Restaurant Review: Panera Bread

Restaurant:
Address: 1991 Sproul Road Broomall, PA 19008
Rating: (out of 5 stars): ★★★
Style: Fast, casual restaurant
Food: Decent sandwiches, soups, salads and baked goods
Atmosphere: Lively upscale cafeteria
Parking: Huge lot
Service: Friendly
Price Range: Inexpensive
Unique Features: Many menu items can be ordered as a half portion so you can create your own soup, salad and/or sandwich combo.

Panera Bread is a chain of fast, casual restaurants that aim to bring higher quality items to the public. A step up from traditional fast food restaurants, some of the food at Panera Bread is even better than what is found in certain sit-down restaurants. I am no stranger to but had never been to the one in Broomall. I met up with a friend for lunch to check it out.

I ordered the “you pick two” option and chose half an asiago roast beef sandwich and half a chopped chicken cobb salad (chicken, romaine, tomatoes, applewood smoked bacon, gorgonzola, hard boiled eggs and herb vinaigrette) and lemonade. I like this option because it doesn’t limit you to one item.

The roast beef was tender and flavorful and complemented well by the horseradish sauce. The smoked cheddar inside was decent but I would have preferred asiago cheese. The sandwich is called asiago roast beef because of the asiago cheese roll that it comes on. The lettuce provided some nice crunch but the tomato didn't add much. The thick slice of red onion was too much–I had to remove some of the rings.

The chopped chicken cobb salad is a hearty salad substantial enough to be a meal on its own. The menu highlights the “all-natural, antibiotic-free chicken” used by Panera Bread. The chicken was fully cooked but not that juicy. The vegetables were fairly fresh and the bacon wonderfully smoky. The eggs were a bit on the chalky side but the vinaigrette was delicious. If I were to order this again, I would omit the eggs. The lemonade was definitely a nice beverage pairing for my lunch. Definitely not made from mix, it was delightfully tart.

My friend ordered the bacon turkey bravo (smoked turkey breast, bacon, smoked gouda, lettuce, tomato and tomato basil bread) and a wild berry smoothie. Her sandwich was visually appealing and featured thick slices of real turkey (not deli roll) and cheese. The tomato basil bread stole the show. It was pillowy soft and bursting with flavor. The sandwich as a whole was a much fancier version of turkey and cheese and much tastier. Given the option of chips or an apple as a side, my friend chose the chips which were pretty solid. The berry smoothie was deep lilac in color and had a nice creamy texture. Bursting with berry flavor, the smoothie’s only downside was that it melted quickly.

The service was friendly and casual. The staff at Panera tends to be on the younger side which usually translates to more laid back. What’s nice is that the menu items and baked goods are fairly good without being exorbitantly priced. I also appreciate the calorie counts and the healthy options (apple instead of chips) they offer. Panera Bread is a refreshing change of pace from the fast, fried and fatty food that is available at every turn.