Check Out Panera Breads' New Summer Menu

So who knew that Panera Bread has a Summer Menu 2019 menu?

I definitely have been a late arrival to the party that is the food at Panera Bread, but my mother and my late father were some of their best customers, so much so that the staff in the Trumbull location knew them by name and took very good care of them. Before my father’s death in 2017, my parents would dress in their couple’s Halloween costume of the year and head to Panera’s to the great delight of everyone in the restaurant. My mother was so excited when her favorite tomato soup became available at her local Big Y, so that she could enjoy it at home. Now if only she could buy the delicious bread there as well…

Panera Bread starts with breakfast. New breakfast wraps on the summer menu include maple glazed bacon, scrambled eggs and cheese, Mediterranean egg white and chipotle chicken, scrambled egg and avocado. Sandwiches for breakfast come in steak, over easy egg and cheese; ham, over easy egg, cheese and roasted tomato; sausage, over easy egg, and cheese; ham, over easy egg and cheese; bacon, over easy egg and cheese; avocado, egg white and spinach; and over easy egg and cheese.

Breakfast wraps, sandwiches and souffles available until 10:30 am on weekdays and a comfortable 11:00am on weekends.

Panera makes it easy to craft your own breakfast sandwich. You can swap your bread for farm-style, any bagel or an artisan ciabatta. You can swap your egg for a scrambled egg, egg white or an over easy egg, and you can flavor your sandwich with sauces that include basil pesto, sweet maple or chipotle aioli.

Souffles are available in four cheese, spinach and artichoke, spinach and bacon, and ham and swiss. Steel cut oatmeal is available with a cinnamon crunch topping, strawberries and pecans, or blueberries and granola. Also available is quinoa with almonds and honey. Yogurt and fruit available is Greek yogurt, a summer fruit cup, an apple or a banana.

Bakery items listed on the menu feature various amounts of bagels, cream cheese spreads, pastries and sweets. The pastries and sweets include a cinnamon crumb coffee cake, artisan pastries, brownies, scones, muffins and “muffies” and cookies. A new sweet is campfire s’mores bar. Freshly baked breads are not listed on the printed menu but their bakers work each and every day, hand-shaping and scoring the dough to bring you freshly baked bread every morning and throughout the day and are available for purchase. My parents often brought along a loaf for Sunday dinner at my late aunt’s house.

Their delicious classic salads include modern Greek with quinoa, Caesar, seasonal greens and Greek. The salads that are served with chicken are southwest chile lime ranch, green goddess Cobb, Fuji apple, spicy Thai, Caesar and Asian sesame. The seasonal salads offered are the NEW summer strawberry caprese and strawberry poppyseed with chicken.

Chicken tortellini alfredo pasta can be ordered with a half salad, half sandwich, cup of soup, or one flatbread for an additional charge. Mac & cheese is offered in four varieties: bacon, Baja, BBQ chicken and plain. Salads, pasta and mac are served with a choice of baquette (try it, trust me,) a sprouted grain roll, chips (also very good,) or an apple.

Panera is perhaps most famous for their sandwiches and soups. Craft sandwiches include steak and arugula, roasted turkey and avocado BLT, roasted turkey, apple and cheddar, bacon turkey bravo, Mediterranean veggie and Napa almond chicken salad (which I recently tried and liked a lot.)

Panera Bread's Napa Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich features chicken raised without antibiotics, diced celery, seedless red grapes, almonds, and chicken salad dressing plus lettuce and vine-ripened tomatoes on fresh-baked Sesame Semolina Bread.

Toasted sandwiches available are steak and white cheddar, modern caprese, Cuban, chipotle chicken avocado, BBQ flatbread, bacon tomato grilled cheese and frontega chicken. New on this section of the menu is a Tuscan grilled chicken. Classic sandwiches are a classic grilled cheese, my mother’s favorite tuna salad, turkey and heritage ham and swiss. The sandwiches are served with the same choices as those offered with salads.

“You Pick 2” allows you to combine two items from this list: half salad, half sandwich, cup of soup, small mac and cheese or one flatbread.

Soups change with the day. Sunday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday brings cream of chicken and wild rice. Monday and Wednesday offers baked potato and on Friday you can try New England clam chowder. Soups available everyday include the yummy chicken noodle, broccoli cheddar, creamy tomato (also yummy,) summer corn chowder, ten vegetable and bistro French onion.

Bowls with umami broth include soba noodle (with chicken or edamame blend) and lentil quinoa (with chicken, cage free egg, or just vegan.) Soups and bowls are served with the usual choices above.

Beverages on the menu are unique. In addition to the usual soft drinks, there is organic white milk and chocolate milk, as well as apple juice. Frozen drinks include agave lemonade and new offerings frozen caramel cold brew, frozen mocha cold brew and frozen strawberry lemonade. Craft cold drinks include prickly pear hibiscus fresca, passion papaya green tea, plum ginger hibiscc;pus tea, iced black tea, blood orange lemonade and agave lemonade. All varieties are clearly labeled at the self-serve station.

Speciality drinks include a NEW cold brew, NEW Madagascar vanilla cream, NEW Madagascar vanilla almond, iced coffee, iced coffee latte, iced caramel latte, iced caffe mocha, iced chai tea latte and NEW iced Madagascar vanilla latte. Smoothies offered include mango, strawberry banana, strawberry, and superfruit, all made with Greek yogurt. Non-dairy versions include green passion and peach and blueberry. Also on the menu are hot drinks like coffee, tea, lattes, cappuccino, espresso, signature hot chocolate and NEW Madagascar vanilla latte.

Panera Kids features mac & cheese, a cup of soup, half sandwiches (pb&j, grilled cheese, turkey or ham) and half salads (seasonal greens, Caesar, and Greek.) Kid’s items are served with a choice of yogurt, apple, baguette or a sprouted grain roll.

More ways to “Panera” are listed on the menu. They offer catering for every group, every size, every meal. They deliver with a minimum order of $5, which is not hard to do, and delivery charges may vary. “Rapid Pick-up,” a registered trademark, allows Panera lovers to order online and they’ll have your food ready when you arrive. Panera at Home allows you to keep Panera refrigerated soups, mac & cheese, and salad dressing, plus sliced bread and coffee on hand. These items are available at grocery stores but not at bakery-cafes.

The menu is subject to change without notice. Calorie counts are included for most items. My one suggestion for their printed menu is to offer a description of the ingredients in the specialty items.

The closest Panera Bread locations are Waterbury, Southington, and Bristol.

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