6278 S. Westnedge AvenueWe travel a lot for figure skating.
When we travel, there’s me, who likes to find the local place. Then there’s my daughter, who wants to go to the same three restaurants everywhere.
One of those restaurants is pretty much always Panera Bread. I try to resist or I’ll go to Panera and grab her something then go somewhere else to get myself something. My family lovingly calls me “Dad Dash” at these events because I end up going to five different restaurants over the course of two days.
I tell you all of this just to say, I don’t eat at Panera very often.
There was an opportunity one day last week to do one of those fundraiser nights for my kids’ synchronized skating team and the restaurant was Panera. I figured I could get myself to eat there one night. I had to eat anyway and at least some of the money would go to the kids.
The fundraiser was only happening at the Portage Panera Bread location. This store is on Westnedge Avenue south of Southland Drive in the Southland Shopping Center. The last time I blogged about Panera Bread in Portage, the shop was further north on Westenedge on the corner with Milham Avenue. That building is now the McAlister’s Deli and the new Panera is it’s own standalone shop big enough to have a drive thru.
The layout of this Panera is unlike any Panera I’ve ever been in before. It has such a new feeling to it (I mean, it is a new building) but it also is much smaller, brighter, and more open than the Panera on West Main or any other Panera I’ve been in.
There is an order counter right inside the door which feels more like a fast casual set up than the older buildings have. There is no bakery counter and there’s not that open kitchen where you can watch people make the orders. There’s a small cabinet with some of the fresh bread but not the big separate bakery and smoothie counter that I’m used to.
The dining room is also much smaller. It’s contained to one wide open room with tables along the wall. Again, much more like a fast casual restaurant than the café style Panera used to be.
You can still go to the counter and order from a person but there are also self order kiosks right inside the door. I always like this option better because it lets me see how I can customize a sandwich and gives me new ideas.
I did not use the kiosk though. I put my order in online before I left the office.
I ordered the Ciabatta Cheesesteak with chips as my side then added on a baguette as an additional side. The cost was right around $15 and it was sitting in the pick up window from the kitchen all bagged up and ready to go when I got there.
Even the chip bag has undergone a rebranding since the last time I’ve eaten at a Panera. The chips are the same though. It’s a fairly small bag of kettle chips. Really delicious and helped tide me over on the drive from Portage back to downtown Kalamazoo.
The thing that I have always loved from Panera is the baguette. I grabbed the small piece as soon as I got back to my desk. L and I always kind of fight over who gets the extra one of there is when when J orders for every one else. I usually skip the sandwich but I will fight her for the extra baguette if J or B don’t want theirs. It’s my favorite part of the meal. Perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft and warm in the middle.
The sandwiches have always just been fine. They’re usually more bread than sandwich. The bread is good but I usually walk away hungry. That’s kind of why I stopped ordering with J when she would order there for everyone else.
This time, I picked the Ciabatta Cheesesteak. This is a newer sandwich and one I hadn’t seen before. It’s marinated sliced steak, provolone cheese, caramelized onions, spicy sweet peppers, and a garlic aioli on Ciabatta. I left the onions off and added some sliced pepperoncini. Like I figured, there was more bread than sandwich but it was tasty. I wish it had a lot more meat but as it was, it was fine and I really enjoyed it.
I don’t know if this changes my opinion of Panera too much. My meal was fine. I enjoyed every part of it. Could it have been better? Yeah, of course. I was still pretty hungry after eating this and thought about how hungry I was the rest of the night. I could give in and just order this again when L wants her bacon topped Panera mac & cheese and I’d be alright with that.