Panera Bread--New Name, Same Old-Fashioned Goodness
Written: Aug 23 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Relaxed Atmosphere, Classical Music Background, Delicious Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, Coffees, and Bagels
Cons: Mall-based Panera's are always crowded!
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| frazzledspice's Full Review: Panera Bread |
In the eight and a half years I lived in St. Louis, one thing always puzzled me. How could the home of St. Louis Bread Company (now called Panera Bread) also be the home of the absolute worst pizza in the United States? Thin crust pizza, nicknamed matzoh pizza by my friend Sue, is prepared daily at St. Louis' favorite chain pizzeria, Imo's, among others.
Sometimes I wondered if the Bread Company used up all the yeast in town, leaving none for the pizza makers like Imo's and Cecil Whittaker's. But eventually I came to the realization that St. Louisan's, inexplicably, just prefer their pizza on centimeter-thick circles of dough.
They also prefer Panera Bread over all other cafes. When we first moved to St. Louis in 1989, there was only one St. Louis Bread Company, located in the Loop near Washington and St. Louis Universities. It was a place with relatively little ambience, painted white, a place where strolling students and tourists would stop and stand in line behind the glass showcases for a good cup of coffee and some bread, muffins, or pastries.
Even when they were just starting out, the Bread Company was known for its charitable donations citywide. All unsold bread is donated at the end of each day to local hunger relief agencies. Its "Dough for Funds" program enables schools and other charities to sell coupon books for its products and keep half the proceeds (one popular one, used by my son's middle school, offered 5 baguette coupons for $5.)
Good bread and community spirit were a winning combination in St. Louis, one of the most giving communities I've ever lived in. Within five or six years, there were Bread Companies dotting every major thoroughfare and occupying a prominent place in every mall.
They were also known to be very good employers. Getting a job at the Bread Company is one of the most desirable part-time jobs that high schoolers and college students could get, both in St. Louis and Columbia, MO. My sons had several friends who worked at Bread Companies during high school and college, and Bread Company leftovers kept them fed when their student budgets ran low at the end of the month. One, who roomed with a bread company employee last year, could probably describe every single bakery item far better than I can now. Next to visiting SAM's Club during lunchtime and making the sample counter rounds, Bread Company leftovers were the best bargain in town.
Panera Bread, Where Friends Meet Friends
Panera's was the place where I'd meet friends for coffee and bagels in the early morning. Light and airy, with relaxing classical music playing in the background, Panera's never made us feel rushed. We could sit and chat as long as our schedules allowed, lingering over hot, fragrant cups of coffee (chosen from four or five different blends, served with either skim milk or half and half) and delicious, fresh-out-of-the-oven bagels (many different varieties--plain, dutch apple, chocolate chip, everything, cinnamon raisin, sesame seed, nine grain, blueberry, cinnamon crunch, and my daughter's personal favorite, Asiago Cheese.) Our second favorite haunt, Einstein's, didn't have anywhere near the ambience. Although one friend preferred the coffee there, it was very utilitarian and much noisier.
Entertainment Books, Gold C Books, and the newspapers frequently carried coupons--"Buy Three Bagels, Get Three Bagels Free!" We'd frequently get a bag of bagels and bring some home to the family later.
Lunchtime
Lunchtime is Panera Bread's busiest time, and, although we liked to lunch there, we always felt a little more hurried. The malls, in particular, have packed Bread Companies during lunch hours, and sometimes, to my daughter's delight, the long line would make me acquiesce to her desire for McDonald's.
Their lunch menu revolves around salads, soups, and sandwiches. One of their most popular specials is called "You Pick Two", which gives diners two choices, from a bowl of soup, half-sandwich, and half-salad for $5.25. Their soups are homemade and delicious, served either in bread bowls or china bowls (Panera's always uses real plates and silverware for their dine-in customers.) Some of my favorites were French Onion, Chicken and Rice, Broccoli Cheese, Potato, and Lentil. Sandwiches are served on a choice of bread including sourdough, French, nine-grain, honey wheat, hearty grain, rye, pumpernickel, swirl rye, croissant, tomato bagel, and foccacia. They're not mile-high Kosher deli sandwiches--meat portions are appropriately sized, but generous amounts of tomato, lettuce, onion, and sprouts add volume. As a matter of fact, one of the most popular sandwiches is the Veggie Sandwich, containing lettuce, tomato, sprouts, provel cheese, cucumbers, and red onion. What's provel cheese, you say? It's a combination of provolone and something else, and it's most commonly used on the aforementioned Imo's matzoh pizzas. I've never seen provel cheese anywhere else (not that I've looked for it...)
Hot grilled Panini Sandwiches include Frontega Chicken, Primo Prosciutto, and Veggie Capri.
Panera's is known for delicious salads, including Chicken Oriental, Fandango, Greek, Caesar, and Classic Cafe Salads. Dressings include balsamic viniagrette, fat-free raspberry, Greek, Caesar, and Oriental sesame viniagrette. All salads come with sourdough or French rolls.
Cafe Beverages
Panera's makes the usual coffee specialty drinks--espresso, Cafe Americano, Cappucino, Caffee Latte, Latte Royale, House Latte, Caffe Mochae, Cafe Borgia, I.C. Mocha, I.C. Java, and Mocha Blasts. I like the Caffee Mocha, espresso with steamed milk, topped with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, when I feel self-indulgent (a tall is $2.05 and a Grande is $2.45.)
They are one of the few midwestern cafes I've ever been to which stock Dr. Brown's Sodas and IBC Rootbeer.
When I return to St. Louis, or go up to Columbia to visit my sons, I always stop at the Bread Company. I don't know whether it's because of the good memories or the good food, but it has an atmosphere that spells "home" to me.
Besides, I have to support them, if only to thank them for all the leftovers my sons have eaten in their college years, and for helping to round out their food pyramids!
St. Louis Bread Company's winning formula has brought them to different states and regions of the United States. They're Panera Bread now, but they'll always be "the Bread Company" to me.
Recommended:
Yes
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