Syracuse Sandwich: Panera Bread's Chipotle Chicken

Who: Panera Bread What: Chipotle Chicken
Where: Route 11, Cicero Phone: 458-9436 Website: Panera Bread
Parking: Shared lots Accepts Credit Cards: Yes Take-Out: Yes Delivery: No

     If you’ve read my blog over the past few months, you’ll know that I get out of work late on Fridays which drives us to go out for dinner. This was the case this past Friday night so we went to our go to spot, Panera Bread. This is the sixth review of Panera I will be doing. While placing my order I felt like I should’ve gone to find other places for sandwiches but that got me to thinking. If a place like Panera or Spera’s has a multitude of sandwiches, isn’t it my duty to try them all so you know that to avoid and what you must have? So I quickly dismissed the idea of not ordering a sandwich to review and chose the Chipotle Chicken. The reviews I have done thus far of Panera have been hit or miss so I was taking a chance by not ordering soup to go along with my trusted BBQ Chopped Chicken salad. As usual our food came out quickly but we were stuck grabbing a table opposed to a booth on this busy Friday night. My phone battery was dying as I tried to take a picture and despite my efforts, I was unable to get a picture. In hindsight, I should have used Christine’s phone but oh well.

     When I set my plate down and saw the size of the sandwich, I was expecting some disappointment. But before I get to the flavors and all that let me describe how the sandwich comes. Small slices of pepper-mustard chicken, smoked bacon, smoked cheddar, and tomatoes come on toasted French bread with an ancho-chipotle spread. The “half” a sandwich that I got as a part of my meal seamed more like a third of a sandwich but maybe because I’m used to big thick sandwiches. This half a sandwich was quite thin and was oozing with the ancho-chipotle spread. Since it came toasted I opted to eat this before my salad because I wanted to eat it warm like they intended. The pepper-mustard chicken is the same chicken that comes in the salad I ordered as well as a few other items on the menu. While I like the taste if the chicken, I wanted more. The bacon was crispy like it normally is and not greasy which is a nice touch. The cheddar was semi melted but kept the surprisingly fresh tasting tomatoes from sliding around. I say surprisingly fresh tomatoes because I’ve had quite a bit bad luck when it comes to tomatoes at Panera. The real kicker in more ways than one was the ancho-chipotle spread. It went wonderfully with the chicken, cheese, and bacon by adding a creamy texture that the cheese failed to deliver. It had a smoky flavor with a side of spiciness that brought it up to the next level. The French bread didn’t help or hurt the sandwich but it did serve a good vessel to hold all the ingredients. I wasn’t wrong about the anticipated disappointment because had I had more sandwich and had it been toasted a bit longer, this one could have been the best one yet, from Panera.

Rating: Tasty – So close Panera, so close.