The Brecksville Detour

I visited Cleveland last week to celebrate my nephew's 6th birthday! Taking full advantage of this road trip, I made a special pit stop at the Brecksville Panera. Over the years, I have driven to Cleveland countless times...always passing signs for this sleepy town outside of Cleveland on 77, Brecksville. Noticing the Panera Bread logo on the blue exit signs, I decided to make detour toward the road less travelled.

My overall findings on the city of Brecksville: Quaint and cute. To be fair, it was just one exit, and that hardly defines a city...but it was nice. Most evertything off this exit was newer construction.

Like most newer developments, the signage sucks. This Panera is wrapped around a plaza that houses Heinen's (a Cleveland area grocery chain), a Japanese Steakhouse, a huge Verizon store, and several other retail outlets. We drove right past the entrance. As luck would have it, I was happy that we missed the entrance because we had to continue driving and eventually turn around at this Brecksville Nature Trail area. It looked like a pretty cool place to take your dog for a walk or to go for a run. Will I ever actually return to do either of these things? Unlikely...but let's be honest, I have done a lot weirder things before. It would be a nice little combination of events: A dog walk at a new trail + Panera Bread afterwards.

The Brecksville Nature Center

The REVIEW:
Date visited: Sunday, February 26
TIme of day: 5ish
Items ordered: Me: Unsweet tea Bob: coffee, black Deb: coffee, hazelnut

Panera to-go

As you can tell from the items ordered, this was a bit of a forced visit. No one was hungry, which is really odd in my family. But we could always use some caffeine. This Panera is sandwich in the middle of a strip mall. As we pulled up, I thought it was going to be a small store. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was much larger inside than it appeared to be on the outside.

Random NOTES:
- I have said it before, and I will say it again...My favorite Panera's have the purple walls. Why do I like it better? Seems more sloothing, I suppose.

- My mom loves the cinnamon cruch bagels. She wanted me to get her one for the morning...sadly, they were sold out. I have noticed this phenomenom several times. If you have a particular bagel fav at Panera, better get their early.
- Brecksville Nature Center...stop by for a stroll next time you are in town.
- Neat patio area. It wasn't warm enough to sit outside, obviously, but this Panera has a cool patio area. It overlooks the woods.

This picture doesn't do the patio justice. But here ya go..

Boomer came along for the ride...

Winter Garden Florida: hashtags, rum runners, and scientology

The annual winter Orlando trip...take 3! Once again, my friend Abby (who also lives in Ohio) and I met up with a good friend, Ashley (aka Schramm) who lives in Orlando. This is the 3rd January in a row that we have done so. It has become part of my routine...so I plan to continue this tradition. Sorry about your luck Schramm...and Tim.

My drive to the airport. Enough motivation to get out of Ohio!

The trip was originally designed as a way to break away from the winter, and relax in Florida. While each trip is a little different than the previous year, it always provides much entertainment, and we continue to tell the random stories from each trip year after year. This year's theme in which we made t-shirts for was: "No worries. Emergency We're Drunk" (Long explanation into the meaning behind the theme)

Beachside Friday afternoon.

This year we decided to venture away from Orlando and visit Clearwater Beach. Why Clearwater Beach you may ask? Well, it is a short drive from Orlando (about 1.5 hours)...and Clearwater had a race that particular weekend that we all decided we should do. (More details in the Random Notes regarding the race day debacle)

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you should know Abby and Ashley. They have been featured in many posts. So it was no surprise to them this trip needed to include a Panera visit. In fact, I don't even think I had to remind them that we needed to go to a Panera. Ashley already had a Panera in mind, located just a few minutes from her house in Winter Garden.

Abby and I arrived in Orlando on a Thursday evening. Stayed at Ashley's and then set out for Clearwater Friday morning. Full disclosure: These trips that we take typically revolve around our "emotional attachment to food...and to drinks". Naturally, we needed to stop somewhere for breakfast before we headed out on the journey to Clearwater.

Ashley's recommendation of the Winter Garden Panera hit the spot! We arrived at the Panera about 8:30ish. The sun was shining and birds were chirping. I thought it would be a good idea to get our picture taken in front of the building. I asked a happy couple walking into Panera to take our pictures. They were confused as to why we were getting our pics taken in front of Panera. Someone blurted out that I have a blog about Panera. I'm pretty sure they thought we were freaks.

THE REVIEW:
Date visited: Friday, January 20
Time of day: 8:30ish in the morning
Items ordered:
Me: Mediterranean Egg White on Whole Grain...unsweet tea
Ashley: Everything Bagel with "Ample" Cream Cheese...hazelnut coffee
Abby: Everything bagel, cream cheese (not sure on the ampleness), fruit smoothy

I got a bit excited about eating...forgot to take a photo pre-indulging. #fatgirl

This Panera is not a free-standing. This area of Winter Garden is a shoppers paradise...from what I could tell. Tons of chain stores and restaurants. After awkwardly getting our photos taken outside of Panera, we walked in and I was greeted with a picture/shrine of Al Covelli. Based out of Ohio, the Covelli's own TONS of Panera Breads...mainly in Ohio and Florida. Keeping things even more creepy and awkward...I got my picture taken in front of the plaque.

The definition of creepy. #weirdpaneraobsession

Overall the crowd was pretty light, with a mixed bag of people. You saw all types there from people on business meetings to retirees, to people like us on vacation.
The Mediterranean egg white sandwich was my first experience with that sandwich. I was happy with my choice. It was filling, yet not too filling. The fact that it said "egg white" also makes you feel healthy.

Standard patio picture...

RANDOM notes:

• I whipped out my iPhone during this visit to share some @Paneraaddict tweets. This sparked a weekend full of "hashtag" references. It has become quite addicting to integrate the word "hashtag" in front of a descriptive phrase.
• Speaking of "#"...Abby received a "random" text during this trip. Some guy sends her a text provoking "sexts". In the spirit of vacation, and boredom on our drive to Clearwater, we decide to provoke this guy a bit more. Well, to make a long story short...we had to cut this guy off when it got graphic and Abby broke the news to him that he had the wrong number. This guy thought he was texting his apparent girlfriend named "Lisa". This promted us to ponder what kind of girl is this "Lisa"....It was our mantra all weekend to jokily refer to any question with #whatwouldlisado.
• "Ample" Cream Cheese....as I am writing this blog this evening, I had to text Abby and Ashley to confirm what they ordered at Panera. Ashley confirmed that she ordered "ample" cream cheese. I believe she is commenting on the fact that Panera provides a normal portion size of cream cheese...whereas, anywhere else you go they skimp you on the cream cheese.
• The race. There was some miscommunication on whether or not we were going to run the race. The memo that Ashley and I got, was to not run. Abby received a different memo and signed up, not knowing that neither Ashley or I signed up. It wasn't until we arrived in Clearwater, that Abby stated "I am not looking forward to this race!" Clearly Abby didn't get the memo. Regardless, I decided to run in her place. They had a 5-mile race and a half marathon...I chose the 5-miler. It was a gorgeous course the took you over the Clearwater Beach bridge and through the downtown. My time? 50 minutes roughly.
• Ashley is newly married to Tim. Every January we invade their house. I think he enjoyed the fact that we decided to venture away from Orlando this year. At least I would have been, if I was in his shoes. You can read about their wedding and my other Orlando visit here.
• Scientolists. Clearwater is home to a big Scientologists community. Like huge. Not judging any religion...but that religion is definitely not my cup of tea. If you are bored at work this week, google "Clearwater and Scientology".
• IHOP....let's sum up our Friday of eating/drinking. Panera. Beachside grill. Dinner at a tiki hut bar poolside. Extra large rum runners. Mini bar crawl down the strip...and several beers later. We end up at the hotel, which happens to have an IHOP attached. #fatandproud.

Thought this was brilliant after several drinks.

Have a nice weekend...and remember #WWLD!

So we meet again...The Lakewood Panera review.

There she sits.

My Panera experiences have come full circle now. I had the opportunity to re-visit the Lakewood Panera on Saturday. This is THE Panera that is responsible for my weird obsession slash blogging about Panera. As I discussed in my original post, the Lakewood Panera is so unique. To date, I have reviewed nearly 40 Panera Bread stores, and this one is by far the cat's ass!

I'm not sure what was housed at this Panera before it was a Panera, the cashier told me it has been a number of things over the years. The last thing she remembers it as was a Hallmark.

Each year, my mom and I visit my sister in Cleveland for a Christmas shopping weekend. Last year, I signed up to run the Lakewood Reindeer Run. Because of logistics, my mom had to tag along to this first race, and decided to have a coffee and read a book at Panera, while I ran. It is because of this race, that I found this Lakewood Panera. I decided to sign up for the race again this year. My mom was a trooper again this year, and camped out at the Panera while I ran.

The REVIEW:
Date visited: Saturday, December 3
Time of Day: 9:30ish
Those in attendance: My mom and me.
Items ordered: Mom: Hazelnut coffee, and cinnamon crisp bagel. Me: Whole grain bagel and an iced tea to go.

The race started at 9. So we arrived at the Panera right around 8:30. They have a parking garage at this Panera (which I remembered from last year) so we parked there. My mom found a nice seat in the front of the building, next to the windows overlooking the street. I grabbed a glass of water and did a warm up jog down to the race start.

Once the race was finished, I jogged back to the Panera.  We were in a bit of a hurry because we wanted to see my nephew's flag football game, which started at 10. Being true to my loyal readers, I felt the need to order something. So I got an iced tea and a whole grain bagel to go.

There I am with my whole-grain bagel and unsweet tea. Pretty standard, really.

Why do I like this Panera so much? Let me bullet point my reasons:

• The building. It is an old building, converted into a Panera. It is just so unique. 
• The location. If it wasn't for the unfortunate climate, I would consider moving to Cleveland, and Lakewood might be on the top of the list. It is a neat little town. I don't know if it would technically be called downtown, but this location feels like "downtown" Lakewood. There are other office buildings and little shops in the surrounding area. The houses are all very nice. Older, but nice. 
• The layout. They worked with the space that had to work with. There are windows that go from ceiling to floor all around the perimeter of this building. Naturally, that's where they chose to place all of the seating. Great view. 
• The signage. The exterior signage conforms to the rest of the tenants of the building. It is not the standard corporate image. I don't know why, but I like it. 

View from the waiting area. 

Cashier station.

View from the table.

Random NOTES:

• Last year, I was annoyed with the parking situation. We had to find street parking, which was a real pain. It wasn't until we left Panera last year, that we discovered the "FREE PARKING GARAGE" sign for Panera customers. I remembered this year, and capitalized on the garage parking. 

• Santa Claus. As I walked up to the Panera entrance, I noticed that they had Santa on their front porch for the day. Very nice touch, Panera!

I blocked the kids face at the suggestion from my sister. Good call, since I don't know him.

• My race results. Last year I finished #618 with a time of 31:34. This year I improved my time to 27:17, with only 548 others finishing before me! 
• I pre-registered for the race and picked up my packet the day before. However, once I arrived at the Panera, I realized I had forgotten my packet with my number and tracker thing that tells your time. Thankfully, the kind people at Hermes Road Racing gave me a new number and tracker. 

I still have another Columbus Panera to review (Grove City), and I am sure there will be new one's built as the year goes on. I plan to visit Grove City very soon. 

Family. Baseball. Panera. The surprise visit to the Canton Panera.

 

Photo from our seats.

Every summer, my sister along with her two kids, visit Ohio from California. One of our many traditions include all of us going to a baseball game. Last summer, we all went to a Columbus Clippers game. This year, we traveled to Cleveland to see the Indians play. Since my other sister lives in Cleveland, this made everything very convenient.

The game was on a Saturday night, and the plan was to leave early the next morning. As Sunday morning approached, we were somewhat rushed out the door, to get back home. Piled up in one car was myself, my parents, and my niece and nephew (Cassandra and Nick).  I believe we were on the road by 7:30. No time to stop at one of my favorite Panera's (Westlake).

By the time we hit Independence on I-77, we all realized that making this 2 + hour drive without some caffeine and some food, was a big mistake. Huge. It was about this time that I realized we were only a short drive away from a key Panera location that I had never been - the Canton Panera located in "The Strip". Without hesitation, I suggested we make a pit stop there. Sure it was another good 45-60 minutes away, but it seemed like a good half way point to stretch and get our second winds.

Imagine my surprise, when everyone was in agreement to make this stop. Well, not everyone, as the kids had quickly fallen back asleep.

So without further ado...

The REVIEW:
Date visited: Sunday - July 31
Time of date: 9AM ish
Items ordered:
Me: Power breakfast sandwich. Unsweet tea.
Bob: Some sort of danish, black coffee
Deb: Cinnamon crunch bagel, with hazelnut coffee. 
Cassandra: Pecan pastry, hot chocolate
Nicholas: Cinnamon roll, hot chocolate


Upon pulling up to this Panera, I could tell this would be a good one. After all, this is right in Covelli's back yard. (Covelli is based out of Warren, OH). It is located in a strip center, sandwiched between an Old Navy and an Office Max. Being so early on a Sunday, the only cars at this center were Panera customers. As we walked through the parking lot, you could hear the relaxing music emanating from the speakers.

I personally, wanted to sit outside as their patio seating seemed very inviting. That was quickly shot down, as most in our party yearned for the AC.

After I placed my order, I noticed a brochure for the "Panerathon" which was scheduled to take place on 8.28!! The Panerathon is a 10K or 2 mile walk/run that benefits a charity. It takes place in Youngstown. After reading through the brochure, I was sold on this event. Unfortunately, I remembered I could not do the run on that day, as I had already committed to a golf outing in my grandpa's name, that happened to fall at the same time. Bummer. Perhaps next year. Any takers for 2012?




Random NOTES.

• This was Nick and Cassandras first Panera experience. They enjoyed their breakfast. Then again how couldn't they? (Sugar and chocolate) However, Nick claimed the cinnamon pastry tasted like apples, while Cassandra claimed hers was salty? 
• As I mentioned we visited this Panera on July 31. Which happens to be my sister Julie's birthday. Julie was sticking around Cleveland that morning and going to visit her old college. So my parents and I had Julie's kids for the day. Don't ya know, that morning we were all in such a rush that none of us, (except my dad) wished her a happy bday. I personally sat down with her and talked for a good 10-15 minutes before we left. Didn't say a word about her bday. Oops. About 30 minutes into our drive we realized our faux pas, and quickly called.

Our food + Nick and Cassandra. Not sure why Nick has a shitty grin. 

 

 

 

 

 

Interior shot. Also, there's Bob assessing the situation.

I'm in Miami B%$tch...

Photo taken from my phone atop the Fountainbleu hotel.

Picture it, mid-April...Miami, Florida. This was my last and final trip to Florida during the winter months, however this was a legit work trip. I was attending an outdoor advertising conference at the Fountainbleu. I really did not plan on visiting a Panera during this trip, because I wasn't sure if I would have time to wander off-course to find one.

Turns out that just like John Ritter used to say as he pitched Hooked on Phonics...."where there's a will, there's an A."....well substitute that "A" for "way" and you get my point.

I was put in charge of booking the rooms. Being the frugal shopper that I am, upon arrival to our hotel, I soon find new meaning to the phrase, "You get what you pay for". Turns out, this place was smack dab in the middle of South Beach. I pulled up to the hotel late that Friday evening to what appears to be a non-stop MTV Spring Break episode. Not exactly what I had envisioned. The hotel was perfect...if you planned on passing out every night from intoxication.

My point is, they nickel and dimed you for everything at this hotel. Wifi was $10 per day. My parents arrived a day later than me, and on my way to pick them up from the airport, I found a Panera!! Naturally, I made a pit stop along with my lap top to this Panera before we went to the hotel.

The review.

Date visited: April 10
Time of Day: 5ish
Items ordered:
Me: Unsweet Tea
Bob: Coffee, black
Deb: Hazelnut coffee + free item (cinnamon crunch bagel which we all shared)

I was extremely happy to be at a Panera. After spending a day on South Beach, my pocket book was suffering. It was nice to see normal prices again. (Just to compare, a glass of iced tea at one restaurant on South Beach was $6)

Random NOTES.

• The outlet situation at this Panera was awful.
• The cashiers were extremely slow. But to their credit, they did allow deb to use her free "pastry" as a bagel...pretty sure that is illegal in Panera's rule book.
• Hazelnut coffee is very popular. Deb went to get her coffee, and there was none available. It took a long time for them to refill the hazelnut variety.
• This particular Panera is not owned by Covelli, although they do own several Florida Panera's