Panera Bread @ Shops at Don Mills

Jan 12, 2021

Randomly out of the blue, I received an email from Panera promoting their You Pick Two combination (and a free coupon for it!)

You Pick Two: Half Southwest Chile Lime Ranch Salad with Chicken with chips and Small Broccoli Cheese Mac & Cheese ($13.68)

The Southwest chicken salad was pretty tasty with the tangy zesty salad dressing that tied the crunchy tortilla chips, lettuce, creamy avocado and other assorted vegetables altogether in the salad. 

The broccoli cheese mac and cheese was really cheesy! It had a nice cheddar cheese sauce that was super thick and covered all the bits of broccoli and pasta shells; pretty tasty!

Overall: The portion sizes are a little small, and I'm not sure I'd pay about $15 with tax for it, but the food was pretty good (if not the best value for money).

Feb 2, 2014

Panera Bread is a big bakery chain in the U.S. and recently started expanding into Canada in the last 4 years.

Side Greek Salad

Fresh ingredients always make the difference in a salad, but the Greek dressing was a little sour. 

Cream of Broccoli soup in a Sourdough bread bowl

I loved the concept of the sourdough bowl! It's so much better when the bread fully soaks in the savoury soup. The soggy bread is so much easier (and more enjoyable to eat). The broccoli soup was thick and chunky with all the ingredients. I wish the soup had some cheddar cheese to make the taste sharper. 

Turkey Chili in a sourdough bread bowl

Turkey chili just isn't the same as the hearty beef chili; it's missing that meaty full-bodied flavour. 

There were more than enough beans, but I think it was a little watered down and I was missing my beef. 

Half a Sierra Turkey Sandwich

The Sierra Turkey sandwich has mixed greens, chipotle mayo on focaccia

Rather blah sandwich - the focaccia wasn't anything special and the turkey and greens were simple. It was missing that punch of flavour from the mayo or the sauce. 

Potato chips and a baguette piece (part of the You Pick Two combo)

Smallest baguette I've ever seen...

Overall: It was a pretty mediocre meal, but I'm glad I found a place that serves soup in a sourdough bowl (even if it was pretty pricey here). 

Website: https://www.panerabread.com/en-us/home.html