Panera Fills The Bill
By Josh Resnek
Wondering again what I was going to have for a quick lunch, I got in my car on Church Street and headed over to the Panera Bread at the Gateway Mall.
I knew exactly what I was going to get because I quite often head over to Panera for a quick fix…of food, that is.
I ordered onion soup -a small cup – with Gruyyere cheese, with no crutons, and no bread.
I’m off the bread.
The onion soup is dark, rich, and thick with cooked onions. It is probably salty as hell but it is delicious – a real nice onion soup taste.
The Gruyyere adds just the light texture and taste to the soup.
In fact, each spoonful of soup with a small, melted bit of the cheese, right into the mouth, swirled around and swallowed…well it is a minor event.
Good tasting soup is so hard to nd for lunch in Everett.
The soup was gone in a matter of six minutes.
I got it down quickly because I wanted to be eating the blueberry muffin.
The blueberry muffin with a few of those small butters and a small black coffee with about a dozon small sugars tossed into it, did the trick for dessert.
Panera coffee, even their light brew, tends to be stronger. The blueberry muffins at Panera are about a 7 out of 10, which is pretty damn good for a blueberry muffin in this area.
It is light years ahead of Dunkin Donuts and better than most places wherever blueberry muffins are sold locally.
I’m a blueberry muffin nut.
I am old enough to remember the greatest blueberry muffins ever made locally – and yes – all of you who experienced those muffins are right.
Nothing was better than the Jordan Marsh blueberry muffins.
Back to Panera’s blueberry muffin.
It isn’t too heavy and not very large. I don’t like giant muffins. They are offensive to me and much too much to be putting inside our stomachs.
I am always pleased with the size and weight of a Panera muffin.
There are plenty of blueberries nicely revealing themselves in the muffin.
The top of the muffin is crispy with sugar – always a sign to me that the muffin will at least be sweet.
There is a minor too sweet taste of something about each muffin. I think this is connected to the type confectioners sugar used in the product.
It doesn’t deter me from eating it but it would be a better product without that taste.
Panera rocks for atmosphere – lot’s of people on their computers, lot’s of multi- culturals mixing easily with everyone else.
Panera is a nice stop.
Soup and muffin and coffee – $9.00.
And I look out the front window where I was seated, and there it is, the casino/ hotel that is going to rock our world.