Memorial Day Weekend Eats Part 5: Panera

One warm August morning in the middle of the last decade, I visited a Panera in downtown Minneapolis. My friends and I were going sailing on White Bear Lake and we thought sandwiches sounded like a good thing to bring along. I don't remember exactly what I ordered - some kind of turkey sandwich - but I remember my special request:

"Can I get that without the sun-dried tomatoes?"

"Well," the girl explained to me as if I had just ruined her morning, "if you want to make a special request, you'll have to wait at least fifteen minutes for your sandwich."

So I said never mind. And then I waited more than fifteen minutes for my sandwich. It turned out to be perfectly acceptable. Not bad at all, but no better than the 7-11 turkey sandwich I bought a few days later.

That was almost seven years ago and I have not eaten at a Panera since then. I have nothing against the place, I just never had any desire to return. But Elizabeth's dad called this morning and asked if we wanted to accompany him to Panera. We said sure.

The two of them selected three pastries and I took a small bite of each. I didn't care for two of them but the cherry-and-cheese danish was pretty tasty. And the coffee was fine.