the cotton candy machine?
R44 -- 80 years old, sees hipsters under the bed.
Talking about how you're too cool for XYZ and how you're only into authentic or vintage XYZ, is a defining hipster characteristic r46. Sorry to burst your bubble.
C'mon, R2, friends do not give people gift cards to places like that.
I'd love a Panera gift card.
[quote] authentic or vintage XYZ, Where in this thread is there any talk of authentic or vintage goods, gramps?
[quote] I'd love a Panera gift card. Make sure it's an authentic or vintage gift card
Hipster
Nope. The coffee is pretty good. The pastries and the bagels aren't great but they are pretty good. The staff usually seems cheerful. There are worse ways of spending a couple of moments between engagements.
Do they have anything special in the bakery for Christmas?
Only if 'Panera' is the name of a 10yr old Italian immigrant boy.
It's great for grabbing lunch when you need something to eat. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, like go to Panera for my birthday or anniversary or something.
The new Big Boy Grilled Cheese sandwich with applewood bacon.... heaven!
Fatty McFatt McFatterson
I wouldn't say Panera is frau chow, but it's pretty close. And when I say frau chow, I don't mean WOMEN I just mean low-culture PEOPLE who think Olive Garden is a fine dining experience. Yes, I'm a bit elitist (and tipsy). As long as you realize that it's not great food, you're good to go.