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!