Panera Bread

I had a salad and the avocado was hard and brown. They wouldn’t even give me my money back for a salad I didn’t eat

I had been away from Y-​Town for about twenty years and recently came back home. Panera, the ubiquitous arbiters of overpriced, small portioned meals was familiar to me. I already knew that most of the baked products are shipped in and so no freshness to save the flavor. I checked around because I was going through bagel withdrawal. I thought to myself, «self» just avoid the bland overpriced lunch menu and snag a couple bagels with coffee refills, how bad could you screw up a bagel? Clearly, I should have someone on standby to lobotomize me if I considered going to Panera for bagels.(i had not tried their bagels before.) Still, I went in and the only way I can describe the experience was like wandering into TV show where the food subsisted of waxy props. All looked delicious, smelled nice, then I bit into this bread product, which in no good conscience I could ever refer to as a «bagel.» Dry, doughy and worse than bagels I have gotten at Wal-​Mart. All the cream cheese at my disposal could not bring that horrible blob of bread to life. After two cups of average coffee to gargle, lesson learned. How this chain thrives just boggles my brain.

I love Panera. Their coffee is #1 in my book, and I love how the food is made fresh. Most Paneras that I’ve been to, I have had great, friendly service. Not this one, no sir. Sure, it’s quick and I love the food, but are they friendly? Nope. No smiles, no, «How may I help you?», no one even told me my food had been sitting there for 5 minutes.
Just smile, people at Panera! Try it! It honestly does not hurt!
And by the way, $ 5.00 for the 1 ladle of chicken noodle soup, which included no noodles, and the yogurt is not worth it. My little ones were still hungry and I was forced to share my lunch. And if you know me, you know how I hate to share.

I’m not a huge fan of Panera but am there frequently for meetings. Usually I try to eat beforehand and grab a coffee, tea, or water and sweet. The chocolate chip cookies are usually under done but if you like to eat warmed cookie dough with a ring of crust, go for it.
This time I thought I would try their new broth bowl. It was titled correctly — LOTS of miso broth. It also has quinoa, lentils, brown rice, Kale and/​or spinach, a slice of lemon floating on top and a choice of a boiled egg or chicken. My bowl looked like a huge bowl of dark miso broth with a cut in half boiled egg and slice of lemon floating in it. The rest was in the bottom but there wasn’t very much of it. The picture online suggests food with broth, reality is broth with a little food. It was served with a HUGE serving spoon, which I took back and asked for something that didn’t require slurping to achieve satiation, and a fork. Fork? For the soup? For the bread?
The miso broth was very heavy and for those who are watching their salt intake — skip this meal. The salt in one of their broth bowls is over 1300 mg!
I will not be ordering this again. $ 8 is way too much for a bowl of too heavy broth with only a promise of more.
This shop is pretty run down and the staff pleasantries are sporadic. It’s difficult to like the food when there is a feeling of being a hinderance by walking in and ordering something.

One of my favorite places to meet up with friends for coffee or lunch. With a little updating, it would be even better!

I don’t know why it’s so hard to get my breakfast order right, but they just can’t manage it. Two breakfast entrees, two bakery treats, maybe a beverage. They almost always leave the bakery item out.

mediocre food under the guise of some fancy french bistro. hey were in the Midwest get reel thyme. The guise justifies over charging for bread… Let them eat cake!
This place truly epitomises the decline of entitled societies ignorance. They do not employ any minorities and I won’t consider the pretentious white teenage minorities. which leads me to the employees unrealistic expectations of the customers and the attitude they protrude if customers don’t meet their expectations. once again we are in the mid west get over yourself and get a clue. I would totally by pass this joint if u want to enjoy a delightful conscientious meal.

Our epic road trip is coming to an end! We just finished the first half of a 14-​hour stretch from the Big Apple to the Windy City, our final destination! Pulling into Youngstown, Ohio for a little shuteye, we were faced with the 10-​dollar question, «Where does a person go to find some gluten free grub in this town? Cracker Barrel? Steak and Lube? Really? What is THAT???
The pickings were looking kind of slim, when we found Panera Bread! Yes! Real food! I ordered my favorite gluten free menu item, BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad, without the tortilla chips, because I’m not exactly sure if they’re legal or not. Better safe than sorry. That’s my motto! Why spoil a perfectly nice road trip over a little tortilla chip. =)
For more gluten free restaurant reviews, check out
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Panera, to me, is synonymous with reasonably priced tasty stuff in a pleasant (albeit chain) coffeehouse/​café setting, and this Panera is a particularly good one.
Stopped in on Sunday to meet up with one of my best friends from my college days in Erie, PA. This Panera was the perfect quick meeting place as it’s located between our family homes and both of us had family obligations later in the day. I enjoyed a panini, she enjoyed a smoothie, and both of us enjoyed great conversation.
This Panera is near and dear to me: it’s the first Panera I ever experienced and is the one I’ve visited the most over the years. The restaurant’s location in the middle of the Boardman/​Youngstown plaza shopping mecca makes it a perfect choice for a quick snack before a shopping excursion or after you’ve exhausted yourself shopping. It’s generally congested, but service is competent and quick despite the fact that people are packed into this place during busy times of day.
One of my favorite Panera menu items? The chicken noodle soup in a sourdough bread bowl… oh my. So good. Makes me wish I had the metabolism I had 5 years ago though. Damn carbs.
A solid 4 stars. Panera never disappoints me!

Yeah I like Panera, but not all the time, cause I can’t afford to.
I like the soups, and classic salad. Bagels are good too, but make sure you ask to have them cut if you order for your office.
The bread is awesome, but I don’t need it with my soup, salad, and sandwich. I usually tell them to keep the bread and I order an asiago bagel instead.
A little uncomfortable sitting in the middle of the college crowd, all with their laptops and books all over, brings back memories I left behind. SCHOOL!
Any how, It’s nice to grab something quick for lunch.

This applies to most any Panera that I’ve been to across the country.
Come here for the soup. Almost always a large selection, with vegetarian, low-​fat, low salt options available. The soups are generally «thick». Not sure how to describe this otherwise. Even the chicken noodle broth is thick. Just not what I’m expecting. The Corn Chowder (any of their chowders) is a great choice. WARNING — The Bread Bowl may be tempting. Don’t do it unless you want a small portion of soup in a large hunk of sourdough bread. The bread is good, but not the combo. It isn’t worth it (see price rant later).
Don’t come here for good coffee. The coffee is passable, but not great. A minimal selection is available.
Come here for the greek salad. Unlike the soup, they have a greek dressing that is light (in terms of thickness) and the quantity is perfect to my taste.
Don’t come here for cheap food. A soup/​salad/​drink combo (half a salad, small bowl of soup) was $ 10. They did throw in a hunk of sourdough bread, a filler for the non-​carb conscious out there. It was a good lunch, but that’s serious coin at the end of the week.
Come here for the free Wi-​Fi. I make this place my «office» a couple of times a month. Bottomless, mediocre decaf, arctic temps and the latest scoop on all the senior citizen events (not that I’m eaves-​dropping or anything) await.
Finally, note to management at this location, can you turn down/​off the A/​C? My nose is starting to run. Cheers.