Thursday, May 15, 2008
Panera's breakfast sandwiches
Stephanie Ogilvie | The Roanoke Times
A breakfast sandwich from Panera Bread
When word reached me that Panera Bread had introduced three breakfast sandwiches, I hurried over to try them at the bakery-cafe's Tanglewood Mall location.
The three-ingredient sandwiches are priced at $3.49 and include one with bacon, egg and cheese (pictured at right) and another with pork sausage, egg and cheese. The simpler egg and cheese sandwich is the least expensive at $2.99. The ingredients for all three sandwiches are cooked, layered and grilled fresh to order every morning on Panera's ciabatta bread, the tender yet firm-crusted Italian bread shaped like a slipper. Cutoff time for ordering a breakfast sandwich is 10:30 a.m.
THE GOOD
Nicely seasoned sausage and applewood-smoked bacon work beautifully in combination with fresh eggs and Vermont white cheddar cheese. I tasted the wholesomeness of the ingredients immediately in these grilled sandwiches that were all grease-free and easy to eat.
NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
However, my disappointments apply to all three sandwiches. None of the three I ordered looked like the mouth-watering picture on the "Begin Happy" promotional material placed on the tables where a thick slice of melting cheese drapes down from the filling. In my sandwiches, small slivers of cheese, bunched up in the center of the bread, never melted, depriving me of its luscious flavor. Even though I liked all three sandwiches equally, I craved a spread of chutney on each one to gin up the flavors.
IF YOU GO
Panera Bread, Tanglewood Mall,
4202 Electric Road.
776-1001.
Panera Bread, Valley View Mall,
4822 Valley View Blvd. 366-3700.
