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| - WHERE'S THE BEEF?
It amazes me how restaurants could mess up such a simple sandwich like a BLT. A BLT is not exactly a culinary work of art. It is beacon, lettuce, and tomatoes with mayonnaise on bread. Yet, some restaurants mess it up. When I set eyes on my Panera Bread BLT, or more like LT; I was asking the exact question that the old lady asked in the 80s Wendy's commercial "Where's the beef?" In this case the beef was beacon. What I saw was a few pieces of ordinary beacon with lettuce and tomato on bread. The bread was comparable to Wonder bread which is ironic considering that this is Panera Bread. I was unimpressed that there was not a choice of bread and that it was untoasted. The potato chips that I picked as the side was actually better than the sandwich.
This is my second time at this Panera Bread. A few weeks ago, I dined here with Shirley. B. The roasted turkey & avocados BLT that I ordered then was a tasty sandwich. And I know that Shirley liked her soup. But that doesn't make up for the atrocity of a sandwich that I had tonight and for the record, a good amount of it was leftover bread.
The restaurant itself, which is in the Paseo Verde Parkway side of The District, is a clean and attractive dining environment. The noise level is average with some rock playing in the background. And there is sufficient seating and lighting.
Panera Bread is on the dining level between fast-food and casual dining. You step in line then order off the menu board. After paying, you bring a number to a table. They bring you the food, but you serve your beverage. When your done they bus the table.
A BLT gives me an impression of a restaurant. And when a BLT is so short of the beacon that it becomes a LT it is leaves me with a poor impression.
I never say never. I could return to Panera Bread. Maybe their speciality is bagel sandwiches. Who knows! If I cross that bridge and return to Panera Bread, and leave satisfied with a different sandwich, I can always update my review with a reference to this one. After tonight's sandwich, color me unsatisfied.
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