Last week, I went to Panera Bread to have lunch with friends and got their new Thai Chopped Chicken Salad. While ordering, I saw their All Natural Steak Chili with Cornbread and made a mental note to come back. And then I did. It’s hard to say how many times I’ve gone to Panera over the years, but it’s definitely in the hundreds. Anyway, I forgot to add something to my Suggestive Guidelines for 2011: compliment others! In this spirit, I compliment you Panera Bread, and here is why…
1. The food tastes fresh and actually looks like the pictures on the website. What do you have to say for yourself…uh, all other fast food chains?
2. The nutritional information is easily accessible. And it has been for years. Before being health-conscious was considered a marketing strategy.
3. The restaurant was started in my hometown of St. Louis. It’s actually still called Saint Louis Bread Co. there. All my Chicago friends know this because I tell them. Twice.
4. Black Bean soup, Turkey Artichoke sandwich and Trail Mix bagels. I could go on. Orchard Harvest Chicken salad. Honey Walnut cream cheese. Hazelnut cream cheese. Okay, I’ll stop before I post the entire menu.
5. In some instances, they let the customers pay what they want.
6. They never disappoint. The All Natural Steak Chili with Cornbread is another winner.
Know that I love Panera (ahem, Saint Louis Bread Co.) so much that I decided to write this post for no particular reason except to blogshout their praises. What fast food chain do you equally admire? My friends can’t get enough of Chick-fil-A.
