Panera Bread at Boca Park
Wild Blueberry Scone
Caramel Apple Thumbprint Scone
Cinnamon Crunch Scone
Cinnamon Snickerdoodle
Gluten Conscious Triple Chocolate Cookie with Walnuts
Gluten Conscious Monster Cookie
Cobblestone
Pumpkin Muffie
Apple Crunch Muffin
Once a dining staple, a quiet location in Northwest Ohio providing bottomless Coffee one of the primary drivers of a caffeine addiction unlikely to ever wane, Panera Bread has remained a place to relax and browse the internet as I’ve moved West through Phoenix and onto Las Vegas, a lackluster recent visit to Kneaders making me wonder just how the current baked goods at the Quick-causal mainstay compare.
Having at this point not eaten a bite at the restaurant in nearly nine years, but none-the-less memorizing their greetings and selections by way of the friendly clerks and longtime General Manager at the Bakery-Café just down the street, it was for an abbreviated Saturday Breakfast that parking was located during the Seasonal Art Walk and briefly perusing a selection of crafts that made me long for days back in the Midwest it was with far more deliberation that the freshly stocked shelves of Panera were investigated, a total of nine items ringing in at just over $20 and consumed, in parts, over the course of six hours traveling around town.
Laid out in a more open format than other Panera Bread stores in town, the high ceilings and divided sections plus an outdoor patio helpful for relocating in case of loud children, over-aggressive Air Conditioning or the Red Hat crowd, it was with items both boxed and plated that seating was found at a small banquet with one of the sparsely located electrical outlets, a soundtrack ranging from ChVrches to Tame Impala and TV on the Radio as the internet creeped along, Boca Park inexplicably having not yet upgraded to industry standard WiFi Speeds as of yet.
Focusing recently on “going clean,” an amusing phrase considering both my job and hobbies, a look at Panera’s recent lineup includes several Autumnal Flavors looking to capitalize on “Limited Time Only” and “Back by Popular Demand” shenanigans, first bites of a ‘Cinnamon Crunch’ Snickerdoodle showing the soft Cookie to be no different than any other recipe, though the homogeneity from edge-to-edge made it generally underwhelming, the “Gluten Conscious” Monster and Triple Chocolate versions far more interesting as the first was punched up with everything from Nuts and Fruit to Chocolate with the latter particularly impressive by way of its chewiness and textural variance.
Knowing better than to take a chance on laminated options, the ‘dough’ pre-frozen and from a bag as witnessed at locations with a more open kitchen, Scones at Panera eat much more like the American dessert pastry than their crumbly British counterparts, the experience made even more ‘Merica by the addition of over-the-top sweet toppings, the Wild Blueberry version eating much like a Blueberry Muffin elsewhere while others might as well be served as Cake slices, though the seasonal Caramel Apple Thumbprint really is quite delicious comforting when warmed up and eaten in the proper context.
Completely underwhelmed by the “Cobblestone,” a lumpy sort of Brioche Muffin that seems to play on concepts of Monkey Bread and Fritters without properly executing on either, the Pumpkin Muffie comes off strangely dry considering the typical moisture content of its supposed constituents, the Apple Crunch Muffin a far better overall experience with small bits of Streusel mixed into the batter along with a whole lot of Cinnamon and dehydrated Apple Chips.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Generally a nice place to study and browse the internet, free Coffee refills and a wide variety of sweeteners plus creams available, Panera Bread is nonetheless ‘food for the masses’ sold in a slightly prettier package, the current “Clean” campaign just window dressing for to justify high prices as calorie counts and taste of most items are no different than what one might find at any number of other chain restaurants.
RECOMMENDED: Triple Chocolate Cookie, Caramel Apple Thumbprint Scone, Apple Crunch Muffin, Bottomless Coffee.
AVOID: Cobblestone, Snickerdoodle, arriving during peak-times when the limited electrical outlets are all occupied and Internet lag is pronounced.
TIP: Having visited five of the six local Panera Bread locations with some regularity over the last three years their impressive staff retention speaks volumes about the work environment, every member typically smiling and helpful with the clerks at the Boca Park location particularly pleasant regardless of time or day of the week.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.panerabread.com/
