Last night, a group of my female friends and I enjoyed a delicious, authentic-as-far-as-we-know Italian dining experience in a non-chain, super cute bungalow of a restaurant across from the Hunter Thompson Art Museum. This Italian eatery was snuggled in with a coffee shop, bakery and a bocce ball court. I could barely squeeze my Honda Accord in between the luxury SUVs in their cobblestone parking lot that overlooked the river. The group of girlfriends that I was with, who chose this charming place, are not the kind to frequent chain restaurants (and certainly if they did, they weren't likely to admit to it). However, over bruschetta and white wine, my friend Liz told an amusing anecdote about a retired coworker who ate the same thing, at the same restaurant everyday for lunch over several decades. She ended the tale with some gentle teasing of our friend Kelly, who always insists on going to Panera Bread for lunch when she's working with our other friend, Jade. Defensively, Kelly jumped in quickly to set the record straight before the other girls pegged her as a chain-restaurant-eater. She pointed out that she works in Cleveland, a small town in East Tennessee that doesn't attract a lot of original restauranteurs. Panera is simply the best options of the other, lesser priced chain fast food establishments. Panera offers free wi-fi, plays classical music, sells expensive coffee spin off drinks! The girls nodded and then Kelly sealed the deal by informing us that one of her customers owns the Panera and she's giving back to the local economy. Phew. This last bit of White empathy closed the case. Her position in our White Girl's club was secure.
So this brings me to the latest restaurant to be subject to amateur review - Panera Bread! We love Panera Bread! For lunch, I like to get their turkey sandwich with bacon on the Asiago cheese bread. I also enjoy their salads. As a stereotypical weight conscious white woman, who frequently orders salads I really appreciate the variety of salads that they offer. It's a nice break from your typical cobb or chef salad to get a salad with some apple slices,walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. Also, one advantage to going to a chain restaurant over our trendy, neighborhood sandwich shops is that you can review their nutrition facts on their website before dining to ensure you make a well educated, nutritional choice.
Lunch at Panera is great but I especially love them though for their bagels at breakfast time. Bagels are my breakfast carbs of choice. I prefer them over their sweeter breakfast competitors, such as danishes, sticky buns and donuts. Living in the south my whole life, I've struggled to find good bagels. Like any good white young adult who owns a bicycle, I would prefer to buy my bagels from local bakeries. However, the local bakeries in my neighborhood specialize in donuts, cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones and even croissants - but no bagels. Luckily, I can rely on Panera to come through with delicious bagels!
So next time you're driving through an unsophisticated, untrendy rural/suburban piece of America, look for a Panera and you'll be sure to please any white girl in your group!
After the first paragraph all i could think about was "my, this white girl has a shitton of friends!" But as i eagerly read on, I became interested in knowing the price you paid for a turkey sandwich with bacon on asiago. Im setting the over/under at 7.99.
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