"Italian Combos" & Drive-Thrus at the Hilliard Panera

My final Columbus review, Hilliard...or so I thought! I was pretty pumped on my drive to Hilliard on Sunday afternoon. Throughout this past year, I have diligently crossed off the Panera Bread locations on my list. To my knowledge, Blacklick was the last on my list from the original Cbus area Paneras. I knew there were 2 new Paneras opened in the Cbus area this past year (Lane Ave & Hilliard)...but I had no idea that a secret 3rd location had opened! Coming soon: Grove City Panera review!

The official list used to mark of
my Panera visits...

Focusing on the task at hand, however...here's my Hilliard Panera experience:

The Review:
Date visited: Sunday, November 27
Time of day: 5ish
Items ordered: You pick 2 (half italian combo sandwich on whole grain + greek salad no olives), a whole grain baguette, and an unsweet tea.

That's a nice looking "Italian Combo"...

This Panera is located off of Hilliard-Rome Road, very close to the I-70 exit. Hilliard-Rome Road is super busy. Tons of retail shopping, restaurants, etc. I can see why Panera strategically placed this Panera close to the I-70 on-ramps, next to a Meijer and across the street from a Wal-Mart.
It's a new Panera...it's not a free-stander, but it has a drive-thru! My fav! This location shares a building with Five-Guys, and something else...can't recall. Maybe an ATT store?

I arrived with my laptop on a rainy Sunday afternoon. As always, I was happy to see a drive-thru, and hope that drive-thru's become more of a rule rather than the exception.
The LAYOUT: Very unique. A Dispatch article talks about how it is a prototype for future Panera's to mimic. Walking in the front entrance, there is open seating to your immediate left and more of a closed-off section to your right, featuring the main dining area. Straight ahead...the cashier.

Whatcha see when you walk in...
notice the fancy LED menu boards.

I found a nice booth, with an outlet, close to the bathroom.
RANDOM notes:

• The Italian Combo sandwich. RANDOM! I know. A completely new item ordered, only because I wanted to try this out for my readers. It just doesn't seem fair for me to keep ordering the SAME thing. 3 words sum up this sandwich: Meaty, filling, salty. I opted to not get it on the ciabatta bread. I think Ciabatta bread is too hard. Would I order it again? Doubtful. Should you? Only if you are looking for something meaty, filling, and salty. Sounds like Snooki's taste in men. Actually, an "Italian Combo" sounds like a term that the Jersey Shore crew would embrace for a number of innuendos.

Snooki's "Italian Combo"

• More bread DRAMA. At the Blacklick location, I ordered a Med Veg, which comes on tomato basil. Well, they put it on whole-grain. Fair enough. I got over it. Less than a week later, at this visit, they put my "Italian Combo" on Ciabatta, despite the fact that I ordered it on whole-grain. I don't like to be a diva, but I had them change the order this time.
• Grove City. Apparently I have to drive down there for a review. I had no idea Panera opened down there. I will be sure to fit this in before year's end.
• Outlets are key at a Panera. There are numerous Panera laptop lurker's at any given Panera. We need our outlets. I was fooled at this location. The older layouts have the outlets underneath the tables on the wall. Apparently, the newly designed stores have them cleverly placed on the outside of the bench seat. The outlet covers also match the paint, so they blend in well. Indeed, clever. What will you think of next, Panera?
• Menu boards. This one has the new electronic message boards. Very attractive!
• I earned $2 off the PICK 2...just for having the MY PANERA card!
• Hilliard-Rome vs. Rome-Hilliard: How do you say it or spell it? Which comes first Hilliard or Rome?

View from my table...

A Manic Monday Dinner at the Blacklick Panera!

In an effort to squeeze in as many new Panera reviews by years end, I made it a point to visit the Blacklick Crossing Panera on Monday for dinner. This Panera is by no means convenient for me to get to. I decided to stop by this Panera on my way back from Zanesville en route to UA.

I actually used to work very close to this Panera years ago, sadly I never bothered to eat there! Apparently that was pre-Panera obsession. Regardless, visiting the Blacklick area off of Taylor-Station Road was bit like a stroll down memory lane.

The REVIEW:
Date visited: Monday 11.21
Time of day: 6:30ish
Items ordered: The proverbial old-faithful...Med Veg (Apparently I ordered it on whole grain...see random notes), whole grain baguette and the unsweet tea.

My blood sugar level was dropping dramatically as I was basically parked on Rt. 16...with no Panera in sight. Getting down Rt. 16 off 270...was a real B****H! As it turns out, A LOT of people live/work near Blacklick...who knew?

I finally arrived at the Blacklick Crossing Panera, and my attitude instantly changed. In a word, this Panera is quaint. I have seen my fair share of the larger Panera's. It was a nice change of pace to see a smaller, more cozy Panera.

Difficult to illustrate "quiantness"...you will have to just see for yourselves.

Random NOTES:

• A bit of a debacle with the Med Veg. I ordered a whole-grain baguette; however, the associate that made my sandwich assumed this meant to nix the tomato basil bread on the sandwich. Once my name was called, I noticed the mistake. Because I can be a bit of a scatter-brain, I asked him if I ordered whole-grain instead of tomato basil. He looked at the order, and noticed that it was his mistake. He offered to remake the sandwich, but that seemed senseless at that point. I was hungry and didn't want to be a diva. Whole-grain sounds healthier anyway.

3 butters and a Dispatch...pretty standard, really.

• The CROWD for a Panera dinner is always interesting. A completely different vibe than your breakfast or lunch crowd. Even the associates act different. I always wonder why others chose Panera for dinner, and not something more traditional...like an Applebees or something I suppose. While it is not near as strange, but it is kind of like going to Waffle House for dinner. It just doesn't happen that often. Perhaps these dinner diner's are in fact as die-hard Panera fans as I?
• BLACK FRIDAY. You won't be able to go to a Panera for Turkey Day, but you can get there early for Black Friday. Some open as early as 4 AM...but most open at 6AM.
• For anyone that is counting...to-date I have reviewed 19 Columbus area Panera's (only one more to-go and it is a new one)...Outside of the Columbus market, I have reviewed 10 others across the nation. Keep in mind that I don't do a review each time I go to a Panera. That would be far too time consuming, and quite frankly embarrassing.
• Coming next weekend: My Lakewood Panera review. Refer back to my "About this blog" post, and you will see the significance.

Florida wedding and the Lake Eola Panera

One of my good friends, Ashley, got married a few weeks ago in Florida. I was excited to be in this wedding, and had been looking forward to the events leading up to the wedding for some time now. It was an added bonus that I had a legit excuse to go to Florida in November!

Warning, this part gets weird...

Shortly after arriving in Orlando, I picked up my rental car and went to a nearby Panera. Yes, that was the first thing I did. You read that correctly.

Now that's curb appeal!

The Panera I chose was the Lake Eola location. Lake Eola is in downtown Orlando, and it is gorgeous! Directly across the street from the Panera is a large lake with a bordering walking/running trail. It is quite picturesque, to say the least! I would consider the Lake Eola neighborhood to be very high-end. There were several high-rise condo units, that looked pretty high-dollar. (Although there are probably some really good deals on those units, considering the real estate market, especially in Florida)

An aerial photo of Lake Eola. Told ya it was gorge!

The Review:
Date visited: Wednesday, November 2
Time of Day: 11ish
Items ordered: Chopped Chicken Cobb salad, apple, unsweet tea

I was proud of myself for not ordering the med veg and a baguette. Clearly, I was thinking about the dress I had to wear in a couple of days...and said no to the carbs.

The layout of this Panera is quite unique. The outdoor patio is very tranquil. Once you enter the restaurant, there is seating to your left and right. Straight ahead is the bakery cashier and to the right of that is the regular cashier. Along the other side of the restaurant is more seating.

Random NOTES:

• Sweet tea option. They have an unsweet and sweet tea option available at this Panera. With the rise in sweet tea popularity, I am surprised sweet tea is not an option at the Ohio stores. I have noticed that sweet tea is becoming more and more popular in Ohio. My theory holds that McDonald's is responsible for spreading this trend. I personally, hate sweet tea. It is far too sweet for my liking.
• Business crowd. A majority of the patrons looked like they were on a quick break from work and/or conducting a business meeting at the Panera.
• Bathrooms. 3 stalls. That's fairly unusual. Also the handicapped stall had it's own sink. That's always a pleasant surprise.
• My Panera. I have earned a free sandwich on My Panera card. If you don't have a My Panera card, you are crazy. They practically give you money. What a reward...a free sandwich!
• Gift cards. I had a bunch of points racked up on my Chase checking account. Instead of using those points to buy something useful...I traded those points in for $125 worth of Panera Gift Cards. I think I went through the money in just under 2-months. Disgusting.
• Patio seats. Call me crazy, but these seats seemed nicer than usual. Thoughts?

Congratulations Tim and Ashley!



Tailgating, Buckeyes, and the Lane Avenue Panera!

If you haven't already heard, Panera just opened a new location on Lane Avenue in the heart of campus. It is housed in the former Cooker building just a few doors down from Varsity Club. When I think of this strip of Lane Avenue, I think of tailgating, partying, and Buckeyes. So when I first caught wind of Panera setting up shop here, I was skeptical. Who is going to grab a pick 2 in the midst of tailgate time? After visiting this Panera, I now understand the method to their madness...quite frankly, I think it is genius.

It was fate. I had no other choice but to have lunch there.

A couple of Friday's ago, I had a couple of appointments in the Grandview area. After leaving my last appointment, I see a huge billboard that states the Lane Avenue Panera is NOW OPEN! I was legitimately not hungry at this point in time...but how could I dismiss this obvious sign of fate? I needed to go to this Panera, and it needed to happen now. I made a quick u-turn, forced myself to get hungry, and happily walked into the Lane Avenue Panera.



THE REVIEW:
Date visited: 10.30.11
Time of day: 11ish
Items ordered: Med veg, chips, unsweet tea
At 8,500 square feet, this Panera is HUGE! As I was walking to the entry, I noticed the large patio seating area that spanned across the front and the back of the building.

I was greeted by 3 Panera associates at the entry and another managementesque Panera associate near the cash register. As they had only been open a couple of days, I imagine this is proper protocol for a new store. I find it rather annoying, and a bit of an overkill. I suppose they gotta do what they gotta do though.

Once again, I was set on ordering something new and exciting, but cracked under pressure once at the register and ordered my new default: The Med Veg. After placing my order, I filled up my tea and looked for a good place to sit while my food was prepared. Even though this Panera is huge, it was difficult to find a good place to sit. There were several college students scattered throughout the restaurant studying who cherry-picked all of the good seats.

Random NOTES:

• Genius ideas: They have a separate entry on the side next to a "To-Go" section. I have never seen this at a Panera, and it doesn't make sense for every Panera. However, considering where this Panera is...it is genius. Perfect for tailgating time.

• Bathroom: It's a 3-staller..and it is rather huge. Keep this in mind during tailgate time as well. Avoid the porta-potty line and visit Panera. Grab a coffee or bagel to go while you are at it.

• I think this Panera location could be a sign of what's to come at a campus near you. I bet this location rakes in a ton of money during game days. I wonder if this has been done at any other campus across the nation?
• Community Room: Naturally, a campus Panera needs a community room. And this one is no disappointment.
• Read up on what The Lantern has to say about the Lane Avenue Panera.