Bread Winner

After more than a year of waiting, La Cañada residents now can enjoy another dining destination in the Town Center complex: Panera Bread.  The bakery/cafe opened on Tuesday, June 29th – not a minute too soon for local residents, who, from the look of the crowd there last Friday, are hankering for the chain’s fresh (read: “OMG NEW!”) menu of baked goods, sandwiches, salads, soups and smoothies.  I, too, shared their excitement at the prospect of a new eatery.  After eight years in town, I have been feeling the need for an alternative breakfast and lunch option.

My first visit to Panera was a mixed bag; the chain definitely has some winners on its menu, but they are diminished by other items whose quality and flavor are lacking.  As with the food, the service was good but not without some issues, not all of which I can chalk up to opening-week hiccups.  I will certainly return to the restaurant again, but with certain caveats in mind.  Here are the two sides to my lunch story.

WOO HOO

1) Things Made With Dough

My Cuban Chicken Panini was delish: grilled chicken breast, ham, sweet & spicy pickles, Swiss cheese, chipotle mayo and sun-dried tomato ale mustard (impressive!), all pressed between fresh-baked focaccia bread.  A baguette served alongside my daughter’s veggie soup was immensely satisfying – crispy, golden brown on the outside, yet dense, moist and chewy inside.   The hands-down winner of the day was the Baked Egg & Four Cheese Soufflé, a light and airy popover/quiche hybrid that melted in my mouth.  (They were offering generous samples of the equally tasty Artichoke & Spinach Soufflé while I was there, which made standing in line much less annoying.  Stop in just to grab a bite of one of those babies.  You’ll thank me.)

I didn’t even get to the baked goods, which I suspect are equally as impressive.  They certainly look great in the display case.  I will be working my way through these beauties over the next weeks and months.

2) Attractive, Spacious Dining Area

Panera’s space is deceiving.  From the street, I would have estimated it to hold about 15-20 dining tables.  Once inside, it became obvious that this place accommodates significantly more than that in several different dining areas.  I especially liked the large table for 8, which makes it a front-runner for morning meetings over coffee and pastries.

3) Friendly, Attentive Staff

We were greeted several times by employees bustling about (including the aforementioned purveyor of souffle samples), and the woman who took our order was calm, pleasant, and patient with our special requests.  Once we were seated and eating, two staff members inquired about our food and were very responsive to our feedback.

Which leads me to…

NOT SO MUCH

1) Tired Salads & Soup

I had high hopes for these dishes, mostly because the Panera website really pushes the whole “seasonally fresh & healthy” vibe.  In fact, based on Panera’s “What We’re Celebrating” highlight, I specifically chose the Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad.  It was a big letdown.   The contents of my salad belied the “fresh” categorization, and certainly didn’t deserve to be celebrated.  The rubbery cucumbers had obviously been sitting in their marinade for far too long, several chunks of yellow lettuce were brown around the edges, and the salad dressing – described on the menu as a balsamic vinaigrette – had a gummy consistency and harsh tanginess that made me think of store-bought bottles of Wishbone.

While its menu listing seemed promising, the Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto was watery, bland and the veggies were smushy – all signs of a soup that was not freshly made.  The fruit cup melon was tasteless, making us wonder if it had been frozen and defrosted.  All of these dishes felt like they were mass-produced (like chain-restaurant food), unlike my sandwich and baguette, which definitely had been given individualized attention.  The veggies seem to play second fiddle to their bakery counterparts and suffer for it.

2) Special Request?  Um, Ok…

I don’t know if the kitchen staff are still getting their bearings, but I find it hard to believe that my request for no mayo on my Cuban panini would require twenty minutes to honor.  A similar fate befell my husband, who asked for no tortilla strips or dressing on his BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad.  His request got him nearly nothing at all on his salad, other than some lame romaine and a small sprinkling of shredded chicken.  The staff did attempt to make it right, however; when a manager checked in with us at our table and we voiced our dissatisfaction with the salad, she was apologetic, offered to comp us the dish, and brought out some extra beans and corn, which were sorely needed.  We appreciated that.

THE FINAL WORD

I left my lunch at Panera only slightly disappointed.  They provided me with a pleasant, inviting dining environment. There was an appealing variety of menu items to choose from. They promised a lot, but didn’t deliver on all fronts.

More than anything, this meal reinforced an important rule I believe in following when dining out: stick to the specialty.  I always shake my head when people order salmon at a steakhouse, or enchiladas at a deli, and then complain that they’re not very good.  What were you expecting?  You should know better.

So now I know.  I’ll leave the fruits & veggies to someone else.  Knock yourself out, farmers’ markets and Whole Foods.  Panera is my new go-to destination for indulging guilty carbohydrate pleasures.

Excuse me, a crumb cake is calling.