Panera Bread
Posted by lisaanddini on May 23, 2008 · Member since May 2007 · 2179 posts
Panera Bread has new really yummy salad that seems vegan (except maybe refined sugar in the dressing) It's called strawberry poppyseed. Does anyone know which if any of their breads are vegan? I like the multigrain one.
Damn it, I've been enjoying the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich without feta a couple times while I work at Panera. Then I checked the nutrition info just now and realized it has honey in the bread. I made this mistake after looking at the Vegan Eating Out site and seeing the bread on there without any special notation for honey (it takes a few minutes on my computer for the honey symbols to load, and I must have just looked quick). Dang. Sorry, bees. :(
It's a good sandwich too. I wonder if they could make it on a different bread for me. I'll ask next time.
I've gotten it on the artisan french bread. It's tasty and vegan!
KMK its all good I am sure even the most careful will sometimes consume something contaminated.
Used to eat at Panera allot with my ex veggie road mate.
The only thing I am ok with eating there now is the Black Bean soup.
I am in the club of living in non veg friendly area so eating out is not a pleasant experience.
Rarely do I eat out.
Pretty much used to not eating out so I do not think about anymore.
Just got done traveling 1 week on the road 1500 miles from home and will say I did not eat out once.
Would of done this even if I was camping and not staying in a hotel.
AC, thanks again for listing everything out! I had to eat at Panera last weekend and this time I knew what to order! :)
AC, thanks again for listing everything out! I had to eat at Panera last weekend and this time I knew what to order! :)
Hey, no problem! I think that was my first vw list. ;)
Also, it is about a year old..so I'll update it now (if there's anything to update). I've never even been in a Panera, but I'll be ready if I see one!
eta: just a couple minor changes-edited in original list
i have been to panera bread twice. four years apart. both times i got treated exceptionally terribly.
both times i had them make my sandwich without certain items. both times i got it back wrong. both times i went and politely explained that i'm vegan and i'm really sorry but i need it remade. both times they've been like, "oh yeah, that's no problem!" and really sweet. both times they turned out to be total assholes.
the first time he brought my second sandwich to me and as he was turning to walk away, he threw a piece of chicken that he had been hiding in his hand under the tray onto my sandwich. it was obviously intentional as it wasn't something that just fell. as he passed the tray over my plate, he threw with aim. what the hell?
i was traumatized. i refused to go back. but four years later i figured it would be safe since it would be different people and such.
the second time when i got back my sandwich it had cheese or something on it. i double checked the menu and it definitely didn't list this item so i had a good reason to be confused. when i explained everything to the guy he seemed very nice and helpful and had a huge smile. he asked me step by step what i wanted. he asked me if i wanted the dressing and i said no thank you. when i got back to my table i took a bite out of my sandwich and got nothing but italian dressing. i opened it up and he must have poured almost the entire bottle on my sandwich. it was obviously intentional. it was also a waste of money because i threw it out since i was afraid to have a third sandwich made.
i have never gone back. that second experience was four years ago. so in eight years i've been burned by them 100% of the 2 times i went there, spaced 4 years apart.
i would not go there. and if your sandwich is wrong, you definitely shouldn't get a remake!
I think your Panera(s) just sucked! At mine, they put the specific instructions ON the order, and they appear on your receipt/order stub. So the printout looks like this:
Meditteranean Veggie
--NO FETA
--WW BREAD
Or something like that. They also give me free soy milk, like a whole cup full! That's strange. Not all Panera's are like that.
oh well. i'm not really in a hurry to try it again!
Other things I've eaten there are the black bean soup...
black bean soup for the win! that stuff is really good
gosh i hate how u try to get something made vegan and people give u such a hard time no matter how nice u r... i find it really hard to eat out at most places and i really don't bother anymore... it sucks cause u don't want to be difficult (shiz i work with difficult customers everyday) but u end up being that way because people just can't comprehend that u don't want anything that contains animal products in ur food... thank god i can cook and i have vegan restaurants close to home... i hate that trying to find out ingredients is sooooooooo impossible for most places... i hope one day it becomes a law that u know exactly what ur eating
i hope one day it becomes a law that u know exactly what ur eating
in some places it is. in seattle all of the restaurants had to post the calorie break down for each serving and if you requested a list of ingredients they were required to be able to show it to you. some places put it right on the menu and some places posted it on walls... if not, then they had it in a binder under the front desk.
i think california has something similar? but i don't know for sure. i know i heard something about that in cali, but maybe hh can clarify? (or any other vwers who live there)
i have experienced some companies that will readily give/ have that info available... usually mainstream corporations... but most restaurants simply beat around the bush and keep pushing u off to someone else or won't respond to emails at all... it's really frustrating... i usually get the blow off when i ask about it or feel like the people really don't know what all encompasses non vegan ingredients... they just think no meat, no cheese, no eggs... ya it's vegan
i've ordered the Mediterranean veggie sandwich - no feta, on ciabatta or plain focaccia - several times and never had a problem with them substituting the bread or forgetting to leave off the feta. i usually order 1/2 sandwich, 1/2 salad (fuji apple chicken salad minus the chicken, gorgonzola, and dressing) and then request an apple instead of a bag of chips. yum!
i'll have to write them and ask about the questionable ingredients in the bread, tho'. :/
Panera bread is owned by the mcdonalds corporation..I don't know if any of you knew that...but just a heads up
I went there and looked, just because you were so excited about it...and I think I'll list all vegan things..b/c...I want to (I'll try not to miss anything!):
VEGAN (double check if you want to be double sure)
1. pastries and sweets: nothing
2. freshly baked breads: country artisan, stone milled rye artisan, plain focaccia has some questionable ingredients, artisan French, artisan sesame semolina (all of them-miche and loaf), artisan three seed demi, artisan ciabatta has questionable ingredients, specialty sourdough, and
DON'T GET the specialty French breads (including baguette)-egg whites!
3. bagels and spreads: blueberry bagel is questionable, everything bagel is questionable, plain bagel questionable, sesame bagel questionable (all of these have glycerides and L-cysteine)
4. breakfast sandwiches and souffles (duh): nothing
5. hand tossed salads: fresh fruit cup, strawberry poppyseed salad without chicken (I don't know what some of the preservatives are, but looks ok)
the classic cafe salad's balsamic vinaigrette has egg yolks! ??? see edit
6. sandwiches: nothing
the Mediterranean veggie sandwich bread has honey and the sandwich has feta crumbles
7. drinks: lemonade (except for the sugar thing), green tea
8. soups: vegetarian garden vegetable soup, vegetarian black bean-natural flavorings
9. kids: nothing
eta (4/09)-
10. Granola parfaits-none
I don't see the strawberry poppyseed salad anymore, and I don't see egg yolks in the classic salad balsamic vinaigrette
I recently worked at Panera. The bagels are not vegan ... they spray them with egg white to make them shiny. They recently added yogurt to all of the smoothies, but will still make them without yogurt if you ask them to. Make sure you tell them no whipped cream, because the standard is to put whipped cream on the ones that don't have yogurt (dumb, I know).
The veggie soup has been changed so that they now top it with pesto (which has cheese), so you have to tell them that you don't want this.
As for sandwiches ... veggie sandwiches are made on the same board and cut with the same knife as the meat/cheese/mayonnaise sandwiches. Only PB & J is separated because of peanut allergy (apparently they aren't worried about lawsuits from egg and dairy allergies). To top it all off, the franchise that I worked for switched from all natural peanut butter to crap that tasted like Jif (lots of sugar added).
I used to order the Greek salad, no dressing, no feta, add sun-dried tomatoes, add cucumbers with either chips or an apple. Panera Bread is franchised, so different stores will do some things differently. The one that I worked at brought in already chopped romaine, so you didn't have to worry about lettuce being cut with a meaty, cheesy knife.
The safest bet though ... just apples and potato chips.
thanks for the info!
Awww, now I'm depressed after reading this! I've been eating the Med. Veggies Sandwhich minus the feta too! I used to love the veggie soup and then saw that they recently added pesto to it :( I guess I can still get the Veggie Sandwhich minus the feta and one different bread (although it's really good >:( ).
I agree with whoever said they were treated badly. I have had SO many problems there that I almost stopped going altogether. I tell them no feta, it says on the receipt NO FETA, what do I get on my sandwhich? FETA! I remember one time I went up and told them that I can't eat this and that I asked for no feta, the guy got pissed and grabbed my sandwhich and threw it in the garbage (btw they're not allowed to take sandwhiches back once they're made), made the sandwhich without feta and litterally threw it on my plate almost hitting me! Almost everytime I'm there they still put the feta on it.
My mother has also had problems with them. She went on a date there and the kids working there were screaming and yelling and throwing stuff at each other.
I haven't been to Panera (AKA St.Louis Bread Co where I'm from...) since being vegan but this thread has made me sad. I really used to LOVE Bread Co. Is it really owned by Mcdonalds? It used to be local in St.Louis (hence the name) but changed it's name when it branched outside of the 'Lou. As a kid I loved the bagels :(
WOW, really bummed on Panera Bread. Never been in one, wondered why. Guess somehow I knew. Dang how sad, even Barnes and Noble has some vegan sandwiches.
this was depressing, yet so informative! thaaanksss!!!!! :)
The first time I ate there since going vegan I had the garden veggie soup and MV sandwich with no feta, not knowing about the bread or pesto. The cheese made me pretty ill. :\ Since, I heard about the bread and have subbed it with ciabatta (and I just don't order the soup now -- even if it was without cheese the copious amounts of oil swimming in it repulsed me), but Panera is definitely not my favorite place to eat. They're supposed to be this really healthy, fresh place, but really I think they're just as salty, fatty and unhealthy as anywhere else. The food always seems heavy somehow in my stomach. Hearing that they're owned by McDonald's doesn't surprise me. When I live on my own, I certainly won't be stopping there any more to eat.
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